Suburban REALTORS? Alliance News Brief Headlines-week of: May 3, 2021
Suburban REALTORS? Alliance
News Brief Headlines
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- Pennsylvania to lose another Congressional seat
- NAR preps for virtual Realtors? legislative meetings
- Bedminster adopts property maintenance ordinance
- Bucks rescinds Upper Makefield polling place change until after primary
- Upper Makefield rejects Toll Bros. subdivision request
- Doylestown couple works to find housing for autistic adults
- County OKs $50K to support first-time homebuyers
- New train station facility on track in Coatesville
- East Goshen to revise peddling and soliciting process
- Southern Chesco trail feasibility study available
- CWA says receivership no longer needed in Chester
- Delco officials outline challenges and accomplishments
- Haverford mourns sudden death of Commissioner Andy Lewis
- State awards more than $300K in grants to Nether Providence
- Lower Merion schools budget nears $300M, includes tax increase
- $66 million Pottstown School budget holds the line on taxes
- Norristown authorizes advertisement of stormwater authority ordinance
- Montco announces ballot drop-boxes for May 18 primary
- Norristown municipal offices to relocate during renovations
- As sheriff’s sales move online, City Council doubts deepen
General
Pennsylvania to lose another Congressional seat
Pennsylvania will lose one of its seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Census Bureau has confirmed, setting up a high-stakes redistricting process as Democrats and Republicans battle to protect their incumbents. The bureau released its long-awaited state population totals as part of the decennial count that determines distribution of 435 congressional seats, as well as Electoral College votes. When the 2022 midterm elections arrive, Pennsylvania will have 17 congressional districts, as opposed to the 18 currently represented evenly by Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Pennsylvania will also lose one of its 20 Electoral College votes, further decreasing its clout during presidential contests. Pennsylvania’s congressional map is drawn by the 253-member General Assembly and must be approved by the governor. Overall, Pennsylvania’s population grew by an anemic 2.4% between 2010 and 2020, topping 13 million people, according to data released Monday — nearly four months behind schedule. More granular data won’t be released until August at the earliest, but recent census estimates showed growth in south-central and Southeastern Pennsylvania, with declines essentially everywhere else.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 4/26/2021
NAR preps for virtual Realtors? legislative meetings
For the second year in a row, the National Association of Realtors? Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo will be held virtually and will be free for members to attend. With sessions spread out over two weeks — Monday, May 3, to Friday, May 14 — the meetings will place user experience top-of-mind with intuitive interfaces, useful tools, seamless content dissemination, and the ability to forge valuable connections with other participants and sponsors. Register here and help make a difference in advancing issues important to the real estate profession and the livelihood of Realtors.
Bucks
Bedminster adopts property maintenance ordinance
Bedminster Township supervisors recently adopted Ordinance #246, enacting rules and regulations that “assure the proper maintenance, care, and if necessary, replacement” of private-property roadside infrastructure. The ordinance sets forth guidelines for parking during winter storms; requires the maintenance, construction, and repair of sidewalks, curbs and gutters, in conformity to township-established lines and grades; requires maintenance of properties up to the edge of adjacent streets; provides for snow and ice removal regulations; precludes the removal of healthy street trees, and requires the replacement of street trees that are removed. The ordinance also authorizes notices to do work and inspections; provides for emergency repairs by the township; and prescribes penalties for violations. While Bedminster already requires a code inspection of homes being sold, the new ordinance provides the township with a mechanism to assure ongoing maintenance of property. The township noted it had “experienced situations in which property owners attempted to avoid” related obligations.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 4/22/2021
Bucks rescinds Upper Makefield polling place change until after primary
The Bucks County Board of Elections voted to rescind a change that would have moved Upper Makefield Township’s 4th District voting location to Washington Crossing Methodist Church. Instead, all four of the township’s voting districts will submit their votes at Sol Feinstone Elementary School at 1090 Eagle Road. The election board will review the polling place after the May primary. Click here for the Bucks County 2021 Municipal Primary Information Portal.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 4/26/2021
Upper Makefield rejects Toll Brothers subdivision request
Upper Makefield Township supervisors unanimously rejected a proposal from Toll Brothers to build 45 single-family homes on 66 acres off Stoopville Road, an area commonly referred to as the Melsky Tract Subdivision. Supervisors say they rejected the proposal because Toll is asking to build too many homes on the property and they worry about the proper infiltration of stormwater. Upper Makefield has an ordinance that requires proper infiltration in order to avoid disruptive runoff of stormwater. The subdivision plan has been back and forth between the township and Bucks County Court since 2007, and Township Manager Dave Nyman expects the latest decision to end in litigation as well.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 4/22/2021
Doylestown couple works to find housing for autistic adults
