Edgmont sets date for public meeting at PSU Brandywine regarding Game Commission land swap

Edgmont Township will host a Pennsylvania Game Commission meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17, so residents can learn more about a land swap for the former Sleighton Farm School property. 

The 176.8 acres will become Delaware County’s first game preserve, said Travis Lau, a spokesman for the Game Commission. The Game Commission Board voted 6-3 to approve the deal on Jan. 24. 

“These exchanges haven’t been finalized, but because they have already been approved, no further action is needed by the board,” said Lau. 

However, Delaware County’s gain may come at the expense of Limerick Township. As previously reported by Fideri News Network, 55 acres of state game land in that Montgomery County community will go to developer Limerick Town Center LLC. In return, the state will get 60 acres in Limerick abutting its existing land and another 377 acres in Berks County, as well as the Edgmont property.

Many Limerick residents opposed the swap and turned out to meetings to express their ire. Limerick Township supervisors then sent a letter to the Game Commission opposing the swap, to no avail. 

Some Limerick residents fear the trade might result in a data center and complain that the new state land is a wetland and surrounded by railroad tracks.  The new game land tract will include 200 acres as an entryway. 

At the Jan. 24 meeting, Game Commissioner Todd Pride of Cochranville in Chester County spoke in favor of the swap, saying it benefits the state because the other site was zoned as heavy industrial and might have led to an undesirable neighbor next to the game land and “clearly would have an impact on our existing game land if we do nothing.” 

This adjacent land, which is five acres more that what the state previously owned, is also next to the Schuylkill River.

“We’re protecting an area along the Schuylkill River,” said Pride. The state is gaining property that he believes might be valued at $20 million.

The Feb. 17 Edgmont meeting is slated for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Penn State Brandywine, 25 Yearsley Mill Rd., Media, in the Student Union, rooms 114- 117. 

A question and answer session will follow the Game Commission’s presentation, said township Manager Ken Kynett. Residents of nearby Middletown and Thornbury might also be interested in attending, he said.