Rent prices are up sharply
Average rents across the country rose 14% last year, to $1,877 a month. According to real estate firm Redfin, cities like Austin, New York and Miami have seen increases of as much as 40%. In Philadelphia, average rents jumped 13.2% to $2,233. The sharp increases are forcing millions of Americans to reassess their living situations. Rents are expected to continue to rise by about 10% this year, according to a report released in January by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while many local rent freezes and eviction moratoriums have already expired. Higher rent prices are also expected to be a key driver of inflation in coming months. Housing costs make up a third of the U.S. consumer price index, which is calculated based on the going rate of home rentals. But economists say there is a lag of nine to 12 months before rising rents show up in inflation measures. Therefore, likely interest rate increases from the Federal Reserve that are expected to slow soaring housing costs will take longer to filter through to rental prices. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/31/2022

FEMA revising transitional housing options
Amid criticism of its ability to act as landlord to the growing number of Americans losing their homes to wildfires, storms and other natural disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is revising how it provides transitional housing for those most in need of government help. The current options, which often rely on moving families into FEMA-run trailer parks, would be supplemented by a new program, developed in conjunction with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, offering subsidized apartments and extensive case management to help disaster survivors find a permanent place to live. The initiative is targeted to be ready by March. Find out more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/29/2022

Increased listing period for HUD homes
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is increasing the exclusive listing period for owner-occupants, government entities and nonprofits for sales of HUD real estate owned (REO) homes from 15 to 30 days. The extension is being done in accordance with the Biden administration’s plan to increase the supply of affordable housing available to first-time and low- and moderate-income homebuyers. This longer listing period will begin with properties starting on March 1. Learn more about HUD REO properties, also known as HUD Homes, here.
Source: Nar.realtor; 1/21/2022

Tangled titles can complicate home sales
A story out of Delaware County in which a family discovered part of their yard did not belong to them is the latest example of the trouble that “tangled titles” can cause. Issues surrounding ownership, or title, of a property can derail home sales and repairs and prevent the passing of wealth through generations. In Philadelphia alone, more than 10,400 properties have unclear legal ownership, which threatens more than $1 billion in household wealth. Most tangled titles occur when a homeowner dies and the deed for an entire property does not transfer to a new owner. But unclear property ownership can take many forms and have various causes. Snags in the line of succession can be costly and difficult to straighten out. Many times, tangled titles prevent home sales. But sometimes sales go through even with problems with the title. Title companies search for the chain of ownership of a residential property, typically going back 60 years, to ensure there are no breaks. They make sure the seller of the home is the legal owner. They look for liens and court claims against the property, unpaid taxes, easements, and bankruptcies. Searches typically take about a week. Title companies do not visit the property and are not responsible for ensuring that boundaries match the buyer’s expectations. They look at deeds, which include legal descriptions and general boundaries of parcels that don’t say where buildings sit on them.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/30/2022

Bedminster approves townhouse development
Bedminster Township has granted final plan approval for a new, 14-lot townhouse development on the 10-acre Curtis Tract on Schadle Road. The supervisors approved the plan unanimously. About eight acres of open space are to remain undisturbed, with any use under supervision and ownership by the impending homeowners’ association. Water and sanitary sewer facilities will be provided by the Bedminster Municipal Authority. Impervious limitations must fit the township ordinance. The final approval includes a variety of recommendations designed to alleviate concerns raised by nearby residents, including additional buffer planting and special attention to the wellbeing of an existing pond on the property.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 1/27/2022

PennDOT’s plan to overhaul Route 1 worries Langhorne residents
A plan to modernize and improve safety on a section of the Route 1 Expressway in Lower Bucks County has residents in Langhorne concerned. They say the overhaul of the superhighway and widening of Route 413 will funnel more traffic through the tiny borough. The work is the third part of PennDOT's $349 million Route 1 Improvement Project to fix aging bridges and make the expressway safer for motorists. Route 1, also called Lincoln Highway, runs through Middletown, Langhorne Manor and Langhorne. Langhorne residents and borough officials feel the latest design will create a traffic bottleneck at the Flowers Avenue and Route 413 intersection, where people now walk to the Bucks County Free Library's Langhorne branch as well as to the historic Bethlehem African Methodist Episcopal Church. Another concern is that the walkable town will be overrun with traffic trying to avoid the bottleneck on Route 413. PennDOT needs to complete environmental studies and begin securing properties through eminent domain if it wants to stay on schedule, officials said. Read the full article here.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 1/27/2022

