More legal volleys in the battle of Clifton Heights
The school district holds the better cards in this highstakes game. The fact is they own the land. But the passion certainly resides with the borough, as evidenced by a rally held at the site in the spring that drew hundreds to the site, which in addition to holding a very special place in the heart of all Cliftonites, also just happens to be the last speck of open space in the borough.
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming.
Clifton Heights has returned the favor in their battle royal with the Upper Darby School District.
After the district went to court claiming the borough violated procedures in pushing through some zoning changes in an effort to block the district’s efforts to construct a new school on the town’s “sacred” athletic fields, the borough is returning the favor.
Clifton Heights filed suit last week asking the court to allow the borough the ability to review the school district’s plans under the new zoning laws.
This comes after the school district went to court claiming that the borough had ignored its own procedures and protocols in pushing through several zoning changes aimed at putting up roadblocks to the district’s plans for the new school, or at least slowing them down.
All of this stems from the bitter battle over Upper Darby School District’s decision to build a new, 160,000-square-foot middle school on the borough’s treasured athletic fields on Springfield Road.
The school district announced those plans months ago, and the two sides have been sniping at each other in a pitched “turf” war ever since.
Borough residents and officials were outraged at the decision, claiming the site as “sacred ground” that has been an integral part of borough activities, hosting everything from the annual July 4th celebration to a host of youth sporting events.
Adding a little salt to the wound was a move by the school district to terminate the longtime lease that granted the borough sole use of the fields. That goes into effect this week.
The two sides are due in court for pre-trial hearings on the school district’s original claim against the borough this week.
Don’t look for either side to back down in this war of words.
The school district holds the better cards in this high-stakes game. The fact is they own the land. But the passion certainly resides with the borough, as evidenced by a rally held at the site in the spring that drew hundreds to the site, which in addition to holding a very special place in the heart of all Cliftonites, also just happens to be the last speck of open space in the borough.
No less an authority than Mayor Joe Lombardo has basically drawn a line in the sand, vowing to do whatever is possible to halt the district’s plan.
In the meantime, Upper Darby School District has been going about its business, doing architectural renderings of the site and performing traffic studies.
Don’t look for what is shaping up as a legal feeding frenzy. And regardless of the outcome, it is going to take some time to settle the bruised feelings that this project has engendered. Some of that dates back decades to when Clifton Heights School District was merged into Upper Darby.
Here’s the bottom line: The school district is intent on building a new, $60 million middle school on the Springfield Road site to relieve acute overcrowding in the schools. One of the keys to the Clifton location is the fact that the district already owns the fields, which lessens the cost. Suggestions for other sites would only increase the price tag.
In the meantime, residents and officials in Clifton continue to dig in, noting they stand to lose the last bit of open space in the borough. The school district said it wants to open the doors of their new school in 2022.
Not if Joe Lombardo has anything to do with it.
The mayor of Clifton Heights says he hasn’t heard anything from the school district that has softened – let alone changed - his steadfast opposition to the project. He continues to vow that the borough will take every legal step to block the district’s plan.
2022? These two sides might still be bickering in court at that point.