A Pennsylvania appellate court on Jan. 26 said that Quaker Valley School District can move forward with its planned construction of a new, $95 million high school.
The 19-page Commonwealth Court ruling affirms a decision by the lower court that said that the Leet Township Zoning Hearing Board did not have the authority to deny the district’s application to build and instead was attempting “to control development issues.”
Those concerns, the three-judge panel wrote, should be addressed later in the land development and permitting phase of the project.
The project, set on a 108-acre parcel of land that straddles Leet, Leetsdale and Edgeworth, has been in the planning stages for years. It sits in a residential area of Leet, and the district was required to apply for a special exception to build there.
But the township and several residents who own property adjacent to the land objected to the project, arguing that it would increase traffic, decrease property values and risk potential landslides because of the land’s topography.
They also alleged potential danger to students in the case of emergency because the project called for no additional emergency access road.
The Leet Zoning Hearing Board held 11 hearings on the issue between June 2021 and February 2022 before ruling against the construction. It said the district’s failure to implement an emergency management plan and roadway created substantial risks to public safety.
The district appealed the decision to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, and Senior Judge Joseph James issued a decision in November 2022 overturning the board.
In his opinion, James said that Leet’s zoning ordinance expressly allows a special exception for school construction, and does not require the district to present any emergency management plan to obtain one.
James said the board has no jurisdiction over road design.
Although Leet Township chose not to fight the decision further, two of the potentially affected property owners, William Jasper and Michelle Antonelli, filed an appeal to the Commonwealth Court, which heard oral argument on the issue in October.
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In reaching its decision, the appellate court said it agreed with James that there is no specific requirement for the special exception for school use.
And without one, the court said, “It is presumed that QVSD’s proposed use of the property as a school is consistent with the health, safety and general welfare of the community.”
The court said that the homeowners failed to present evidence that the lack of an emergency only road would create risk.
“Simply put, there is no evidence in the record that an (emergency only road) is required, let alone that failure to provide (one) will, to a high degree of probability, generate adverse impacts to public health, safety and welfare not normally generated by a school use,” the court wrote.
Designs for the proposed school include two access points along Camp Meeting Road.
District officials said the estimated 167,000-square-foot facility will accommodate an average of 650 students each year with room for enrollment growth. It is expected to open in the fall of 2027.
Attorney Lou DePaul, who argued on behalf of the homeowners, had no comment on the decision. Under the law, they can ask for an en banc review by seven judges of the Commonwealth Court or ask the state Supreme Court to take up the issue.
“We are very pleased that the court has affirmed Judge James’ decision reversing the Zoning Hearing Board and granting the district zoning approval for the new high school project,” said district solicitor Donald Palmer. “We were confident throughout this unusually long process that the district was entitled to zoning approval, and we are happy with the court’s decision. We are ready to continue with the planning and construction of the much-needed new high school.”
Superintendent Tammy Andreyko echoed the solicitor’s statements and lauded the district’s project team.
“This ruling provides continued validation of our commitment to creating a learning environment that prioritizes access to educational excellence for all students,” Andreyko said. “We remain steadfast in our efforts providing quality education in a facility that will contribute to the overall well-being of our students and the communities we serve and building a safe facility that adheres to all necessary regulatory guidelines.”
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Vincent Restauri, who represents Leet’s ZHB, said they were no longer involved in the case. The board, he said, wanted to call the public’s attention to the issue of not having an emergency access road.
“It fulfilled its responsibility to the public,” he said.