A weekly roundup of real estate news, compiled by Suburban Realtors? Alliance week of: 12/23/2022
Burning Bush — a.k.a. Euonymus alatus — won't be sold in Pennsylvania starting next year. The “non-native, widely planted landscape shrub popular for its fire-engine-red fall foliage” is considered an invasive species by the state Department of Agriculture.
Weekly News Briefs
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General
Sale of burning bush to be banned in Pennsylvania in 2023
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture joined nearly two dozen other states by banning the sale of burning bush (Euonymus alatus). Pennsylvania’s ban begins in early 2023. The plant is considered an invasive species that is not native to the region and spreads when birds carry berries into the woodlands where it crowds out native species. Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) and winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) are two native alternatives that provide red color through autumn and into winter.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 12/16/2022
Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority launches new informational website
The Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority has promised to keep the lines of communication open with residents as the group works toward restoring passenger rail services between Reading and Philadelphia. The authority has launched?a website?dedicated to the project that will be a hub for all information and updates related to the project.?
Source: Daily Local; 12/21/2022
FAQ: National Flood Insurance Program expires Dec. 23
The National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) authority to provide flood insurance is set to expire at midnight on Friday, Dec. 23. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is making every effort to secure a long-term reauthorization of the program. NAR has compiled?answers to frequently asked questions?about what a potential lapse means for upcoming closings and several proactive steps people can take in the meantime. Congress is expected to attach a longer NFIP extension to a broader government funding package before the end of the year. NAR is urging the longest extension possible while Congress continues working toward a five-year NFIP reauthorization and reform measure.
Source: Nar.realtor; 12/16/2022
White House releases Inflation Reduction Act guidebook
The White House released the?first edition of a new resource titled “Building a Clean Energy Economy: A Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act’s Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action,” which provides clear descriptions of the law’s tax incentives and funding programs to build a clean energy economy, lower energy costs, tackle climate change and reduce harmful pollution. The Inflation Reduction Act empowers and equips homeowners who want to make upgrades so they can save energy and reduce their energy costs. Families can save money on their monthly energy bills by choosing energy-efficient appliances that use less electricity. They can fix inefficiencies, like drafty windows and poor insulation, that lead to energy waste. New tax credits and deductions in the Inflation Reduction Act can: reduce the cost of energy-efficient home upgrades, including heat pumps and other appliances, windows and doors; offset the cost of adding residential clean-energy sources, including solar panels and battery storage; and make constructing energy-efficient single and multi-family homes cheaper and easier. The law also includes nearly $9 billion for consumer home energy rebate programs to electrify home appliances and perform energy efficient retrofits, with a focus on low-income consumers.?
Source: Nar.realtor; 12/15/2022
Trash troubles started with pandemic, still going
In Philadelphia and across the nation, the pandemic has exposed major problems with trash pickup. In many places, refuse went uncollected as workers got sick or struggled with getting personal protective equipment, and garbage in residential neighborhoods piled up from people working from home. Local jurisdictions still face trash problems that surfaced during the pandemic and are exacerbated by inflation and a scarce workforce. Cities are having to increase wages and add bonuses to attract and keep sanitation workers. Landfill tipping fees have gone up, and there’s still a higher percentage of trash accumulating in residential areas than there was before the pandemic began. The challenges have led to higher costs for cities and counties, and efforts to increase or shift budgets to cope are having mixed success. In Philadelphia, on-time trash collection rates have jumped from 56% in the first quarter of fiscal 2022 to 96% in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, which started in September. In addition, the city has increased the number of budgeted personnel who directly handle trash and collection from 960 to 1,108 employees.?
Source: Daily Times; 12/19/2022
Happy Holidays from Suburban Realtors Alliance
The Suburban Realtors Alliance office will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26, and Monday, Jan. 2, in observance of the holidays. The municipal database and other resources will continue to be available?on the Alliance website. The next edition of the weekly news briefs will be sent on Friday, Jan. 6, 2023.?
Bucks?
