Court filing deadline for proposed Quaker Valley High School legal battle extended 2 weeks
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A deadline for legal filings regarding a proposed Quaker Valley High School in Leet Township has been extended.
Attorneys for the district, township and those petitioning to intervene in the matter have until Monday, Aug. 29 to file briefs to further make their case.
The original deadline was Monday, Aug. 15.
The legal battle surrounds the township zoning hearing board’s denial of the district’s special exception application to build a new high school earlier this year.
ZHB Solicitor Vince Restauri said Wednesday lawyers involved in the proceedings caught covid, which impacted scheduling. He did not specify which lawyers.
The school district wants to build a high school of about 167,000 square feet on about 150 acres of land off Camp Meeting Road. Project costs were estimated between $90 million and $100 million.
About 650 students would eventually be enrolled.
Leet’s zoning hearing board on Feb. 9 denied the district’s application. Its main reason was the lack of an emergency access road for police, fire, and EMS.
District officials had said they did not object to the idea, but that it would be more suitable in a land development plan and not an exception application.
The preliminary plan for the school would use about 48 acres for the building and grounds. The site already has 10 acres cleared, but the district wants to leave a lot of existing growth as a buffer.
Quaker Valley filed a 45-page appeal in Allegheny County Court on April 12.
A virtual status conference took place June 16 with Court of Common Pleas Judge Joseph James and attorneys representing the district, the zoning hearing board, and a small group of petitioners that support the board’s denial.
Attorney Lou DePaul represents a pair of petitioners whose claims include “the proposed use is dangerous, injurious, and noxious to property and persons within Leet Township; the proposed location is not more suitable than other properties in Leet Township (and) the proposed location is objectively not suitable,” according to court documents.
DePaul on Wednesday confirmed this month’s postponement of legal filings, and declined further comment.
The same was true for district Solicitor Don Palmer via email from district spokeswoman Michelle Dietz.
There are no hearings scheduled.
Restauri said there have been various informal discussions between legal teams with the possibility of a settlement on the horizon.
“We have made strides and found common ground on some, but not all of the issues,” Restauri said. “We are doing this in phases and looking at certain issues first and other issues second just as a division of labor. Some of the issues we haven’t fully explored yet.
“I believe that we’ve made real progress toward settlement. I believe settlement is possible, but we’re not there yet.”
Restauri said he could not get into details of the negotiations. However, he was sure settlement details would be public should an agreement be reached.
In the meantime, district officials continue to work with their engineering and design teams.
District Director of Facilities Charlie Gauthier hosted several public tours of the site and invited people to reach out to the district to schedule their own visits.
District officials had hoped to have the new school built and ready for students by the 2025-26 school year.
Those dreams have since been altered due to the zoning litigation. The updated plan is to have construction begin in 2025 with doors being opened in the fall 2027.
More information about the project is available in the Blueprint QV section of the district’s website, qvsd.org.