Middletown to adopt 2018 International Fire Code
Middletown Township supervisors will hold a public hearing on Monday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. at the township building, 3 Municipal Way, Langhorne, to consider an ordinance to adopt the 2018 International Fire Code. The proposed ordinance would amend Chapter 190 of the township code and would regulate and govern the safeguarding of life and property from fire and conditions hazardous to life or property. The draft ordinance provides for the issuance of permits and collection of fees. Middletown Township currently conducts annual fire/life safety inspections of all publicly occupied commercial, mercantile and multifamily structures. A copy of the proposed ordinance can be viewed at the township building during normal business hours.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 1/31/2022

Solebury opens search for new manager
Solebury Township Manager Dennis H. Carney has announced his plans to retire on June 30. Carney has led the municipality for 12 years and also acts as the public works director. The township has set a deadline for interested candidates to submit applications by mid-February. The position requires a bachelor’s degree in public administration, business administration or a related field, and a minimum of five years of municipal management experience. A master’s degree is preferred. The township manager is responsible for the direct oversight of all township departments, including: administration; finance; planning, zoning and code enforcement; land preservation; parks; police; and public works.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 1/13/2022

Bensalem Township School District posts budget meetings
The Bensalem Township School Board has posted the meeting schedule for the annual school district budget preparations for 2022-2023. Budget work session meetings will be held in the Dorothy D. Call Administrative Center, 3000 Donallen Dr., at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 28, Monday, March 28, and Thursday, April 28. The proposed final budget is slated for review on Tuesday, May 24, with final adoption scheduled for Tuesday, June 28. Budget documents and meeting attendance information are posted on the Bensalem Township School District website.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 2/1/2022

Start of construction for new Downingtown train station set for 2025
Downingtown Borough is getting a new train station after more than a decade of planning. PennDOT plans call for construction of the new station to start in mid-2025 and last for three years. The new station will be located about a quarter-mile south of Lancaster Avenue on Brandywine Avenue/US 322. It will replace the nearby West Lancaster Avenue station. The proposed station will feature platforms, canopies, elevators, stair towers, railroad and pedestrian bridges, retaining walls and almost 1,000 parking spaces in four lots. The new station will be fully ADA accessible. Federal Transit Administration and state funding will finance the project, with $20 million already approved for design and right-of-way related work. Commuters will be able to travel 72 track miles to Harrisburg in approximately 65 minutes, and 32 miles to Philadelphia in about 40 minutes. SEPTA bus service, ROVER Community Transportation and SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale Regional Rail will service the station.
Source: Daily Local; 2/1/2022

Tredyffrin-Easttown officials limit tax hike to 3.4%
The Tredyffrin-Easttown Board of School Directors adopted a resolution on Jan. 24 limiting any increase in property taxes for the 2022-2023 fiscal year to no more than the Act 1 index of 3.4%. As a result, the board will not consider any referendum exceptions to the Act 1 index and will follow a timeline that has the final adoption of the 2022-2023 budget in June. The recent budget presentation shows a $6 million budgeted operational deficit that the school board and administration will work to close through a combination of increases in the property tax rate, expenditure reductions and the use of existing reserves. Budget information is available on the district website.
Source: Daily Local; 2/2/2022

Plan for Coatesville’s Ash Park includes splash pad, wildflower meadow
The Greening Coatesville Initiative — a collaboration among Natural Lands, the City of Coatesville, and the Alliance for Health Equity — aims to revitalize the city’s parks and build local capacity to maintain and offer outdoor programs. With the transformation of the Palmer Park well underway, the partners’ focus shifted to the community’s largest park, Chester Ash Memorial Park, which was once a social hub with an in-ground pool, grassy fields and a vibrant playground under shady trees. Over the years, funding the 9.3-acre park’s upkeep has been a challenge. The new master plan for Ash Park addresses stormwater issues, provides a cooling (and more affordable) replacement for the closed pool, and includes myriad natural elements. The plan calls for a sledding hill, a native wildflower meadow, additional shade trees, a misting station and splash pad, an improved playground, and a wetland to collect stormwater — complete with a boardwalk over it. The plan has been written in phases to be conducted over the next several years as money becomes available.
Source: Vista Today; 2/1/2022

County commissioners roll out new meeting format
As part of a new meeting format, Chester County commissioners’ have an opportunity to speak about any topic they choose. Commissioner Marian Moskowitz used the “commission reports” portion of the recent meeting to assure those listening that the county was continuing its efforts to address the decision by Tower Health last month to close both Jennersville Regional Hospital and Brandywine Hospital. Commissioner Josh Maxwell gave updates on the county’s efforts to aid homeowners left devastated by last year’s Hurricane Ida. Commissioner Michelle Kichline gave some personal insight into her work on the local effort to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Moskowitz said the reports were meant to “share a highlight or two” about what the three had been working on. The discussions are just one new facet of the commissioners meetings, starting with a new consent agenda for noncontroversial, routine items, and a streamlined meeting schedule that will see the normal two meetings a month cut to one. In the past, the commissioners have held a work session — for decades known by the nickname “Sunshine” for the state’s open meetings law — at which department heads give presentations on contracts or grants they hoped to see approved, followed a day or two later by a formal voting session. The county’s chief administrator, Bobby Kagel, promised that the county would attempt to schedule night meetings so that more residents could attend.
Source: Daily Local; 1/27/2022

