What you need to know to vote in the primary
On May 18, voters will choose nominees for seats on the state appellate courts, local judicial positions, municipal boards and councils, school boards and some county row offices. Voters can cast their ballots early by mail, or at the polls on Election Day. Pennsylvania operates a closed primary — meaning only voters registered as Democrats or Republicans will receive a ballot to select nominees to represent their party in the general election. But all registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, will get to vote on four ballot questions. Three of them concern proposed amendments to the state constitution, and the fourth would make fire companies and emergency management services eligible for an existing state loan program. At the state’s Votes PA website, voters can check their registration status, apply for a mail-in ballot, and update their name, address and party affiliation. The deadline to request a ballot by mail is Tuesday, May 11. Voters can mail their ballots through the U.S. Postal Service. They must be received by the county election office by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18.
Source: Daily Local; 4/13/2021

NAR opposes DOL independent contractor action
The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) submitted a comment opposing the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed withdrawal of the final rule on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The regulation, introduced by the previous administration, never took effect and had no direct impact on real estate professionals’ classification under the Internal Revenue Code for federal tax purposes. However, the final rule provided helpful clarity and certainty for how an employer may classify a worker. Many individuals are attracted to the real estate sales industry because of the ability to classify as an independent contractor, where one enjoys maximized workplace flexibility and autonomy within a dynamic and flourishing field. In light of the ongoing challenges posed to businesses across the country because of the pandemic, NAR encouraged the department not to withdraw the final rule and also not erode any of the existing classification clarifications already in place at the federal and state levels for real estate professionals in any replacement proposals. NAR will continue to resist any efforts by federal regulators or legislators that threaten real estate professionals’ ability to classify as independent contractors, including by incorporating the ABC test. Read more about NAR’s advocacy efforts to protect independent contractors.
Source: Nar.realtor; 4/13/2021

HUD moves to restore fair housing rules
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently submitted two fair housing rules for review. The Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule requires local governments that accept federal housing dollars to review their policies and actively work toward reversing segregation. AFFH is a longstanding mandate under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that was rarely enforced until 2015, when HUD drew up format guidance for how state and local governments could begin weeding out systemic discrimination using fair housing assessments. The rule was repealed entirely in July 2020 by then-HUD Sec. Ben Carson, and a new rule was put in place that allowed localities to self-certify that they are in compliance with fair housing law. The rule proposed by President Joe Biden would appear to restore the 2015 standard without major changes. The other rule submission is the discriminatory effects standard, also know as the disparate impact rule, which bars seemingly neutral policies in lending, renting and selling that result in discrimination. The new disparate impact regulation is a proposed rule; the public has an opportunity to weigh in before it takes effect.
Source: CityLab; 4/13/2021

Move Over Law takes effect April 27
Pennsylvania’s Move Over Law takes effect April 27. According to PennDOT, the law requires drivers to safely merge away from an emergency response area or slow to at least 20 mph less than the posted speed limit if they cannot merge away. Responders include police, fire, and ambulance crews, as well as stopped tow trucks and maintenance vehicles. Drivers must also move over or slow down when approaching a stopped trash or recycling truck. Penalties include license points, penalties starting at $500 and license suspensions for multiple violations.
Source: Evening Sun; 4/5/2021

Lower Makefield gives final approval to Prickett Preserve
After years of debate, discussion and meetings, Lower Makefield Township supervisors have given final approval to Prickett Preserve at Edgewood. The mixed-use development will bring a Wegmans supermarket, several retail and dining establishments, public space, and 200 luxury apartments to 37 acres across from Shady Brook Farm on Stony Hill Road. The development will be walkable — with a commercial village at the north end, apartments at the south end, and open spaces and pathways connecting the various uses within the development. It is anticipated that the development will generate about $1.5 million annually in new net tax revenues for Pennsbury School District and $200,000 for Lower Makefield Township. The development will also bring traffic safety improvements to the area.
Source: BucksLocalNews.com; 4/8/2021

Property donated for open space in Upper Makefield
Upper Makefield Township supervisors voted to authorize the preparation of required documents to allow the township to accept the donation of a property easement. Edgar W. Brick has opted to donate his 37.2-acre property on Mount Eyre Road into a voluntary conservation easement. In Pennsylvania, a voluntary conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation/natural values. A conservation easement allows property owners to continue to own and use their land, as well as to sell it or pass it on to heirs, but development on the property is usually prohibited. According to Upper Makefield Township Manager Dave Nyman, nearly 40% of the township — about 5,400 acres — is either preserved land or under conservation easement.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 4/8/2021

