Watch: Act 133 — What Realtors^® Should Know (SRA webinar)
The Suburban Realtors Alliance (SRA) held a webinar on July 14, “Act 133 — What Realtors Should Know.” Pennsylvania's Municipal Code and Ordinance Compliance Act (MCOCA) was amended by Act 133 in 2016 to better protect sellers and buyers in municipalities that require resale use and occupancy inspections. In the webinar, panelists Hank Lerner, general counsel at the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, and Jamie Ridge, SRA president and CEO, reviewed the basics of the law and how it has been applied, and what Realtors should know about it to benefit from its protections. They also answered audience questions. Visit the SRA blog to watch a recording of the webinar and see a list of topics discussed.

PAR Public Policy Training registration now open
Registration is open for the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors^® (PAR) virtual public policy training, titled “Advocating for Real Estate.” The first webinar on Thursday, Aug. 12, will highlight the role the Realtors Political Action Committee (RPAC) plays in local, state and national associations’ legislative advocacy. On Thursday, Aug. 19, PAR’s public policy staff will discuss “How to Be an Effective Voice for Real Estate,” highlighting the legislative process, legislative messaging, grassroots advocacy and meeting with legislators. Both sessions will run from 2 to 4 p.m. and will feature breakout sessions. Registration is required, and spaces are limited.
Source: PA Realtors; 7/9/2021

‘100-year flood’ explained, and why it matters
A 100-year flood is not something that comes along every 100 years. Instead, a 100-year flood is one so severe that it has only a 1% chance of happening in any given year, or a 1-in-100 chance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency uses the term when it draws flood plain maps — maps used by insurers to set rates for areas likely to be flooded. When risk is expressed as a probability, especially a small probability, people do not have a good sense of risk. A better way to understand a 100-year flood risk is to think about a home with a 30-year mortgage — the minimum risk over 30 years of a home in a 100-year flood plain being flooded is at least 26%. Also, risk in the 100-year flood plain isn’t consistent across the entire area. Some homes sit lower than their neighbor, for example. Thinking about the probability over a longer period of time may cause people to think about buying flood insurance.
Source: LevittownNow.com; 7/13/2021

New Housing Link program offers bonuses up to $2K for Realtors and landlords
For the next six months, the Bucks County Housing Link is offering incentives to Realtors and landlords who partner with the Housing Link to lease to qualified program participants. Through the new Bonus for Bucks Landlords Event, landlords who are new to the Housing Link program can receive a bonus equal to one month of rent when they lease up a Housing Link program participant. Landlords and Realtors who refer a landlord to the Housing Link can receive a $2,000 finder’s fee if that landlord ends up participating. Aside from the cash bonus, landlords involved in the program receive reliable rent, continuity coverage payments between leases, the ability to collect additional referral bonuses, and support from the Housing Link staff. For more information on the program, visit the Bonus for Bucks Landlords website and read answers to Frequently Asked Questions. There will also be a webinar explaining the program on Thursday, Aug. 5. Bonus for Bucks Landlords runs through Jan. 31, 2022, and is a joint effort between the Bucks County Housing Link Partners, the Bucks County Association of Realtors and the Suburban Realtors Alliance.
Source: Bucks County Housing Link; 7/14/2021