Apartments planned at former Rubinstein’s location in West Chester
The West Chester Borough Planning Commission reviewed preliminary plans from developer Eli Kahn that call for construction of approximately 219 apartments at the vacant former site of office supply and furniture store Rubinstein’s. Kahn submitted plans to the borough to raze the buildings on the site and construct a 60-foot-tall structure, with four stories of apartments. Parking is slated for ground level of the 2.4-acre property at 250 E. Market St. The proposed S-shaped structure would allow for green space and natural light. The building plans show 39 two-bedroom units, 162 one-bedroom apartments and 19 studios. Amenities include a pool, a putting green and a bocce ball court. The plans indicate that the building is located within a “floodplain hazard zone.” Goose Creek runs beneath the property. No housing units would be built on ground level due to the potential for flooding. Plans call for residents and guests to utilize 231 parking spaces, with 18 spaces located across South Franklin Street. New standards for parking were recently established, with 0.9 spaces required for each unit. Until recently, 353 spaces would have been required under the previous zoning ordinance.
Source: Daily Local; 1/28/2022

Philly to guarantee lawyers for some renters facing eviction
Hundreds of Philadelphia renters will be guaranteed free legal representation if their landlords file for eviction. Going into effect six months after the end of a federal ban on lockouts, at a time when many still wrestle with the fallout of pandemic-fueled financial woes, the new right-to-counsel program aims to help low-income residents remain in their homes, and help others leave under better terms if their cases end with them having to move out (for example, getting their security deposits back). To start, the program will only operate in two ZIP codes, chosen because of their high eviction levels: 19121 in North Philadelphia and 19139 in West Philadelphia. Even before the pandemic, Philadelphia ranked fourth in the nation among large U.S cities for evictions, averaging 20,000 a year, with only a small fraction of those facing eviction showing up to court with a lawyer. Read more here.
Source: PlanPhilly; 1/31/2022

Months after water main burst, Queen Village business owners wait for repairs, repayment
Last July, a 130-year-old cast-iron water main broke in Philadelphia, and the resulting flood’s presence still lingers in broken pavement and caution tape at the corner of Sixth and Bainbridge. The flood coated the streets in a muddy sludge, and damaged more than 120 homes and businesses. The city estimates that the 30-inch main break and surrounding road will be repaired by April, nine months after the rupture — the cause of which is still under review, according to Water Department spokesperson Brian Rademaekers. For a financial remedy, many will have to wait longer. This is just one example of a frequent issue with the city’s 3,100 miles of water mains, which suffer about 776 breaks a year, according to the city water department. Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration is slowly replacing the old pipes and could eventually get help from the federal infrastructure bill President Joe Biden signed in November. The city aims to replace a total of 42 miles over the next three years. The city’s aging water infrastructure continues to strain under extreme cold and heat, and from the wear and tear of cars. The cold is especially taxing: In some years, breaks in freezing weather have accounted for nearly half of all water-main repairs. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/31/2022

As Chinatown gentrifies, Rail Park begins equitable development plan
Philadelphia’s Rail Park, an $11 million public park built on an abandoned elevated railway, has a linear style similar to the chic High Line in New York and is widely expected to catalyze a development spree. Philly’s Chinatown started changing before the Rail Park was planned, says Yue Wu, neighborhood planning and project manager at the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation. But since the first phase of the Rail Park opened above Chinatown North and the Callowhill neighborhood in 2018, the change has not slowed down. “We see a lot of loft development happening from Broad Street towards this neighborhood,” Wu said. “There are more condos [in] development, higher-income people moving into the condos.” A 2020 study prepared by the consulting firms Strategic Economics and Urban Partners for the Chinatown CDC found that since Friends of the Rail Park — the polished nonprofit that continues to raise money to make the 3-mile park vision a reality — formed in 2013, sale prices of apartment buildings near the first phase of the park grew faster than in the rest of the city. The authors estimated up to 16% of the increase may be attributable to the Rail Park, and projected the amenity could generate more than $2 million in additional real estate tax revenue for the city per year. Friends of the Rail Park are crafting an Equitable Development Plan to support affordable housing in the neighborhood, contribute to local land trusts and develop local entrepreneurs.
Source: PlanPhilly; 1/28/2022