PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Councilman Curtis Jones introduced a new zoning bill for Lankenau Environmental Science High School to prevent the school district from closing it.
“We’re going to keep fighting,” said Jones, who represents the Roxborough neighborhood where Lankenau sits on 17 acres. He is not happy that Lankenau is one of the schools the district plans to close as part of its $3 billion facilities plan. After trying unsuccessfully to negotiate it off the list, he turned to his legislative power with a zoning bill.
“To move forward on the restructuring of the use of the Lankenau school, prohibiting anything other than environmental educational uses.”
The bill also prohibits buildings from occupying more than 5% of the site.
The idea is to undermine the school’s redevelopment. The district declined an interview request and said it was “premature to discuss plans” for the school. But it previously said it intends to turn the property over to the city for workforce housing or job creation, both of which would be prohibited under the bill.
It's one of the schools the district plans to close
It's one of the schools the district plans to close
