Although this debate occurred about three years ago, the effects of it still linger today. Around early March 2018, the Cumberland Valley School District in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania aimed to obtain 110 acres of land of the McCormick Farm situated along the Carlisle Pike. In an attempt to find a solution for the district’s increasing student body size, the CV school district was forced to acquire more land to house facilities for the 9,200 children who attend the district’s 9 schools (they now have 11). In complete opposition, Silver Spring Township residents, and other conservationist groups, flooded to school board meetings, heavily protesting the 100 acres of land at 31 Old Willow Mill Rd.
On March 5, Cumberland Valley SD declared their interest in obtaining the farmland and in doing so obtaining the legal title of the 110 acres. Additionally, this meant the farmland would be degraded to condemnation and obtained by eminent domain. The district declared interest in the 110 acres in order to reserve land for potential future use due to the rapid growth of housing in Silver Spring Township and surrounding areas causing not only a rapid increase in enrollment but a scarcity of undeveloped land as well. In 2018, the school district enrolled 9,142 students and most schools operated at an average 90% capacity. The two new schools at the time were expected to open at 95% and 86% capacity. Though the district seemed to have reason enough to purchase the farmland, conservationists forced the district to reconsider.
In a letter written to Cumberland Valley SD by the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, the association calls out the district for failing to respect the local and environmental regulations. PALTA states it recognizes “there are times when condemnation is necessary to advance a public good. However, the government’s use of the eminent domain tool must be judicious”. In the letter, the school district is accused of “Failure to Respect Silver Spring’s Zoning,” as the farmland is zoned as agricultural which the district outright ignores. Moreover, the district disregards environmental rights as stated in the Pennsylvania Declaration of Rights (article 1): “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment”. In its plans to condemn the McCormick farm, Cumberland Valley SD does not address how it plans to uphold these rights if the land is acquired. The PALTA also accuses the school district of “Taking More Land Than Foreseeably Necessary” and “Taking Something for Nothing” (meaning the district is paying a very small price for something so large and important).
Another conservation group that spoke against the school district was Natural Lands, a nonprofit that holds the McCormick Farm’s conservation easement. According to Oliver Bass, the organization’s vice president, “the purpose of the easement is to keep the property whole and free from development”. Though Natural Lands threatened to take the school district to court over the protection of the McCormick Farm, it seemed the Cumberland Valley SD could go through loopholes to purchase the agricultural property. As stated in the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act enacted on June 22, 2001, in Pennsylvania, a conservation easement will be automatically terminated if the property is condemned, allowing the district to purchase the farmland through eminent domain. However, if the conservation easement is terminated, the purchaser of the property must compensate both the property owner and the holder of the terminated conservation easement. This would cost the school district upwards of $10 million to purchase the McCormick Farm instead of the $1.5 million it was listed as.
In order to acquire the agricultural-zoned land, Cumberland Valley SD claimed that the McCormick Farm is not actually preserved, as it is not preserved through a local government program. Though a third party (Natural Lands in this instance) can enforce the conservation easement, the Conservation and Preservation Easements Act “reaffirms the rights of governmental and other entities to exercise the power of eminent domain” to purchase the farmland. Outside of eminent domain and condemnation, the school district had no other legal rights to the Mechanicsburg farmland, and the power of eminent domain needed to be approved by the court. Unfortunately, the Cumberland County court filed an appeal against the school district’s intent to acquire the McCormick Farm.
Lastly, the school district’s intent to purchase the land was highly protested by Silver Spring residents who attended school board meetings on March 5 and March 19. One resident goes so far as to claim the attendance at public school board meetings has increased “because [the residents] don’t trust [CVSD] anymore”. Situated on the Carlisle Pike, the McCormick Farm is a sentimental Mechanicsburg staple. One of the last remaining large farms along the Carlisle Pike, the McCormick Farm has been preserved since 1807 by the McCormick Family. The land was first owned by Thomas McCormick, an Irish immigrant who settled in Mechanicsburg in 1745; the stone plaque memorializing Thomas McCormick is pictured above. His descendant, James McCormick was a prominent man in Harrisburg as he was president of the Harrisburg Bridge Company, the Harrisburg Cemetary, and the Dauphin Deposit Bank. Also, he was a distant cousin of Cyrus McCormick who invented the mechanical reaper, enhancing the importance of the Mechanicsburg McCormick Farm. The land was donated to Natural Lands in the 1980s, though at the time of the Cumberland Valley intent to purchase, the farm was owned by a local family.
After met by large protest, the Cumberland Valley school district ultimately decided to withdraw their Declaration of Taking in a statement made that June due to the passage of House Bill 2468 (Act 45) on June 24, 2018, by Governor Tom Wolf. Act 45 requires entities to “obtain court approval prior to filing a Declaration of Taking against land subject to either a private or public conservation easement”; something that is retroactive against Declarations of Taking created anytime after December 3, 2017. Moreover, the school district decided that purchasing the farmland was financially not worth it. Purchasing the land would cost millions and anger local taxpayers in the process.
Flashforward 3 years later, the Cumberland Valley SD still suffers from increased enrollment. Since the construction and opening of Mountain View Middle School in 2019, one of the district’s old middle schools, Good Hope, has been empty. Earlier this month, the district announced its plans to create a 9th Grade Academy housed by the outdated Good Hope Middle School to relieve the high school capacity.
This issue brings to light the conflict of local townships balancing preservation and development to enhance the community. As an alumnus of Cumberland Valley who personally experienced the crowded halls and who struggled to get to class on time due to hallway traffic, I was angered by the township residents who lacked empathy for the school’s growing enrollment problem. On the other hand, I now recognize that this issue was more than just a school trying to spread out their student body, and it was a problem of preserving the rapidly decreasing amount of local farmland.
References:
https://conservationtools.org/guides/89-guide-to-the-conservation-and-preservation-easements-act
This is so interesting! I have never heard of this before, but the topic and way you presented the issues are especially relevant to our current project. I think as a student. I would have been upset as well if I was going to an increasingly crowded school. However, seeing the other sides of the argument, especially an argument rooted in preserving nature, is so interesting and goes to show you have to think everything to before decisions can be made. I am so happy that the land was preserved and that it was a win for those wanting to protect it (something I am sure doesn’t happen often). I feel the school should’ve been more proactive in finding other solutions instead of fighting a losing cause.
As an avid environmentalist, this was an interesting topic to read about. I know all about the topic of balancing environmental protection and civil evolution from my love for carnivorous plants. One of which, Sarracenia oreophila, is very close to extinction in the wild (although it exists in recreation, I have one in fact) mainly due to urbanization and the creation of more roads. It’s hard to argue against urbanization to seemingly better society. In my case, why would anyone care about a random plant species? Unfortunately, that is the common philosophy among many individuals and is a main cause for the destruction of various lands and biodiversity. Interested to read your next entry.
The Cumberland Valley School District’s initial decision to purchase part of the McCormick farmland and the subsequent indignation from the conservationists perfectly demonstrated the need for deliberation in society. Advantages and disadvantages were presented by both parties as to why the farmland should be bought or conserved; however, the conservationists seemed to have disregarded the school district’s reasoning for purchasing the extra land. I honestly wish the conservationists would have put more thought into the increasing student body size dilemma because considering all aspects of an issue is an important part of deliberation and could have possibly led to a better outcome for both parties involved, instead of a win/loss situation. Great post and I am excited to read more about this!