Delaware County voters will decide this November whether to let the county borrow as much as $120 million for open space, setting up a fight between conservation advocates and homebuilders over land that could otherwise host new housing. The referendum, placed on the ballot by a unanimous county council vote in July, comes as the county grapples with a housing shortage even as it moves to preserve some of its last remaining green space.
The measure would let Delaware County borrow to purchase, preserve, and improve open space, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today, whose reporting on the referendum debate forms the backbone of this story. County council members voted 5-0 on July 15 to place the $120 million bond question on the November 3 ballot, according to a report from Media Patch, which noted that council members described the authorization as an available line of credit rather than money the county would spend all at once.
If approved, the county would have a 10-year window to issue bonds up to the $120 million cap as conservation projects come up, rather than any requirement to borrow the full amount immediately, per the Delaware County Digest. County officials have estimated that if the entire bond parameter is eventually issued, it would cost the average Delaware County homeowner less than $24 a year, a figure Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer highlighted during council discussions, according to the Suburban Realtors Alliance.
Tax Fatigue Shapes the Debate
That $24-a-year framing matters because Delaware County homeowners have already absorbed two straight years of steep property tax increases. Property taxes rose 23 percent in 2025 and another 19 percent in 2026, the latter as part of a $340 million county budget that added an average of $185 annually to local tax bills, according to reporting from Media Patch. The back-to-back double-digit hikes have left county residents more sensitive than usual to new borrowing proposals, even ones framed as flexible, long-term authority rather than immediate spending.
The bond proposal traces back to a Delaware County Greenways Finance Feasibility Study presented to council in June, developed in partnership with the Trust for Public Land, Natural Lands, and The Nature Conservancy, the Delaware County Digest reported. County council members have also said the bond funds could give municipalities financial tools to resist large-scale warehouse and data center development, an issue that has grown more pressing as suburban towns across the region face rising interest from commercial developers eyeing vacant parcels.
Vice chair of Delaware County Council Christine A. Reuther has said the bond money could fund more than just buying large tracts of land, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today. Possible uses cited in that reporting include trails, stormwater infrastructure, brownfield redevelopment, and improvements to existing parks.
Delco Woods and the Eminent Domain Bill
Much of the financial pressure behind the referendum traces to Delco Woods, the former Don Guanella School site in Marple Township that Delaware County acquired through eminent domain in 2021. The county initially paid $23.85 million for the 213-acre property, but a board of view later valued the parcels at approximately $50.5 million, with accruing interest on that valuation reaching roughly $1.7 million, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today. The county is appealing that board of view valuation, and bond proceeds could cover whatever balance Delaware County ultimately owes for the site.
Bond proceeds could also help fund the estimated $50 million transformation of Delco Woods into a public park, per PHILADELPHIA.Today's reporting. A master plan unveiled in April 2025 designates 170 of the property's 213 acres to remain protected forest, wetlands, and stream corridors, with a half-mile woodland loop trail added, according to WHYY, which has described the site as the largest remaining forested parcel in eastern Delaware County. County officials have said the referendum itself is not contingent on Delco Woods, even as the site remains the county's highest-profile and most expensive open-space acquisition.
The Delco Woods saga has already produced political friction once before. Delaware County dropped plans in May 2024 to build a Long Term Structured Residence mental health facility on a 38-acre developed portion of the property after fierce pushback from Marple Township residents, WHYY reported at the time, with local residents arguing the entire tract should stay dedicated to passive parkland. Hoodline previously covered the search for an alternate LTSR site as that debate played out.
Homebuilders Push Back
Real estate and homebuilding representatives have warned that preserving additional developable land could worsen the county's already strained housing supply, according to PHILADELPHIA.Today's reporting on the referendum. Lauren Adams, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Chester & Delaware Counties, said Delaware County is among Pennsylvania's most land-constrained counties and faces a significant housing shortage, per that same account. Adams has said policymakers should prioritize attainable housing development where appropriate.
The numbers underline her concern. Delaware County needs an estimated 15,000 additional housing units over the next five years, and the median home sale price hit $420,000 in June, up 17 percent over three years, PHILADELPHIA.Today reported. Ryan Mulligan reported on the referendum debate for the Philadelphia Business Journal, according to the same sourcing, underscoring that the fight over the bond has drawn attention beyond county borders.
A History of Support for Open Space
Delaware County voters have backed land conservation borrowing before. In May 2005, 80 percent of county voters approved the statewide $625 million Growing Greener II bond measure, which directed $300 million toward open space, farmland, and brownfield revitalization, according to the Trust for Public Land — well above the 61 percent approval the measure received statewide. That history offers conservation advocates a data point as they make the case for this fall's referendum, even as the county's fiscal picture looks different than it did two decades ago.
The county's park system has grown substantially in recent years, expanding to 855 acres under former Parks Director Marc Manfre, who retired in July 2024 after 34 years overseeing the county's open spaces and recreation projects, as Hoodline reported in Manfre's retirement coverage. Major projects during his tenure included the Rose Tree Park destination playground and renovations at Upland Park. Whether that growth continues at the scale envisioned by the $120 million bond now rests with voters, who will settle the question on November 3.
