Philadelphians fighting FDR Park renovation can continue their case in city court, judge says

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Philadelphians suing to stop the renovation of FDR Park in South Philadelphia will get another day in court, after a Pennsylvania judge reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

In the lawsuit filed last year, 10 residents argued the city’s $250 million plan to build dozens of new athletic fields and courts, playgrounds, a new welcome center and a tidal wetland would radically change the popular park.

They asked a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge to stop the city from cutting down more trees at the park to make way for the renovations.

That judge ruled the city’s Orphans’ Court division did not have jurisdiction over the case, because despite the renovations, the park would remain a park. In the following days, city contractors cut down 48 large trees.

The residents then appealed the case to the Commonwealth Court, where a judge on Wednesday reversed the earlier ruling.

The case now heads back to Orphans’ Court, where the residents plan to argue that artificial turf fields with permitting fees and underground stormwater storage systems would fundamentally change the park — and require City Council and court approval.

“For a year and a half we’ve been fighting just to make our case,” said South Philly resident Rich Garella, a volunteer with the activist group Save the Meadows and lead plaintiff on the lawsuit. “Now the court is saying, ‘Yes, you get to make your case.’”

The planned tidal wetland and regrading are needed to fix chronic flooding in the park, which is expected to worsen due to climate change, the city says.

Supporters of the FDR Park renovation also include youth sports coaches and advocates, who say the new fields will boost athletic opportunities for children in Philly, where many neighborhood sports fields are in poor condition.

The Fairmount Park Conservancy, the nonprofit leading the renovation, said while fees to use the playing fields will bring in revenue to support upkeep of the park, they’ll be waived for youth sports teams.

Opponents of the park renovation worry the planned turf fields, which often contain toxic PFAS chemicals, could pose a health hazard — despite a promise from the conservancy to buy PFAS-free turf. They argue that the tree cutting and earth moving will destroy an existing ecosystem that the conservancy’s plans to plant thousands of new saplings will not replace.

“We’re trying to save trees and natural resources in FDR Park, and the city and the Fairmount [Park] Conservancy are trying to destroy them,” Garella said.

The city has the option to appeal the latest decision up to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but does not plan to do so, said Ra’Chelle Rogers, communications director for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation.

The city sees the latest order as a “procedural setback” — but remains confident the Orphans’ Court will uphold the legality of the renovation work that’s underway, Rogers said.

“The City and Fairmount Park Conservancy remain committed to the FDR Park Plan — a community-informed historic investment to make FDR Park an equitable, accessible, and world-class park in terms of its recreation opportunities, climate resilience, and environmental benefit,” Rogers wrote in a written statement.