Kardon Park sale hearing continued

The third - and expected to be final - day of testimony in a dispute over the fate of Downingtown's Kardon Park was not the charm, as the hearing did not conclude yesterday.

Chester County Court Judge Katherine B.L. Platt must decide whether Downingtown can sell half of the 40-acre park to a developer. She scheduled Nov. 23 and 25 to resume testimony, stressing that the dates remained tentative.

Two lawsuits have challenged the sale and proposed development, which includes 345 homes and 20,000 square feet of commercial space on the site, once a dumping ground for several paper mills. Opponents argue that under the state's "public trust doctrine," actively used parkland cannot be sold.

The borough contends that the public uses only about 12 acres of the 40-acre tract and that taxpayers will benefit in many ways, including upgrades the developer plans for the remaining park and at least $5 million that the sale would generate, including up to $2.3 million for a new firehouse. - Kathleen Brady Shea