Haverford residents raise concerns over Lower Merion’s plans to use Polo Fields

HAVERFORD — Lower Merion’s field problems are now moving to Haverford Township.

Thursday night, about 60 residents living near the Polo Fields in the Bryn Mawr section of Haverford Township attended a meeting to raise concerns over the Lower Merion School District’s plans to use the fields for their new Black Rock Middle School in Villanova.

The meeting followed an announcement two weeks ago that Lower Merion had reached a tentative agreement for students to use the baseball and softball fields.

Lower Merion’s field problems developed when they picked a site for its new Black Rock Middle School. School officials said the 22-acre site of the former Clairemont Farm/Morris Clothier Estate was too small for both the school and all the playing fields they needed. So they purchased a couple of other properties near the school.

But that plan has faced opposition since it required the school district to remove 500 trees and demolish historic properties.

So the school district began looking at other sites, including the Polo Fields.

Meanwhile, residents living near the Polo Fields say they had a meeting in February 2022 regarding the possible use by Lower Merion, and all the neighboring residents opposed it.

Fast forward a year later, they say they were surprised when media outlets began reporting that this tentative agreement for the school district to use the Polo Fields had been reached.

“Every single resident was opposed to this proposal,” nearby resident Lynn Elliott said during Thursday night’s meeting. “And suddenly … it was sprung upon us as a done deal.”

Laura Cavender, 5th ward commissioner representing the neighborhood surrounding the fields, said the recent discussions is a continuation of meetings they’ve already had.

“It’s incumbent on us as public officials to take neighbors’ feedback seriously and provide opportunities for input,” Cavender said in an email. “Residents were engaged last February about this publicly. We heard their initial concerns and attempted to put something together that might be acceptable. We then put together another public meeting. When it comes to change, I don’t think there can ever be enough communication. For me, this was the continuation of a conversation with the neighbors that began last February.”

Lower Merion school officials say board president, Lucy Klain, has been answering questions and informing interested stakeholders for months regarding the district’s need to find fields for students of the school district.

During Thursday’s meeting, Andy Gavrin, Lower Merion’s commissioner in the area where Black Rock Middle School is located, said that when a final agreement is completed, both townships will have to present it publicly, which will require the commissioners to vote on it. He expects the agreement could be ready by March or early April.

Getting past whether or not residents had enough information about any agreement, Lower Merion’s plans are for the fields to be used by baseball and softball teams from Black Rock Middle School. The teams will practice and play their home games on the Polo Fields.

So how can Lower Merion even consider using fields in Haverford Township?

Although the Polo Fields are located in Haverford, the township does not own them. The park’s use has been shared between Lower Merion and Haverford townships for the past 80 years. Both township parks and recreation departments are able to allocate field-use permits. Both townships have predetermined times they can issue those use permits.

The way Lower Merion Township sees the issue is that they are essentially transferring some of the time they can allocate to other sports programs to the Lower Merion School District.

But there’s a problem with that plan.

Giving some of Lower Merion’s allotted time to the school district will displace two private schools that have already been using the Polo Fields.

Currently, teams from The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr and Ss. Colman-John Neumann School in Haverford Township uses the fields and will now have to find new locations.

Donna Heller, director of parks and recreation for Lower Merion, said the first mandate they were given was that the two teams must have a new place to play before they could move forward with allowing Lower Merion to have the fields.

Shipley has already been assigned to use Vernon Young Park in Ardmore for the 2024 season. They’re still working on helping Ss. Colman-John Neumann find a new location.

Another major change to the Polo Fields will be that the ownership will switch from a board to Haverford Township, although both communities will continue to use the property.

Residents living near the fields also had several other questions, such as how the $275,000 the Lower Meiron School District has pledged to improve the site will be used.

They also raised concerns over school buses, traffic, whether dugouts would be constructed, and other issues.

Lower Merion school board member Peter Lee was the only representative from the school district participating in Thursday’s discussion.

According to Lee, kids participating in the two sports will be encouraged to ride the buses to and from Black Rock Middle School. The buses will drop the kids off on Railroad Avenue and then drive out of Haverford Township and wait in the Lower Merion Township-owned parking lot on Lancaster Avenue across the street from Ludington Library.

When the games or practices are over, the bus drivers will return, pick up the kids, and take them back to Black Rock.

They are using Railroad Avenue for drop off and pickup because the driveway going into the parking lot is too small to accommodate a 72-passenger school bus, Lee said.

Cavender said the $275,000 for the field improvements could include the construction of rain gardens and stormwater management. They could also have a better border along Railroad Avenue that still gives access to the park.

They’ve also talked about placing a spot in one section of the park that could be built as a tribute to former Commissioner Andy Lewis, who passed away last year. The spot could include seating, new trees, and possibly a small shelter.

How exactly does Lower Merion plan on using the fields?

Black Rock Middle School teams will begin using the fields in the spring of 2024. They will only be used by softball and baseball teams. There will be no use for other sports from that school. They will only use the fields in the spring for practices and games.

According to Lee, teams from Black Rock would play about 12 baseball games and 12 softball games each year.

Another issue that has sparked the discussion over the use of the Polo Fields is the future of the Oakwell site, the site Lower Merion purchased near Black Rock to build some of its fields.

The plans to remove hundreds of trees and historic structures for the playing fields has been protested by residents and students.

If the district can use the Polo Fields, what does it mean for the Oakwell site?

School officials say the district is waiting until they know what will happen at the Polo Fields before they can create a new plan for Oakwell.

“As for future plans for the BRMS fields property, if the tentative agreement is approved by all parties, it could open up the possibility of changing plans for the BRMS field site, but since the agreement is still tentative, the District doesn’t have a new plan to share,” district spokesperson Amy Buckman said in an email.