Harrisburg politicians finally did something

Gov. Wolf signed a bill to prevent land under preservation protection from being taken by eminent domain.

For those of us who believe nothing happens quickly in Harrisburg, we present H.B. 2468

The bill was introduced by state Rep. Warren Kampf, R-157, of Tredyffrin on June 6. It passed the House June 19 and was acted on by the Senate three days later. Gov. Tom Wolf signed it into law last Sunday.

Kampf’s bill, co-sponsored by Montgomery County Reps. Kate Harper, R-61 of Blue Bell, and Marcy Toepel, R-147 of Gilbertsville, was a move to protect and preserve land that many people thought was already protected. Specifically, it would make it much more difficult for a government entity to use the power of eminent domain to break such conservation covenants and seize the land.

All of this was precipitated by the angry public backlash against the possibility that the Lower Merion School District could use eminent domain to acquire a portion of one of the most beautiful, pristine tracts in the region.

The magnificent Stoneleigh Gardens, a 42-acre public garden, part of the Main Line estate of John and Chara Haas in Villanova,

were just recently opened to the public. That made the news emanating from the Lower Merion School District all the more disconcerting.

The school district is bursting at the seams. It needs room to grow. Unfortunately, they cast their eye on the splendiferous Stoneleigh, publicly taking the stance that they were considering using their power of eminent domain – the process by which public entities can acquire property in the name of the “public good” – as a possible site for a new middle school.

That did not sit well with residents, to say nothing of environmentalists and open space boosters.

The land was given by the Haas family to the Lower Merion Conservancy, which holds the easement. They aligned themselves with Natural Lands, one of the heavy hitters in the region’s battle over open space; the organization has spent the past two years creating the magnificent landscape.

Just days before Natural Lands threw open the doors and invited the public to walk amid its splendor, Lower Merion School District announced it was considering the site for a new school.

Residents packed school board meetings to voice their opposition. Township officials also took a stand against the school district.

That’s when Kampf got involved. House Bill 2468 does not prevent an entity from seizing land thought to be preserved, but it does make it much more difficult. In this instance, it would require the school district to prove that there was no suitable alternative to the Stoneleigh plot.

Harper and Toepel joined the effort after they learned of a similar move where the Cumberland Valley School District in Cumberland County initiated an eminent domain procedure to acquire the historic 108-acre McCormick Farm, again as the site for a new school.

Now, both school districts would have to go into court and prove there are no “reasonable and prudent alternative” sites for their proposed new facilities.

Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands, lauded all those responsible for the quick passage of the legislation, while sounding an alarm that the battle is not over.

“While the law places an additional obstacle in the school districts’ way, the threat to Stoneleigh and the McCormick Farm is still very real,” she warned.

Toepel noted the chilling effect the school district’s efforts to acquire the land could have down the line with property owners who are considering a similar donation so as to preserve their land from being bulldozed.

“The generous donation of the Haas family estate to Natural Lands must be protected to insure transfers such as this are not discouraged or jeopardized,” she said.

The school district has since entered into an agreement to buy the nearby Foundation for Islamic Education, which would be big enough for a school, but likely not playing fields or a track. That means a smaller, 6.9-acre part of Stoneleigh could still be in play. We hope that’s not the case.

We’re still trying to get our arms around the speed with which this legislation was enacted.

From Kampf’s pen to Wolf’s desk in a matter of a little more than two weeks.

Call it the miracle of Stoneleigh.