October 14, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Two zoning bills would make it difficult for Lankenau High School, which is slated to close next year, to be used for non-educational purposes. Above, a staff member earlier this year protests the closure the city's only environmental magnet school.
In an attempt to save Lankenau High School from closing next year, two bills have been introduced to City Council that would prevent the area around the building in Northwest Philadelphia from being developed into a residential or retail space.
The measures, introduced by Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., recommend zoning restrictions be placed on the property at 201 Spring Lane in Upper Roxborough. In April, the Board of Education approved a 10-year, $3 billion facilities plan that included closing 17 Philly schools, including Lankenau High.
The first bill, which was introduced in the spring and is scheduled to be given a second reading during Thursday’s City Council meeting, would rezone the area around Lankenau for "civic, educational and medical” use.
These designations are meant to support the "development and preservation of public-serving institutions" as well as "minimizing adverse impacts on surrounding areas" and specifically ban future residential, office, industrial or commercial purposes without a zoning variance and approval from the local Registered Community Organizations.
Joshua Cohen, chief of staff for Jones, said he expects the measure to receive "unanimous support" when it's voted on Thursday.
Last week, Jones introduced another piece of legislation that would extend the previously codified Roxborough environmental overlay to specifically include the Lankenau building. Currently, protections apply to portions of the nearby Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education and Fox Chase Farm. Under the proposal, Lankenau’s permitted uses would be restricted to natural resource preservation, community gardens and educational facilities.
"We have not given up hope that Lankenau will remain a school," Cohen said. "We continue that fight every day."
Lankenau High School, which is the city's only environmental magnet school, is scheduled to merge its programs with Walter B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences as part of the Philadelphia School District’s facilities plan.
Ownership of the 17-acre property will remain with the district, which said it intends to continue environmental education for students across Philadelphia starting in the 2028-29 school year. It was initially planned to be conveyed to the city to be converted into workforce housing. However, the neighboring Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, which partners with Lankenau for many educational programs, has challenged the district's plan to close the school and turn it into an environmental hub.
The center said it sold the building in 1973 under the condition that it only be used for educational uses and claims that it holds the right to re-purchase the property if that agreement is broken. Executive Director Erin Mooney has also expressed concern that the district's plan will duplicate services that the Schuylkill Center already provides for the area.
A representative with the district did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the proposals.