Warrington adopts budget with tax increase
Ahead of adopting the budget for 2023, Warrington Township supervisors approved the hiring of an additional police officer for the coming year. The move was in response to the concerns of residents who requested the township address safety issues. In order to cover the cost associated with hiring an additional officer and addressing other public safety matters, the board approved the 2023 budget, which will include a tax increase of 1.5 mills. According to Township Manager Barry P. Luber, the increase equates to approximately $40 per household. The 2023 adopted budget changes have increased the structural funding gap, resulting in the need for an approximate 6-mill tax increase over the next five years, based on economic projections. The 2023 budget can be viewed?on the township website.
Source: The Reporter; 12/11/2022
Doylestown seeks to fill Ward 2 council vacancy
The Borough of Doylestown is accepting applications to fill a?vacancy?on borough council for?Ward 2, for a term ending on Dec. 31, 2023. Residents of Ward 2 who have lived there since Dec. 19 and who are interested in serving should submit a letter of interest and a resume to the attention of John H. Davis, Manager, Doylestown Borough, 10 Doyle St., Doylestown, PA, 18901. Applications will be accepted until Dec. 31.
Source: Doylestown Borough
Bristol Township keeps taxes level, but fees will rise slightly
Bristol Township Council voted to approve a $66.7 million spending plan at its Dec. 15 meeting. The millage rate will remain flat at 23.98, marking at least a decade without a tax increase. While the property tax rate will remain steady, the streetlight and refuse fees will increase. In the proposed budget, township officials said they expect revenues to increase by $4.6 million due to increased permitting fees from new development, continued increases in earned income tax revenues, and $1.2 million in revenue replacement from the American Rescue Plan Act. Read more?here.
Source: Levittown Now; 12/16/2022
Bucks, Montco officials have ‘optimistic’ outlook for job market
Officials from Bucks and Montgomery counties’ workforce development departments said they have an “optimistic” outlook for the coming year, as unemployment rates dropped to pre-pandemic levels in December with employers across all industries looking to hire. Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) reported Bucks County’s unemployment rate at about 3% and Montgomery County’s rate at just under 3%. Both Bucks and Montgomery counties participate in the?state’s CareerLink program, which is part of the L&I’s initiative to transform the landscape of how job-seekers find family-sustaining jobs and how employers find the skilled candidates they need. More information about Bucks County’s CareerLink program can be found under the?Workforce and Economic Development webpage. Montgomery County’s CareerLink information can be found?online here.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 12/11/2022?
Chester
Kennett Square Borough property owners will see a 52% tax hike
Residents who are property owners in Kennett Square Borough will see a sharp increase in taxes in the coming year. Borough council voted unanimously in favor of the 2023 budget, which calls for a tax rate of 10.25 mills — a 52% hike over the 2022 rate of 6.75 mills. “The Borough Council completed a strategic planning effort in the summer and, with the assistance of residents, identified their top priorities,” said Kyle Coleman, borough manager. “Chief among these was capital improvement — in other words, making improvements to core, public assets like roads, street signs.”?
Source: Daily Local; 12/20/2022
West Chester University students protest affordable housing shortage
About 30 protesters battled the cold to voice their fears over what they see as a growing crisis affecting West Chester University students — a lack of affordable and available housing. The students marched from campus to the home of the university’s president, Christopher M. Fiorentino, chanting “I can’t go home, I have no home.” An online petition demands the university build more dorms and provide stipends for pricier, off-campus alternatives. The effort began this month after some students received emails notifying them that they had been denied a spot in university-owned dorms for the 2023 fall semester. Students have been critical of the university’s relationship with University Student Housing, the private housing company that operates a sizable portion of the school’s on-campus dorms and falls under the school’s tax-exempt nonprofit, the West Chester University Foundation. West Chester University has around 5,200 on-campus dorms, according to a university spokesperson. A little over half are owned and operated by University Student Housing, and cost considerably more than the university-owned dorm rooms. For example, a spot in a university-owned double room on North Campus runs students $2,897 per semester. A double offered by University Student Housing, meanwhile, charges nearly twice that: $5,396 per semester. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in West Chester is $1,858, according to the rental website RentCafe.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 12/14/2022
Chester County budget includes no tax hike
Taxpayers in Chester County will see no increase in their property tax bills to fund county government in 2023, the second year in a row that the millage rate has stayed the same. The commissioners unanimously approved the?$670.7 million spending plan, which represents a $17.6 million decrease in spending from 2022.?