Jim and Nancy Richardson, of Doylestown Township, have formed a nonprofit, Neuro-Diverse Living, to help establish community living arrangements for autistic adults, so they can live more independently but have support and socialization when they need and want it. The Richardsons have a 27-year-old autistic son and are concerned about his future — as well as the millions of other autistic adults across the country who will need care. The couple hopes for either single group homes, or co-housing communities where high-functioning autistic adults and others who want to help could look out for one another in separate homes situated close together. One of the biggest challenges they anticipate is getting municipal officials to approve the required zoning variances to allow nonrelated persons to live together in a group home. Each municipality has its own zoning regulations for group homes, said Bucks County Planning Director Evan Stone. A larger hurdle would be an intentional co-housing community, because federal and state regulations regarding “consolidated waivers” to help people with those disabilities pay for housing won’t allow the homes to be grouped together. According to Mary Dunn, Bucks County’s deputy administrator for developmental programs, the waivers are designed to prevent segregating people with disabilities from the “fabric of life in the community.” In Pennsylvania, 2014 census data showed a 334% rise in adults with autism since 2005 and predicted it would rise to over 36,000 adults with autism living in the commonwealth by 2020.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 4/27/2021
Chester
County OKs $50K to support first-time homebuyers
The Chester County Commissioners recently approved a $50,000 contract with Coatesville-based nonprofit Movement Community Development Corporation (MCDC) to provide outreach and budgeting guidance for current residents seeking to buy their first homes in Coatesville. Specifically, the contract is for MCDC’s Coatesville Home Ownership Made Easy (CHOME) program. “This project is important and necessary because it lets those who are living in Coatesville take advantage of the revitalization, to remain part of the community, and help it to thrive,” said Commissioners Chair Marian Moskowitz.”
Source: Daily Local; 4/26/2021
New train station facility on track in Coatesville
Plans to build a parking and transportation facility adjacent to the new Coatesville train station received another boost in state funding this week. The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Coatesville (RDA) was awarded $650,000 in state funding to support the project, which calls for constructing a 175,000-square-foot multimodal parking facility and commuter parking facility on Fleetwood Street to serve users at the new train station. “Investments in Coatesville’s transportation infrastructure will pay dividends in the economic success of the city and economic opportunities for its residents,” state Sen. Carolyn Comitta said. “Pairing the new train station with this parking and transportation facility will make Coatesville a true multimodal transit hub.” The Third Avenue Streetscape project aims to transform Third Avenue as a gateway into Coatesville from the new train station by repaving Third Avenue and installing sidewalk amenities. The RDA got $1 million in state funding for the parking facility earlier this year, and it is now working with the city to construct the facility to support the train station, widely considered a lynchpin of the city’s ongoing revitalization plans and strategic economic development vision.
Source: Daily Local News; 4/25/2021
East Goshen to revise peddling and soliciting process
The East Goshen Township Board of Supervisors will consider revisions to the process for the issuance of peddling and soliciting licenses. The changes will be considered at a public hearing during the regular meeting on Tuesday, May 4, at 7 p.m.
Source: Daily Local; 4/26/2021
Southern Chesco trail feasibility study available
The draft report of the Southern Chester County Circuit Trail Feasibility Study is now available online and will be open for public comment through Friday, May 7, at 4 p.m. The study seeks to identify a feasible alignment for the development of a continuous, off-road, multi-use trail to connect the boroughs and growth areas in southern Chester County to the Brandywine Trail and the Circuit, the Greater Philadelphia region's network of over 800 miles of existing and planned multi-use trails. Learn more about the study and how to submit comments here.
Source: Chester County Planning Department; 4/20/2021
Delaware
CWA says receivership no longer needed in Chester
The Chester Water Authority (CWA) says it’s time for the City of Chester’s receivership to end. Frank Catania, the CWA’s solicitor, sent letters to the city’s state-appointed receiver, Michael T. Doweary, and Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland saying the city is financially solvent, its full Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) payments to its three pension funds will be fulfilled in 2021, the debt service on the city’s outstanding bonds will be fully paid, and there’s enough in the city budget to pay for vital and necessary services during the year — all without the $31 million earmarked for the city through the American Rescue Plan. “[T]he city no longer qualifies for a receivership,” Catania wrote in his letter to Kirkland. “Specifically, the receivership must terminate once the city is projected to be solvent for 180 days and is able to ensure the continued provision of vital and necessary services.” In documents filed with Commonwealth Court, Doweary has repeatedly noted the city’s precarious ability to fund the three pension funds and retiree health care benefits, which cost the city more than $500,000 a month and anywhere from 30% to 37% of its operating budget — a budget the receiver says will see a negative balance from 2023 going forward if nothing changes. In April, the receiver stated that Chester was unable to make the full contributions to the employees’ pension funds. In fact, the receiver has said the last time the city made its full MMO was in 2013. Gov. Tom Wolf declared a fiscal emergency in the City of Chester in April 2020, and Doweary was appointed as receiver two months later.