Lower Makefield to amend short-term lodging facilities ordinance
Lower Makefield Township supervisors will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. to consider for adoption an amendment to the township’s short-term lodging facilities ordinance. Meeting details will be posted with the proposed agenda on the township website. The proposed ordinance revises the definition of “short-term lodging” to prohibit short-term lodging within the township, except when a use is qualified or defined as a hotel or bed-and-breakfast home use in accordance with the zoning code or in the circumstances listed in Subsection A (“specific bedroom accommodation”) or Subsection B (“entire residential unit accommodation”). The proposed ordinance also sets forth: “license requirements and conditions” to provide for the process to obtain a license to operate a short-term lodging facility; “operations standards and conditions” to set applicable criteria for operation; “marketing” to prohibit the marketing of any short-term lodging facility not in compliance with the proposed ordinance; and procedures for violation, suspension and revocation. Click here to view the proposed ordinance.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 4/13/2021

Bucks County Municipal Primary Information Portal
The Bucks County Board of Elections has updated the Bucks County Municipal Primary Information Portal for the upcoming primary election on Tuesday, May 18. The portal offers: important dates and times, registration information for mail-in and absentee ballots, polling locations, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Bensalem extends tax deadlines
Bensalem Township announced the extension of tax deadlines for 2020 earned income tax returns and 2020 business privilege tax returns to May 17, to coincide with the extended filing deadlines for federal and Pennsylvania 2020 income taxes. Click here for more information.
Source: Bensalem Township; 4/14/2021

Downingtown Borough approves Johnsontown development
Downingtown Borough Council approved the application of a developer to build Trestle View Village, a high-density townhome complex with 66 units on 5.44 acres. The measure passed in a 5-to-1 vote, with Councilwoman Ann Feldman casting the sole “no” vote. Feldman recommended that the council wait until an environmental impact assessment could occur to determine whether the land falls within the borough’s existing steep slope ordinance, which forbids development on land with steep slopes. Francis Taraschi is the builder behind the proposed development, which is situated in a secluded area of the borough called Johnsontown near the Brandywine Creek. He owns several parcels that comprise the total 5.44 acres. None of the property will be preserved for open space. The parcels total approximately 237,000 square feet. Taraschi said he’s been working on the project for 20 years.
Source: Daily Local; 4/9/2021

Chester County school districts to receive $50M
School districts in Chester County will receive more than $50 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief passed last month by Congress. Districts must spend at least 20% of the money addressing learning loss and make public a plan for returning to in-person schooling safely. Pennsylvania schools will get close to $5 billion total. Chester County districts will receive the following allocations:

• Avon Grove School District: $2 million
• Coatesville Area School District: $13.9 million
• Downingtown Area School District: $2.49 million
• Octorara School District: $4.5 million
• Oxford Area School District: $6.4 million
• Owen J. Roberts School District: $2.8 million
• Phoenixville Area School District: $3.3 million
• Spring-Ford Area School District: $4.3 million
• Tredyffrin-Easttown School District: $1.5 million
• Twin Valley School District: $4.1 million
• Unionville-Chadds Ford school District: $737,292
• West Chester Area School District: $4.2 million

Source: Daily Local; 4/13/2021

Officials continue to press for return of train to West Chester
SEPTA rail service on the Media-Elwyn Line to West Chester Borough was discontinued in 1986, partly due to a lack of ridership. The Committee to Re-establish Rail Service to the Borough, an ad-hoc borough committee, has been working since 2014 to compile data and the funding necessary to return service to the borough along a route that would travel from 30^th Street Station through Delaware County and into West Chester. A March 2018 feasibility study showed that the project would enhance local and regional connectivity, serve as a cost-effective commuter alternative, increase transit ridership and support economic development. Mayor Jordan Norley has spearheaded the drive to reestablish rail service. “West Chester is a historic, beautiful town, and a rail service would drive tourism and increase business,” Norley said. With a price tag of $275 million, securing funding is the major roadblock to reestablishing service on the existing right-of-way. The project might take decades to become reality, but grant applications are in the works. The borough submitted an application to the Chester County Vision Partnership Program for funding an economic impact study of the restoring service along the Media-Elwyn line with stops at: Middletown (formerly Wawa station), Cheyney, Westtown and Nields Street, with a terminus at Market Street in the borough.
Source: Daily Times; 4/11/2021

