Stoneleigh Response Eminent Domain Bill Signed To Law

LOWER MERION, PA – After Lower Merion School District eyes using eminent domain to seize land on the Stoneleigh property for a new school, a bill has been signed into law making the eminent domain seizure process more difficult.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed House Bill 2486 on Sunday, June 24.

The bill required entities such as the Lower Merion School District seek court approval before seizing land owned by a trust, which is the case for Stoneleigh as the property is owned by the Natural Lands Trust.

State Rep. Warren Kampf introduced the bill as a direct response to the district's potential seizure on June 6.

"The Lower Merion School District has decided to use eminent domain to condemn privately owned land permanently preserved by conservation easement, over the objections of many residents of the community," Kampf said in a press release o the bill. "This bill will do what most people thought would have happened to all preserved land."

The bill amends the state's Eminent Domain Code to add a new section that would require any government agency to obtain Orphans' Court approval before using eminent domain to take permanently preserved land, similar to the Agricultural Area Security Law, which requires additional scrutiny before condemnation of agricultural lands.

The Orphans' Court is given authority in the Donated and Dedicated Property Act over certain transactions related to publicly owned lands held for public uses.

The district has since made moves to purchase the Islamic Foundation Center property at 1860 Montgomery Ave. for a new school.

Lower Merion Township's Building and Planning Committee recently voted to keep the site's current historical classification, meaning it will be able to be demolished should the district move forward with building a new school there.

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