Altoona residents speak in opposition to plan to remove community park

WPSU | By Sydney Roach

Published December 23, 2024 at 2:34 PM EST

Patricia Reed (left) and Lisa Dalansky (right) are part of a growing group in the Altoona area voicing opposition to the city's plan to replace Orchard Park with low-income housing.

Altoona city officials are moving forward with a plan to replace a community park with low-income housing, despite strong opposition from some community residents.

Orchard Park is in Altoona’s Fairview neighborhood near Irving Elementary. It’s the only public park in the neighborhood since the city removed a similar park on Lexington Avenue for housing last year.

Speaking at Friday’s redevelopment authority meeting, Timothy Smith made a plea to save Orchard Park.

Timothy Smith (standing) spoke to Altoona's redevelopment authority on Friday. He made a plea to table a motion to approve a proposal to replace Orchard Park with low-income housing.

“We want the needs of our children and our grandchildren to enjoy what remains of nature and the green space to be maintained," Smith said.

Smith was one of several people who spoke in opposition to the plan. Residents also presented a petition with more than 900 digital signatures to preserve the park.

Redevelopment authority members voted 5-1 to move ahead with removing the playground and building seven single-family homes.

Matt Pacifico, the city’s mayor and member of the redevelopment authority, acknowledged in an interview after the meeting that the park is important to some residents.

“But to everybody else that looks at that, it's a piece of playground equipment on a very underutilized piece of land that is not really providing much value to the city as it currently sits," Pacifico said.

Orchard Park is near Irving Elementary in Altoona's Fairview neighborhood. Altoona's redevelopment authority accepted a proposal from Jeff S. Long Construction to replace the park with seven single-family homes.

Pacifico said he is working with the parks and recreation director to build another park in the Logantown area, but there are no concrete plans yet.

Some residents in the area say they are now considering moving, and plan to continue voicing opposition at the city council meeting on Jan. 13, 2025.

Lisa Dalansky is part of the "Friends of Little Orchard Park" group that is organizing in an attempt to reverse the city's decision. She lives in the neighborhood and said she often brought her kids to the park while they were growing up.

"You can find somewhere else to put low-income housing. God knows you can," Dalansky said. "This is an existing park that the kids have come to love and use."

Dalansky said there is playground equipment at the nearby elementary school, but it is locked after school hours. She worries there will soon be nowhere for kids to play other than the streets.