UMASD proposes tennis courts on township land; residents raise trees, stormwater and access concerns

Representatives from the Upper Merion Area School District (UMASD) presented plans to the Upper Merion Park & Recreation Advisory Board on Feb. 10 to build new tennis courts on township-owned land that the district would construct and the township would maintain.

Residents at the meeting raised questions about tree removal and replanting, stormwater management, the precise location of the courts, vehicular access to the site and whether the courts will meet Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards. The landscape architect at the meeting said the project is awaiting county permits and the approval of the Upper Merion Board of Supervisors before it can proceed.

The minutes record that the courts would be built by the school district and maintained by the township; county review and Board of Supervisors sign-off were listed as prerequisites. The board took no formal vote on the proposal at the Feb. 10 meeting.

The meeting included community members and several district and township officials in attendance; the minutes list UM Township Manager Tony Hamady and UMASD Director of Operations Robert Malkowski as attendees. The minutes also list Charles Scanzello of T&M as the landscape architect; the minutes say the landscape architect stated that permits from the county and Supervisor approval are still outstanding.

Next steps identified in the minutes: continued review by the county permitting authority and securing Board of Supervisors approval. The minutes do not provide a timeline for those approvals or construction start dates.

No formal motions or approvals related to the tennis courts were recorded in the meeting minutes.