Earlier this month, the Phoenixville (Pa.) Area School District used eminent domain to seize the 52-acre property in order to build an elementary school. The club’s owners have filed an objection to the seizure, claiming that a more suitable property to house the new school and playground could have been chosen, and that a smaller portion of the property could have been seized.

The owners of Meadow Brook Golf Club, which is being seized by eminent domain, have filed an objection claiming the school district could have chosen a more suitable property to house a new elementary school, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Bill Hagner, attorney for two of the owners of the Phoenixville, Pa., club, said the owners are also objecting to the Phoenixville Area School District’s seizing all 52 acres rather than a smaller portion, the Inquirer reported.

“Their stated reason is an elementary school and maybe a playground and that kind of thing, which is probably a two- to five-acre project rather than 52 acres,” Hagner said.

The school district voted last month to take the golf course by eminent domain after more than seven years of searching for a property to build an elementary school and early learning center. School officials say the district considered more than 90 properties and settled on Meadow Brook because of its size, location in the district, and position next to the middle and high schools, allowing the district to create a single campus, the Inquirer reported.

C&RB reported on the property seizure earlier this month (“School Seizes Meadow Brook GC Property”).

Now that an objection has been filed, Hagner said a judge will decide if the seizure is legal. The owners of the golf course had been ordered to turn over the property to the school district by Thursday, but Hagner said that transfer will be delayed during the appeal, the Inquirer reported.