County’s most underfunded school district sees less funding despite $416M in new state education money
Gov. Tom Wolf recently signed a state budget that includes the largest investment in education funding Pennsylvania has ever seen. Budget investments include a $200 million increase in the Fair Funding Formula, enacted in 2016 for equitable state education funding across school districts, and an additional $100 million to support underfunded school districts through the Level Up initiative, which aims to put poorer districts more on par with affluent districts that have stronger property tax bases. Bucks County school districts will be allocated an estimated total of $154.4 million — about $5.8 million more than last year. Bristol Borough School District is the only Bucks County school district that will receive a Level Up supplement. The district is slated to receive an additional roughly $143,200, but according to Superintendent Rose Minniti, the new formula used to calculate how funds will be distributed takes funding away from their total amount for next year. Without the Level Up funding, she explained, Bristol Borough School District would be over $100,000 short of last year’s basic education funding, which totaled $6.88 million. Morrisville School District Superintendent Jason Harris said the $3.2 million his district is being allocated in basic education funding for next year isn’t sufficient for supporting its needs. Morrisville received $3.1 million in basic education funding last year and was excluded from Level Up funding added to this year’s allotment. The tiny school system that serves about 850 kids in Morrisville Borough has faced financial challenges for years, including increasing funds needed for state-mandated programs and pension costs. Officials have raised the point over the years that Pennsylvania’s school funding system is flawed and shortchanges the small district.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 7/13/2021

County seeks input from businesses
As part of the Bucks 2040 comprehensive plan initiative, county officials are conducting a survey for business owners. The responses will help form a collective vision for Bucks County and set a direction for policies and programs. Bucks 2040 will focus on the quality-of-life issues that are most important to local residents and how planning can help communities achieve better land use outcomes. In addition to advancing local business initiatives, the plan aims to make homeownership more attainable for Bucks families, improve roads and give residents more transportation options. Learn more about the process here.
Source: LevittownNow.com; 7/12/2021

Bucks politicians agree: ‘Keep our county whole’
A drop in population will cost Pennsylvania a congressional seat and lead to redistricting in Pennsylvania. Reacting to chatter from Harrisburg that possibly breaks Bucks County into two separate congressional districts, Bucks County Commissioners passed a bipartisan resolution that calls for the county to remain as a single congressional district. Republican Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo pointed out that the county has been a single congressional district for 170 years. Commissioner Bob Harvie, a Democrat, agreed, stating that chopping up the county makes things more complicated for voters and elected officials. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R, PA-1) said that he supports the bipartisan resolution and that splitting Bucks County “into two separate congressional districts would clearly violate fair redistricting principles of keeping communities undivided and contiguous.” State Rep. Frank Farry (R-142) also favors keeping the county as one congressional district. Pennsylvania will go from 18 to 17 congressional districts due to a drop in population in the western and northern parts of the state.
Source: Delaware Valley Journal; 7/6/2021

Coatesville train station bids authorized; construction to start this year
A new train station will soon be built in Coatesville. This week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that the new Coatesville Train Station is being advertised for bids. “This is a huge opportunity to partner not just on the station, but also potentially spur other development in the region,” PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian said. The selected contractor will build the project aimed at revitalizing the surrounding community with a modern accessible train station and improve connections to the Keystone Corridor. The new station will improve ADA accessibility and provide level boarding platforms, elevators, ramps, site lighting and security, improved drainage, and surface parking for local and regional commuters. Additionally, the project will enhance multimodal connectivity and ensure that freight movements through the new station area are maintained. “Coatesville residents, including our youth with transportation challenges, will soon have access to other regional areas, and daily commuters can cut their drive time significantly with a nearby regional station,” said Coatesville City Manager James Logan.
Source: Daily Local; 7/14/2021

Recorder of Deeds to record military discharge documents at VFW in Coatesville
The Chester County Recorder of Deeds will offer the recording of military discharge documents and the production of Veteran ID & Discount Program cards at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #287, 73 S. First Ave., Coatesville, on Thursday, July 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. There is no charge. Through this service, the Recorder of Deeds will have images of original documents stored in perpetuity, so veterans and their families can easily request certified replacement copies if the originals are lost. Veterans who record their discharge documents on-site are able to immediately receive a county-issued photo ID card at no cost. Roughly 100 Chester County businesses have partnered with the recorder’s office to provide special offers for veterans. For more information, including which documents to bring, visit the Recorder of Deeds website. Veterans may take part in these programs at other times by visiting the Record of Deeds office during normal business hours.
Source: Recorder of Deeds; 7/13/2021

