Orphans’ Court won’t hear FDR Park lawsuit in win for city, renovation supporters

A Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge won’t hear a lawsuit in Orphans’ Court that aimed to put a stop to a proposed $250 million overhaul of South Philadelphia’s FDR Park.

Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper found “no indicational argument that FDR Park will ever be anything else other than park or parkland” Thursday, adding that Orphans’ Court has no jurisdiction on the matter.

Orphans’ Court has jurisdiction over nonprofits, trusts, estates, and related legal entities. The case calling for a stop on all work across FDR Park came before the court in late March when 11 South Philly residents filed suit.

Their attorney, Samuel Stretton, argued that the Department of Parks and Recreation’s proposed FDR makeover, which includes the controversial addition of artificial turf fields in the footprint of a former golf course, radically changed the nature of the space, violating several state regulations, including the Public Trust Doctrine.

The latter gives Pennsylvania residents a right to pure water and “preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic value of the environment.” Changes as drastic as those proposed for FDR require court and City Council approval, Stretton argued.

During the hearing, however, Woods-Skipper asked just how the park would be radically changed if the city’s plans weren’t calling for the sale or lease of land.

Homing in on changes slated for the former golf course, Stretton said the park’s ecosystem would drastically change as animals are pushed out to make way for athletic fields and the space would no longer be “free and open,” pointing to the permitting system that would be implemented to reserve the fields.

As attorneys argued whether Orphans’ Court was the appropriate venue for the case, William B. Shuey, the attorney representing the city, took issue with Stretton’s characterization of the slated renovations.

“All of FDR Park was, is, and will be a public park,” said Shuey.

He argued the ruling in favor of critics of the renovation would result in a need for the city to come before Orphans’ Court whenever it wanted to move a swing set and would discourage investment.

“We are not putting a coal plant down there, this is still parkland,” said Shuey, emphasizing that the lawsuit is coming two years after the city began renovation work and five years after the city’s master plan was unveiled.

Stretton maintained the issue was about “destroying parklands” not moving swings 20 feet to the left. He argued the renderings shown to residents were deceiving and “you could never grasp [the number of trees cut down] unless you’re trained with a Ph.D. in environmental science.”

Parks and Recreation has characterized the $250 million park renovation as a dire necessity. Without intervention, the department says, the 348-acre green space will become largely inaccessible to the public because of expected flooding brought on by a changing climate. Supporters of the current makeover plans, such as youth sports groups, say average rainfall can decommission athletic fields for days.

The city said in a statement that it was “delighted” by the judge’s decision.

“This plan will preserve this South Philadelphia gem for generations to come, ensuring that neighboring communities will have access to equitable recreation opportunities while increasing the park’s resiliency against climate change,” said the statement.

Still, critics have argued that athletic fields have been given too much importance in FDR Park’s current design plans. They take issue with the hundreds of trees that will have to be cut down to make room for these recreational spaces, are skeptical of city claims that they will be replaced with a canopy of the same quality, and are worried that the city can’t guarantee the athletic fields it plans to install will remain free of PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”

In March, amid protest, the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved an exception that would allow the cutting of 48 heritage trees at the park’s golf course to make way for multipurpose fields and other amenities, including a picnic grove and parking. Stretton appealed that decision, and a Common Pleas Court judge issued a stay on any work on the former course until Thursday’s hearing played out.

As Woods-Skipper got ready to send parties home, Stretton asked for another stay, citing excavation equipment that was already in place at the park, ready to fell the very trees his clients wanted to preserve. The city did not immediately confirm the timeline for excavation.

Woods-Skipper said she couldn’t issue another stay, leaving critics of the makeover devastated.

“The damage is irreversible once those 80-year-old trees are destroyed,” said Avigail Milder, one of the South Philly residents petitioning the court and member of Save the Meadows, a group advocating for the preservation of the park as is.

Milder worried the city would immediately begin the work of clearing trees. “These are the lungs of South Philadelphia, the city is being shortsighted.”

As critics of the plan mourned the setback, Stretton vowed to appeal in Commonwealth Court and file a stay on work as soon as possible.