Council votes to discharge South Street–Reservoir Park trail easement after years of debate

Phoenixville Borough Council voted 5–3 to direct the borough solicitor to draft documents to discharge a public trail/landscape easement that had been intended to create a trail connection from South Street to Reservoir Park.

Parks & Recreation staff and committee members noted the trail connection had been discussed for years; Parks and Rec ultimately recommended not building the connection after committee review. At the Feb. 11 meeting, resident Zachary Zobro addressed council during public comment, urging discharge of the easement and describing impacts of the proposed trail on private property and native grassland in Reservoir Park: “This trail disrupts an otherwise reasonable buffer between private and public...this easement contains some of the only unmowed native plants and grasses in the whole of Rez Park,” he said, and urged council to “discharge the easement back to my family.”

Supporters of discharging the easement told council there is sufficient sidewalk and trail access elsewhere and that the South Street segment would be underused, difficult to construct as an accessible route, and would cut into native habitat. Opponents argued the connection advanced walkability and provided a safe, formal access point for neighboring areas and that future opportunities (for example PennDOT right‑of‑way releases) might make a trail more useful.

Council voted 5 in favor and 3 opposed to discharge the easement and to give the solicitor authority to prepare the necessary documents. Council members noted the decision does not prevent future trail work on other parcels if circumstances (including PennDOT actions) change.

Why it matters: The decision ends a long‑running proposal to create a small trail connection that residents and committees debated for several years and illustrates tradeoffs between neighborhood access, ecological preservation, and property‑line impacts.