Chester County ends COVID contract with Delco
As public health needs relating to the control of COVID-19 decrease, the intergovernmental cooperation agreement between Chester County and Delaware County will come to an end on Sunday, Aug. 1. After more than 16 months as the public health lead — and at the request of the Chester County Commissioners and Delaware County Council — Chester County Health Department Director Jeanne Franklin wrote to state Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam, requesting the discontinuation of the agreement. Commenting on the 16-month public health partnership, Delaware County Councilman Brian Zidek noted, “We owe the Chester County Health Department, the Chester County Commissioners and their team a debt of gratitude. The assistance they provided was quite literally lifesaving.”
Source: Daily Times; 7/9/2021

Affordable housing project in West Chester on schedule despite rise in cost of materials
Construction of Pinckney Hill Commons, an affordable housing project of 51 apartment and townhouse units, is well underway in West Chester Borough. Mechanical, plumbing and electrical work is in progress at the 41 apartments. Framing is expected within the next two weeks for the 10 townhouses, which will have garages on the ground floor. The two-building complex on 2.5-acres at Market, Miner and Worthington streets is scheduled for completion early next year. National pandemic-related material price increases have upped the projected $15.4 million cost but will have no impact on rent or what residents are offered. The mixed-income, workforce-housing apartments will feature one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, and the townhouse renters will enjoy three or four bedrooms. “West Chester is a diverse borough, and diversity comes in many forms, including economic diversity,” Mayor Jordan Norley said.
Source: Daily Times; 7/9/2021

Habitat for Humanity to hold dedication ceremony in Coatesville
There will be a homeowner dedication ceremony honoring three new Habitat for Humanity families on Saturday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m. on City View Avenue in Coatesville. Even through a pandemic, three single moms helped build the homes that meant brighter futures for their kids. The construction volunteers, with an average age of 75, continued to come out to the construction site through the pandemic, wearing masks and social distancing to complete the three homes.
Source: Daily Local; 7/9/2021

Congressional plan would reconnect neighborhoods like Philly’s Chinatown, fractured by highways
Philadelphia’s Chinatown community was split in two in the 1980s by the construction of the Vine Street Expressway, over the objections of residents. In a recent discussion, U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans (D, PA-3), of Philadelphia, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D, DE-At Large) said that it’s long past time to right some wrongs as they discussed legislation they are sponsoring to reconnect urban neighborhoods around the nation shattered by highway construction — many of them home to brown, Black and low-income residents. The proposal, incorporated into the surface transportation bill that the House of Representatives recently passed, would provide $3 billion in grants each year for five years to tear down the concrete walls or alter them, such as by building caps over expressways that would provide a way to cross over and to develop parks or other community amenities on them. “The highway is a symbol to communities of color like Chinatown, that our communities have to bear the challenges for the benefit of commuters,” said John Chin, executive director of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/13/2021

Remote work is here to stay, and experts say Philly needs to adapt to compete
When COVID-19 prompted the great lockdown of 2020, it hollowed out Philadelphia’s city core. Sidewalks that had teemed with commuters were eerily empty. Some 115,000 people a day vanished, as nine of every 10 Center City workers stayed home. Retailers serving that foot traffic shriveled. Citywide, some 120,000 jobs disappeared. SEPTA trains, buses and trolleys ran mostly empty, leaving behind $1 million a day of red ink. Staying home in the suburbs, workers gleefully skipped paying Philadelphia’s wage tax, which siphoned millions of dollars from the city’s chronically stressed budget. A year later, vaccinations have freed Americans from lockdowns and masks, and life and jobs are returning to Philadelphia. However, COVID proved that widespread work from home actually works, for both employees and employers. Liberated from commutes, workers had more time for life outside of work. Employers discovered that productivity actually rose and overhead costs could be cut as the need for office space shrinks. For a region that has invested billions of dollars over decades to facilitate commuting, the seismic shift to remote work raises profound questions about the future. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/14/2021

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