A Williamsburg man has built a cabin on property he doesn’t own at the top of Brush Mountain in Antis Township without obtaining required approvals from the township, after using a GPS application instead of a surveyor to determine the site’s location, according to township officials and Blair County court records.

After being sued for encroachment by landowner HMLM Inc., Shane Shawver worked out a deal with the firm to buy the ground surrounding the cabin, along with a 20-foot-wide, 700-foot-long right of way connecting it with his own property — but without obtaining township subdivision approval — after which the transaction’s recording led to a township lawsuit, resulting in a court order invalidating the deal.

The rustic, two-story, 30-by-40-foot structure stands on rocky ground that may not allow for installation of a legal septic system, as required for land development approval from the township, potentially leading HMLM to ask the court to order Shawver to remove the structure, which is visible from Fort Roberdeau, according to HMLM lawyer Tom Farrell and township solicitor Patrick Fanelli.

If Shawver would somehow obtain septic approval from the Blair County Sanitary Administration Committee’s sewage enforcement officer and the state Department of Environmental Protection, while also meeting all other subdivision and land development requirements, he could revisit the encroachment issue with HMLM, according to Fanelli.

If Shawver should meet all the SALDO requirements for the property, the township would be obligated to approve, Fanelli said.

If Shawver doesn’t remedy the issues, HMLM would have cause not only to ask the court to order the cabin’s removal — enforcing a prior order for Shawver to make it legal or take it down — but also for a trespass action, if Shawver should attempt to use it, according to Fanelli and Farrell.

Continuation of the status quo could create legal jeopardy for HMLM, Farrell acknowledged.

Shawver didn’t get in touch with the Mirror despite an invitation from the township to do so.

The property is just north of the large powerlines that cross Brush Mountain from I-99 to Sinking Valley.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.