Source: Daily Local; 12/18/2022
In Kimberton and East Pikeland, trust preserves land and connects trails
French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, in partnership with East Pikeland Township, has protected another 4.5 acres in northern Chester County. The conservation easement on a Prizer Road property in Kimberton Village was founded through the township’s open space initiative. The land, the longtime home of the Dixon family, is adjacent to existing open space and includes an important wetlands habitat in the heart of Kimberton Village. Under current zoning, this property could have been developed into 10 townhouse units, but it is now protected from development in perpetuity. The easement will also allow for 230 feet of public trail connecting the township-owned parking lot along Prizer Road with planned trails along the nearby creek.?
Source: Daily Local; 12/18/2022
Farm in Lower Oxford protected from future development
A farm in Lower Oxford Township has been protected from future development. The 50-acre Daniel B. and Rachel B. King crop and livestock farm has been preserved using $197,000 of county and state funds. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently?announced?that 30 more farms in the state encompassing 2,478 acres in 18 counties were protected from future development.
Source: Daily Local; 12/17/2022
West Sadsbury looks to repeal open space tax
The Board of Supervisors of West Sadsbury Township will consider with an intent to adopt an ordinance repealing the imposition of the 0.2% tax rate on earned income for open space benefits and purposes. The move follows a?referendum vote?in the November election. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023, following reorganization at 7 p.m. at the West Sadsbury Township municipal building, 6400 N. Moscow Road, Parkesburg.
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Source: Daily Local; 12/21/2022?
Delaware?
Delaware County 2023 budget approved with no tax increase
At its last meeting for 2022, Delaware County Council passed a $361 million spending package for 2023, which includes no county tax increase. The total county tax levy is 2.999 mills, meaning that a property assessed at $100,000 would be taxed about $300 for the county portion of the real estate tax. Properties are also taxed by the municipality and the school district, with the latter representing the largest annual bill. It is the ninth year county taxes have not risen.?
Source: Daily Times; 12/16/2022
Law enforcement in Delco getting about $6M in state grants
Gov. Tom Wolf announced $170 million in grant awards to 220 law enforcement agencies and county district attorney offices through new programs. The Local Law Enforcement Support Program provides law enforcement agencies resources to implement technology improvements, upgrade or purchase equipment, support retention and recruitment efforts, and provide training. In Delaware County, the following communities received funding:
In Delaware County, funds were also awarded through the Gun Violence Investigation and Prosecution Program:
Source: Daily Times, 12/16/2022
Chester City’s West Seventh Street bridge reopens
Delaware County, Chester City and PennDOT officials celebrated the reopening of the West Seventh Street bridge in the city. Reconstruction of the bridge began in 2018. The original bridge was a two-span steel bridge constructed in 1920 that ran along Chester Creek. Before it was rebuilt, the bridge was weight-restricted and could not support use by emergency vehicles or any vehicles over 8 tons. In addition to providing improved infrastructure in Chester, the bridge also serves as a link to the downtown area by providing a safe, walkable option for nearby residents.?
Source: Daily Times; 12/21/2022?
Radnor’s 4th Ward has a new interim commissioner
Radnor Township commissioners named Jim Riley to the post of 4th Ward commissioner, filling the seat vacated by Lisa Borowski, who resigned after being elected to the state House of Representatives in November. Riley teaches advanced math and physics at Hill Top Preparatory School in Rosemont. The appointment is temporary, as a special election will take place during the May primary to fill the remaining three years of Borowski’s term.?
Source: Daily Times; 12/20/2022?
Montgomery
Lansdale votes to advertise budget with 16% tax increase
Lansdale Borough Council voted unanimously to advertise a 2023 budget that includes a 1-mill tax increase. If adopted without change, it would bring the average resident’s tax bill to $870 a year, up from the current $750, for a property assessed at $120,000. The increase will help to pay for several new employee hires requested by different departments, including three new police officers, two pipe crew and one financial position. Lansdale’s 2022 budget included a 0.5-mill tax increase and used roughly $313,000 in federal COVID stimulus funds meant to offset revenues lost due to the pandemic. Council President Denton Burnell said that the 2023 tax hike makes up for that stopgap solution.?