Source: Daily Times; 4/25/2021
Delco officials outline challenges and accomplishments
Delaware County Council delivered a State of the County address, looking back over the past year consumed by the deadly pandemic and ahead to priorities for the upcoming year, including setting up the county health department and deprivatizating the county prison. “2020 and 2021 have been full of challenges we could have never expected,” Council Chairman Brian Zidek said. “It has also shown how strong and resilient our community is and it has provided us a clearer vision of what we need to do to make Delaware County a fairer, equitable and inclusive community for all.” The council cited the four rounds of the Delco Strong program, which distributed over $19 million to more than 1,600 businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by virus-mitigation measures. Zidek also highlighted the county’s use of federal funds to give $20 million to schools to help them with getting PPE and needed supplies for in-person learning, providing digital devices or upgrading broadband capabilities. Watch the full address here.
Source: Daily Times; 4/24/2021
Haverford mourns sudden death of Commissioner Andy Lewis
Haverford Township Commissioner and former Delaware County Councilman Andy Lewis died Saturday at age 64. He had been diagnosed in early April with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, a rare neurodegenerative disease with no known cause or treatment. Lewis, a Republican, had long been involved in government on the local scale. He was elected in 1986 as township supervisor in Skippack Township, Montgomery County. He moved to Haverford in 1997, and in 2003 was elected as the Fifth Ward commissioner. In 2007, he was elected to Delaware County Council, where he completed a four-year term and decided against seeking re-election. In 2015, Lewis again ran for Haverford Township commissioner and won in a write-in campaign against two other candidates on a platform of good government and “getting things done.” During his time in office, he played a major role in the shaping of the Haverford Reserve development and the Community Recreation & Environmental Center on the former Haverford State Hospital property. Haverford’s Home Rule Charter requires the board to fill Lewis’s seat within 30 days. The person so appointed will serve until the November election, when a new individual will be elected to complete the term. Additional information on the structure of the board of commissioners can be found here. Interested parties may contact the township manager at [email protected].
Source: Daily Times; 4/20/2021 and Haverford Township; 4/26/2021
State awards more than $300K in grants to Nether Providence
State Rep. Leanne Krueger (D-161), of Nether Providence, announced that Nether Providence was awarded more than $300,000 in state grants by the Commonwealth Financing Authority for several projects:
- $250,000 in Multimodal Transportation funds for Walkable Wallingford — Providence Road Sidewalk, Phase II. The township plans to install 1.5 miles of new ADA-accessible sidewalk along Providence Road, from Plush Mill Road to Chester Road.
- $42,000 in Greenways, Trails and Recreation funding to go toward Furness Park Phase II Trail Development. A recreational walking loop was constructed in Phase I, and Phase II will connect the loop to several neighborhoods north of the train station, making it safer and easier for residents to access recreational opportunities and mass transit.
- $22,000 in Watershed Restoration Protection Program funding to improve water quality and remediate flooding issues for residents on Palmers Lane and Briarwood Road by expanding the downstream storm sewer system.
Source: Daily Times; 4/24/2021
Montgomery
Lower Merion schools budget nears $300M, includes tax increase
The Lower Merion School Board recently passed a $294 million 2021-2022 proposed final budget that includes a 3% tax increase, the maximum allowed by the state’s Act 1 index without special exceptions. The district will not dip into its fund balance, instead using the tax hike to close a $7 million budget gap between expenses and revenues. If adopted without change, the millage rate will increase from 30.1734 to 31.0786 mills. The average home assessed at $250,000 would see a tax increase of $227 for a total school tax bill of $7,791. District officials pointed out the lack of money the district gets from the state and federal governments. Officials reported that 85.4% of the district’s money comes from local tax sources, with $234 million in local real estate taxes and an additional $10 million from other local tax sources like the real estate transfer tax. The district will receive $40 million from the state and $2.1 million from the federal government. The board is expected to vote on the final budget in June.
