Battle for Oakwell: Main Line athletic field plans stirs controversy
VILLANOVA, Pa. (CBS) -- Tucked away in a forest that's managed to stand the test of time in Villanova, Oakwell is smack in the middle of a tug-of-war over its future.
According to documents and written proposals, the Lower Merion School District intends to convert part of a dozen-acre property at 1835 County Line Road into athletic fields.
They'll be used by students from the brand new Black Rock Middle School, which sits a few blocks away.
But a growing band of neighbors is battling to halt plans to take down hundreds of trees to make way for those fields.
At times, it seems their strategy has altered some of the plans with the school district earlier this year changing course on the size and scope of field construction originally slated for the Oakwell property.
Debra Robins lives next door to the property on a dead-end street. Asked how often the project has come to mind, she laughs and gestures almost in tears at the mighty forest surrounding her.
Robins has been part of this effort to try and convince the Lower Merion School Board to reconsider: to leave Oakwell untouched.
"There are wiser ways than to meet their needs than to take a property that ethically deserves stewardship," Robins said. "It's not just a piece of ground that you just do with what you will."
In a CBS News Philadelphia investigation, we learned the Lower Merion School Board voted in 2018 to take the property at 1835 County Line Road by eminent domain. That's a process where government lawfully seizes private property and converts the land for public use.
The school board meeting happened with little fanfare, despite the controversy that has since grown in recent months. At the meeting in 2018, school leaders touted the project at Oakwell as beneficial for hundreds of students in need of more field space.
"I think this is a wonderful opportunity for the students of Lower Merion School District," one board member said.
The district paid nearly $10 million for Oakwell, which it says was fair market value.
Those upset by the plan to convert the property into athletic fields have recently shown up at school board meetings.
There have been demonstrations outside school district headquarters. A number of student groups have also joined the protest.
At the heart of this property caught up in dispute is a couple-dozen-room mansion that is the crown jewel of Oakwell.
The mansion has been Dr. John Bennett's home for more than 25 years.
Bennett is living here under the terms of a lease agreement with the school district.
Bennett and school officials confirmed that was part of the deal they reached when the district took the property through eminent domain.
Bennett's story, by his own admission, is unusual.
The former chief of the Delaware County Memorial emergency room says in 2018, he was set to sell the property to Villanova University.
Bennett provided emails showing the university offered to pay more than $9.5 million.
Bennett says the school district got word of the deal, soon its representatives visited the property, and then, the agreement with Villanova was derailed.
"That Friday, I got notice, they took my property by eminent domain," Bennett said. "They seized it. Yes."
Sources at Villanova University with knowledge of the agreement of sale and court documents confirmed Bennett's description of events.
CBS News Philadelphia Investigations requested interviews with Lower Merion School leaders, about the eminent domain process and plans to take down those trees.
Lower Merion School Board President Lucy Klain says the district must balance the need for more fields.
"We know how important that is," Klain said. "We need more fields."
Bennett says he exhausted finances suing the school district in connection with the seizure, losing in court. He challenged the eminent domain process, unsuccessfully.
Ken Roos, the solicitor for the Lower Merion Board of Education, said the district "bent over backward to accommodate" Bennett.
"We feel we acted with the utmost in terms of sensitivity and fair dealings," Roos said.
He went on to explain: because Bennett had the property up for sale, the district moved quickly to proceed with eminent domain, with plans to someday construct athletic fields. Those fields would be used by hundreds of students who are in need of a place to play.
A complicating factor: an urn holding the ashes of Bennett's late son is buried at the base of a tree on the Oakwell property.
"He died of a drug overdose, and just to rip it out and put playing fields in, it's not right, it's not right," Bennett said. "It shows no respect."
Asked about Bennett's son's remains, a spokesperson for the district said it wasn't aware of them until a reporter mentioned it during an interview.
Under the lease terms, the urn would have to be removed when Bennett leaves, according to the district.
Bennett's frustration over the eminent domain process has also upset neighbors.
Roos said the school district did not arbitrarily condemn the Oakwell property.
"The school district would not have done it if the property hadn't been actively marketed," Roos said. "There was no way the school district would come in and assert condemnation over a property where someone was living and intending to stay."
Protests over other past sites
This isn't the first time the school district has created controversy while searching for land.
Months before Oakwell was seized in 2018, the district attempted to take the property next door, known as Stoneleigh. A battle boiled over, leading to months of protests. Eventually, the district took its plans for a new middle school to another nearby property.
Recent protests over Oakwell have led school officials to look elsewhere to alleviate pressure on the historic property.
They've identified Polo Fields in Haverford Township as a possible alternative for some of the planned athletic fields.
"What we are trying to communicate to those who have an interest in preserving that entire property is that we hear you and that's why we looked at Polo Fields," Acting Superintendent Megan Shafer said.
At this time, the district is still planning on using some of the Oakwell property for fields.
Leaders couldn't say in the end how many trees would be cut down.
Meanwhile, Bennett remains upset.
Even more than leaving his home, he is bothered by how the land will be affected.
"It's beyond reproach, to cut down a whole forest that took hundreds of years to grow," Bennett said.
For the Lower Merion School District, there is still much left up in the air.
Officials couldn't say how many trees could be cut down, but the acting superintendent indicated they're "hearing" the protests concerning Oakwell.