Source: The Reporter; 12/12/2022
Lower Moreland seeks volunteer human relations mediator
Lower Moreland Township commissioners adopted a nondiscrimination ordinance in November. The ordinance declares a policy of nondiscrimination for Lower Moreland Township and establishes the Human Relations Mediator Office. The township is seeking applicants to volunteer as the mediator. Applicants must be a resident or business owner within the township and have qualifications consistent with the mediator’s duties, including but not limited to a work history in the field of human relations, employment, law, law enforcement, investigation or other similar work. Interested applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to Christopher Hoffman, Township Manager, by Friday, Dec. 30, at 4:30 p.m. Read more?here.
Source: Lower Moreland Township
Pottstown budget includes tax increase
Pottstown Borough Council unanimously approved a $58 million budget for 2023 that includes a 2.04% tax increase. The millage rate for 2023, combined from all the funds, including parks and recreation, street lights, library, fire tax, debt and general expenses, is set at 14.229 mills, an increase from the 2022 millage of 13.945. For a property assessed at $100,000, that works out to a tax increase of about $28, according to finance director Marley Boone.
Source: Pottstown Mercury; 12/19/2022
Bucks, Montco officials have ‘optimistic’ outlook for job market
Officials from Bucks and Montgomery counties’ workforce development departments said they have an “optimistic” outlook for the coming year, as unemployment rates dropped to pre-pandemic levels in December with employers across all industries looking to hire. Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) reported Bucks County’s unemployment rate at about 3% and Montgomery County’s rate at just under 3%. Both Bucks and Montgomery counties participate in the?state’s CareerLink program, which is part of the L&I’s initiative to transform the landscape of how job-seekers find family-sustaining jobs and how employers find the skilled candidates they need. More information about Bucks County’s CareerLink program can be found under the?Workforce and Economic Development webpage. Montgomery County’s CareerLink information can be found?online here.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 12/11/2022?
Philadelphia?
Hundreds question Sixers’ commitment to community engagement at raucous meeting
Hundreds of people packed a town hall in Chinatown, hosted by more than 20 community organizations, to voice concerns and ask questions about the plan to build a new Sixers’ arena in Center City. More than 200 people filled Ocean Harbor Restaurant on Race Street, and another 100 spilled into nearby Little Saigon Cafe to watch via livestream. The atmosphere was charged, and firmly anti-arena, with frequent booing over?the Sixers’ proposal?to build the team’s new home on Market Street, replacing the western part of the Fashion District, by 2031. The meeting was attended by David Gould, chief diversity and impact officer for 76 Devcorp, the firm created to lead the construction project, as well as District 1 Councilmember Mark Squilla, and staffers for local and federal elected officials. Read the full story?here.
Source: Billy Penn; 12/14/2022
Proposed exemption for Cobbs Creek Golf Course delayed in city council
A West Philadelphia golf course may need to wait a few weeks longer to find out whether it’s exempt from protections meant to prevent erosion. Philadelphia City Council did not vote on a controversial zoning overlay for the Cobbs Creek Golf Course as originally planned, after the city’s planning commission requested additional time to review it. The bill, sponsored by Councilmember Curtis Jones on behalf of the Department of Parks and Recreation and the foundation renovating the public golf course, would allow for taller buildings, fences and netting on the property, as well as exempt it from site-clearing restrictions on steep slopes. It was met with skepticism and pushback from the public during a city planning commission meeting last week, and the commission voted to request a 45-day extension to consider it.
Source: PlanPhilly; 12/16/2022
Opinion: Race should not determine where you live?
A recent lawsuit shows that segregation remains high in Philadelphia and that significant obstacles remain for Black households to build wealth through real estate. Housing vouchers were designed to give low-income households a choice in where they live, but a 2018 study found that two-thirds of landlords in the city refused to even meet with voucher holders. A recent housing lawsuit may be the latest part of that effort. A Philadelphia landlord is accused of steering federal housing voucher recipients into properties in majority-Black neighborhoods, but not in predominantly white areas. This closes even more doors for people already hemmed in by a growing shortage of available rental housing and perpetuates racial disparities. It is also a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act and the city’s own prohibition against tenant discrimination, as detailed in the suit. Read more from the?Inquirer Editorial Board.?
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 12/20/2022
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