Source: Main Line Media News; 4/23/2021
$66 million Pottstown School budget holds the line on taxes
The Pottstown Area School Board unanimously adopted a $66 million preliminary budget that does not include a tax increase. If adopted without change, it will mark the third consecutive year without a tax increase for the district. A $1.6 million deficit in the budget will be covered using reserve funds. District Business Manager Maureen Jampo reported to the board that a long trend of dropping assessed property values appears to be on the wane. Total assessed property value in Pottstown has dropped $48.7 million since 2015. The district will receive $9.7 million in funding to be spent on COVID-related expenses, but School Board Member John Armato noted that it should not be viewed as a “windfall.” Armato said it is “fortunate” that Pottstown’s economy seems to be on the upswing but it is not enough to offset a shortfall in state funding that could be remedied if the state would route all school funding through the fair funding formula instead of the 11% allocated in 2020. The vote on the final budget is scheduled for Thursday, May 20.
Source: Pottstown Mercury; 4/23/2021
Norristown authorizes advertisement of stormwater authority ordinance
Norristown Municipal Council approved the advertisement of an ordinance that will create a stormwater authority for the municipality. A 16-member stormwater advisory committee, along with Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc., crafted recommendations for the municipality to revamp its existing stormwater management practices to comply with state standards. The Norristown Stormwater Authority would include Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones, Council President Derrick Perry, Vice President Thomas Lepera and five other members yet to be named. Jones said it wasn’t necessary to name any members at this time, but there would need to be candidates decided by the time the official ordinance comes before council in late May.
Source: Times Herald; 4/22/2021
Montco announces ballot drop-boxes for May 18 primary
The Montgomery County Board of Elections announced the locations of 11 secure ballot drop-off boxes to help voters meet the Tuesday, May 18, primary election deadline. Completed mail-in ballots and absentee ballots may be dropped off starting Saturday, May 1, at 10 a.m. Ballots placed in the secure ballot boxes will be delivered daily to Montgomery County Voter Services by county sheriffs, and date-stamped when they are received. Voter Services satellite offices will also be available on weekends beginning May 1 for any voters who prefer to apply for their ballot in person before the Monday, May 3, application deadline. Residents can apply for a mail-in ballot, receive it, complete it and place it in a secure ballot box at these locations. Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, some polling locations were moved. Final polling locations are being continuously updated and will be posted on the county website.
Source: Montgomery County; 4/2021
Norristown municipal offices to relocate during renovations
The offices at Norristown Municipal Hall will be closed on Tuesday, May 4, in order to move government offices to temporary space in Logan Commerce Center, 1700 Markley St., Suite 104. The offices are moving due to a renovation of Municipal Hall that is expected to be completed in late 2022. The following offices will move: administration, human resources, finance, Norristown Fire Department, planning and municipal development, and building and code enforcement. The Norristown Police Department, housed in Municipal Hall, will be open on May 4 and throughout the renovation.
Source: Norristown Municipality
Philadelphia
As sheriff’s sales move online, city council doubts deepen
After a year’s hiatus due to the pandemic, the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office has resumed sales of foreclosed properties, moving from in-person auctions conducted in a rented West Philadelphia conference room to an online vendor named Bid4Assets. Sheriff Rochelle Bilal says the auctions are safe, convenient and cost-effective, which will benefit the sellers — property owners who couldn’t keep up with tax payments or their mortgages. Some city council members worry that the move will encourage land speculators from out of town to grab properties in the city and increase gentrification. They are concerned that the technologically savvy will have an edge over Philadelphians without easy computer access and are questioning whether the Sheriff’s Office’s deal imposes too many fees on homeowners. They’ve asked Bilal to hit the brakes until staffers can better grasp the impact online sales may have on properties and homeowners. The sheriff has resisted. Councilmember Cherelle L. Parker, chair of council’s Labor and Civil Service Committee, is concerned the online deal would lower the rate of homeownership by people of color and locals. The Sheriff’s Office has been under intense scrutiny in recent years as the department has been rife with lawsuits and accusations of poor money management. Bid4Assets, which has been in business since 1999, entered the Pennsylvania market in October with a contract to auction properties for Montgomery County. The site has since struck deals with Bucks, Berks, Monroe and Adams counties. The company does not charge the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office for its services but places a buyer’s premium on all properties. Winner of a tax foreclosure would pay a premium of 10% of the property’s sale price to Bid4Assets. For mortgage foreclosures, the premium is 1.5%. Everyone who wants to bid also has to deposit $1,500 before the start of the sale. This amount is refundable if they do not win a bid that day. There is also a $35 deposit fee for each deposit made. Once a bid wins, a processing fee costs another $35. Homeowners whose homes are foreclosed on do not have to pay any of the fees. By law, for tax foreclosures, any money not used to settle overdue utilities or other delinquencies is returned to the homeowner. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 4/27/2021
Steve Sisman
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