County has $34M for emergency rent aid
Chester County has received $34.5 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury and the PA Department of Human Services to help cover emergency rental and utility bills for individuals and families who have been severely impacted by COVID-19. The county will host a webinar for the public to learn more about eligibility and benefits of the Emergency Rental and Utility Assistance Program (ERAP). The webinar will be held Friday, April 16, at 11:30 a.m. Visit the county website for more information and a link to join. Chester County’s ERAP can only be accessed by dialing 2-1-1 and selecting the prompt for “Housing Crisis.” Funding will serve individuals and families that are obligated to pay rent and meet the following three criteria:

1. Qualify for unemployment or have experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19.
2. Demonstrate a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
3. Have a household income at or below 80% of the area median.

Eligible applicants can use the ERAP funding to pay for outstanding rent, electricity, gas, water and sewer bills, and energy costs like fuel oil or propane, over a 15-month period. Three housing organizations — Friends Association, the Housing Authority of Chester County and Open Hearth Inc. — will work with the applicants to process payments to landlords and utility providers.
Source: Daily Local; 4/12/2021

Philly schools lose more money to tax breaks than any district in the country, a new report says
Philadelphia schools lost $112 million in a single year — the most of any school system in the United States — because of the city’s tax abatement and other tax breaks, a new analysis has found. Good Jobs First, a nonprofit that tracks economic development subsidies, completed the study, which found that public school systems nationwide lost $2.37 billion in 2019 to tax subsidies. Philadelphia’s $112 million loss dwarfs all other districts for which data were available. It includes about $86 million in costs from real estate tax abatements and $17 million in costs from Keystone Opportunity Zones, areas designated to stimulate economic growth and employment. Real estate tax abatements and other mechanisms are designed to incentivize businesses but often end up hurting families, particularly those in low-income communities and communities of color, according to the analysis of about 2,500 school systems in 27 states. Mike Dunn, a spokesperson for the city, said, “Discussions about the value of the abatement are important, but a study is incomplete if it does not include the key point that a substantial portion of the construction that receives an abatement would not happen without the abatement and, as a result, would produce far less revenue.” Dunn pointed to a 2018 city study that found Philadelphia’s abatement program spurred development and generated jobs.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 4/13/2021

Philly councilmembers bar ‘granny flats’ from more than half the city
Parts of Philadelphia could soon see more “granny flats” — or apartments built in the backyards, attics or garages of existing homes — but not everyone is on board. City council previously loosened codes to encourage these apartments — technically known as “accessory dwelling units” or ADUs — in historically designated buildings in order to make redevelopment more feasible. In February, with guidance from the city planning commission, Councilmember María Quiñones-Sánchez introduced another bill allowing ADUs across the city. Quiñones-Sánchez said the idea is to preserve affordability and potentially give empty-nesters and seniors an option for an additional income source by allowing for a wider range of housing options. Many councilmembers say they’re leery of allowing more residential density in their districts. On Thursday, several amendments were added to legislation to exclude more than half the city from the new rules. Councilmember Cherelle Parker, who represents Northwest Philly’s 9th District, opposed the legislation and another revision that would have decreased the minimum lot size for small multi-family buildings, during a Committee on Rules hearing. It didn’t take long for other councilmembers to follow suit, and now the 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th districts are either exempt in the bill or ban ADUs altogether. Parker said her district already has an issue with illegally converted basement apartments. ADUs were defined in the city’s zoning code way back in 2012, but pushback from residents in Northeast Philadelphia with similar density concerns prevented them from being legalized anywhere in the city. By 2019, there still weren’t any in the city because the zoning code didn’t permit it until Councilmember Mark Squilla introduced the legislation allowing ADUs in historic districts. Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration has also endorsed the use of ADUs to allow older Philadelphians to stay in their homes and supplement their income.
Source: Plan Philly; 4/8/2021

Philadelphia School District to offer universal summer school
The School District of Philadelphia will offer universal summer school for public school students this year. The district plans to open 24 school buildings for summer classes, dispersed across Philadelphia neighborhoods. The district said it may open up to 39 or more depending on demand. All of the classes will be fully in-person, excluding virtual programs for pre-K and kindergarten students and students with complex needs. Registration for the summer programs is open and full-day classes will start on Wednesday, June 28, and run through mid-August. All current School District of Philadelphia students entering grades K-12 are eligible and encouraged to participate. For more information about the program, click here.
Source: Whyy.org; 4/8/2021

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