TESD Looking To Use Eminent Domain To Acquire Land

BERWYN, PA — As enrollment at the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District grows, the Board of School Directors is making move to get more land to accommodate more students.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown Board of School Directors has scheduled a special meeting on whether to use eminent domain at 6 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2019 at the Tredyffrin/Easttown Administration Offices.

School Directors will consider a vote to exercise its right of eminent domain on the Doyle-McDonnell nursery adjacent to Conestoga High School.

The 250 Cassatt Road property is under agreement of sale with Toll Brothers to develop a high-density residential property of up to 85 units.

Due to the adjacency of the 13-acre parcel to Conestoga High School, the district has held long-term interest in purchasing the property for a fair price. However, as long as the property has served as a functioning tree nursery, the district has been willing to wait to secure acquisition, the district said.

Because the property is subject to an agreement of sale with a third party, the district is forced to consider the use of eminent domain as a measure of last resort, according to the district.

Student enrollment in the TESD has risen every single year since 1990, with a near 10 percent growth rate for the past five years alone, the district said.

This has led to building construction projects inside district schools and even significant expansion projects such as the current plan for Conestoga High School. Because the high school is situated in a neighborhood with many nearby homes, there is no other property suitable for additional facilities or athletic fields near Conestoga that can be accessed without crossing public roads.

District residents and families should note that the potential acquisition of the nursery property by the district through eminent domain is not related to the longstanding plan to expand and renovate Conestoga High School and its parking capacity.

The current expansion and renovation plan must keep to its current timeline to provide adequate space for the students currently enrolled in the district’s two middle schools. It should be noted that the district began evaluating the possible options for addressing the increasing enrollment over two years ago.

More than twenty public meetings, including an open house, to gather community input on the project were held prior to board approval. By contrast, the purchase and analysis of any new property, including the Doyle-McDonnell nursery, can take considerable time. The acquisition of this property, however, will ultimately provide options to meet future District needs.