Click above to read the full ruling from the Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board
On Thursday (June 16), Lower Merion School District saw its plans to clear-cut more than 500 trees at Oakwell, put on hold. The Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board rejected the district’s motion which claimed that the Hearing Board lacked jurisdiction to consider an appeal by several Villanova residents seeking to prevent the demoliton of historic structures and hundreds of mature trees at Oakwell.
Oakwell is a short walk from the new Black Rock Middle School. The school district wants to “re-purspose” the property, i.e. knock down trees and historic structures there, in order to build playing fields for the middle school.
According to The Merionite Concerned citizens across LMSD have been advocating to save Oakwell Forest, a close neighbor to the Stoneleigh Preserve. Oakwell is a parcel of land located at the intersection of 1800 Montgomery Avenue and 1835 County Line Road in Villanova. The forest consists of 13.4 acres of mature woodlands and wetlands. It is also home to a historical estate built by William Wayne, which is accompanied by Acorn Cottage and a Garden Complex, both designed by Frank Miles Day and built in 1900. LMSD now has ownership of Oakwell and plans to use the lands as accessory fields for the new Black Rock Middle School (BRMS). This process would involve cutting down over 500 trees and disrupting an entire ecosystem.
We do not need more flat patches of chemical soaked grass for kids to chase balls on! Woodlands can be enjoyed by everyone, not just the over-represented minority of ball-sport kids.