## Facts

- Morgantown Properties, a limited partnership, owned approximately 3,700 contiguous acres in Berks County spanning Caernarvon Township and Robeson Township.
- Morgantown petitioned to incorporate the tract as a new municipality, the Borough of New Morgan.
- The proposed borough contained only six occupied homes at the time of the petition.
- Morgantown presented a large development plan including a landfill, a trash-to-steam facility, a tourist “Victorian Village,” a golf course, cultural and mixed-use centers, commercial and agricultural areas, and open space.
- Objecting townships and residents argued the incorporation effort was primarily intended to avoid existing township zoning and land-use regulation.
- A Borough Advisory Committee was appointed and, after more than 100 hours of hearings, voted 3–2 in favor of incorporation; both majority and minority reports were issued.
- The Court of Common Pleas adopted the committee majority’s findings of fact and conclusions of law and granted the incorporation petition; the Commonwealth Court affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether the Court of Common Pleas abused its discretion in granting the incorporation petition under the Pennsylvania Borough Code.
2. Whether incorporation should be denied as an improper attempt to evade township zoning and contrary to the public interest.
3. Whether the trial court’s findings were supported by competent evidence and its legal conclusions were reasonably based on those findings.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the order approving incorporation.
- The Court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion and the Commonwealth Court did not err in affirming.
- Applying a limited scope of review, the Court declined to reweigh the record developed through the advisory committee proceedings and trial court evaluation.

## Legal Principles

- Appellate review of an incorporation order is deferential: trial-court findings are upheld if supported by competent evidence, and legal conclusions are upheld if reasonably grounded in those findings.
- Borough incorporation is evaluated under the Borough Code’s statutory criteria, including municipal viability, ability to provide services, and overall public interest (including impacts on existing municipalities).
- Allegations that incorporation is motivated by land-use or zoning considerations do not alone bar incorporation where the statutory requirements are satisfied on the evidentiary record.

## Conclusion

The court sustained incorporation of the Borough of New Morgan because the trial court’s approval rested on a substantial hearing record and competent evidence supporting the statutory factors, and no abuse of discretion or legal error was shown under the governing deferential standard of review.


In re Incorporation of Borough of New Morgan, 590 A.2d 274 (Pa. 1991)