State budget proposal would increase funding for local government cooperation
Gov. Josh Shapiro, in his first budget proposal since taking office, is pitching a large funding jump for a state program that incentivizes local governments to work together to provide public services. Shapiro has proposed a 266% funding boost to the Municipal Assistance Program, which pays up to half the cost of eligible projects in which municipalities collaborate to deliver government services more efficiently. The increase — from just over $500,000 to $2 million — would “set the groundwork for the rehabilitation and growth” of Pennsylvania communities, Shapiro wrote in the proposed budget. Officials from the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs say the increased funding ensures a “long-term vision” for regional growth and could foster more collaboration among local governments. State budget negotiations will continue into late June.
Source: Spotlight PA; 5/17/2023

NAR Myth Buster: FEMA Risk Rating 2.0
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) started implementing a new flood insurance pricing methodology called Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action in October 2021. Realtors have been calling for the changes since Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act in 2012. Many misconceptions about the new rating system are still circulating. The National Association of Realtors has posted a myth buster document that provides the facts. With Risk Rating 2.0, FEMA is updating a 50-year-old rating system to now price each home individually — rather than by flood zone — and more accurately using modern insurance industry technologies, standards and science. Risk Rating 2.0 will create a more equitable and sustainable flood insurance program by addressing rating disparities. Low-value properties will no longer subsidize high-value properties. Risk Rating 2.0 maintains the 18% cap on annual increases for most rates. It also preserves grandfathered rates, including those for newly mapped and pre-Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Additionally, policyholders can still transfer discounts by assigning their flood insurance policy to the new owner. View a list of resources to help Realtors understand what is changing under FEMA’s new flood insurance pricing methodology.
Source: Nar.realtor; 5/19/2023

How Pennsylvania’s land diversity compares to other states
The United States is one of the largest and most geographically diverse countries in the world. The Lower 48 states are not all endowed with geographic diversity — some are defined by their geographic uniformity. Based on a land diversity index created using data from the U.S. Geological Survey, Pennsylvania ranks as having the 36th most diverse landscape of the Lower 48 states. Of Pennsylvania's total surface area of just over 46,000 square miles, forest and woodland is the most common type of land cover, accounting for 59.6% of the state's area. See the complete rankings here.
Source: The Center Square; 5/15/2023

One warehouse out in Hilltown, another proposed
Verus Partners no longer plans to construct a major distribution center along Bethlehem Pike in Hilltown. Verus previously sought permission from Hilltown Township to construct a 122,100-square-foot warehouse on vacant land at Bethlehem Pike and Reliance Road, but the company has since confirmed they are no longer under contract to develop a warehouse there. In other news, Carson Estate Trust presented a proposal for a 217,000-square-foot warehouse at a recent conditional use hearing before the Hilltown supervisors. The warehouse, related truck court, parking and other facilities would be northwest of the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Reliance Road. The supervisors asked about compliance with township noise ordinances, demand for the property, lighting, buffer plantings, stormwater and traffic. The hearing was continued to Wednesday, May 31, at 6 p.m. Visit the Hilltown Township website for more information.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 5/18/2023 & The Reporter; 5/16/2023

Catch 22 situation in Pennsbury
The Pennsbury School Board needs to decide whether to build a new high school or consider a major expansion at its West Campus to make it a single high school. The decision needs to be based on projected enrollment for the next few decades — but it cannot get an accurate number until a decision is made on a possible merger with the Morrisville School District. If Pennsbury builds a new high school without merging, it won’t be big enough to accommodate Morrisville high school students at a later time. There is also a large, single-family development proposed within Pennsbury School District boundaries that would add students. Pennsbury board members are upset that the state isn’t more involved in sorting out the merger dilemma. State Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-10), of Lower Makefield, said following the primary election that the "districts have to get a better sense of the costs" before the state could get more involved.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 5/22/2023

Yardley Inn to be elevated as part of expansion and renovation project
Yardley Borough Council recently gave final land development approval for a project that will elevate, expand and renovate the Yardley Inn. According to the construction manager, the work will lift the inn — at the corner of East Afton and North Delaware avenues, and just a stone's throw from the Delaware River — above flood elevation. Total square footage will increase from about 5,000 to more than 8,400, with total seating close to 300. Work to bring the inn into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will begin in 2025. The inn will close for a year to complete the project, which is estimated to cost between $4 million and $5 million.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 5/18/2023

Bonus for Bucks Landlords offers cash for Realtors’ referrals
Bucks County’s Bonus for Bucks Landlords program provides cash rewards to landlords — and Realtors who refer them — who lease to low-income renters. Landlords who are new to the Housing Link program can receive a bonus equal to one month’s rent when they lease to a 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 about the program, visit the Bonus for Bucks Landlords website and read answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Bonus for Bucks Landlords launched in 2021 as 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

Kennett Township opens Spar Hill Farm and Preserve
Kennett Township officials have opened the Spar Hill Farm and Preserve. The ribbon-cutting ceremony represented a victory in the nearly decade-long effort by the township to save the farm from residential development in order to maintain it as a site where history, farming and agriculture converge. “Before us here are over 100 acres of rolling meadows and woodlands stretching from Burnt Hill Road to the Delaware state line,” said township Supervisors Chairman Geoffrey Gamble in his opening remarks. Gamble thanked the many agencies who helped the township secure, repair and sustain the 103-acre farm, including Mount Cuba Center, the township’s Land Conservation Advisory Council, the township’s Historical Commission and the first responders from the Longwood Fire Company. The township purchased the property in fall 2018 for $3.2 million — including $1 million received as a grant from Mount Cuba Center — and spent the next several years conceiving ideas that would convert the property into open space that would provide a trail network and redefine it as an educational center to demonstrate what agricultural life in southern Chester County looked like during the 1800s and early 1900s.
Source: Chester County Press; 5/16/2023

Penn Township celebrates two major projects
Penn Township recently celebrated progress on two projects — a growing sports park and a new emergency operations center. The Penn Township Sports Park on North Jennersville Road sits on a 43-acre site obtained by the township from Star Roses in 2016. It includes trails, parking, an outdoor classroom and a story walk from the first phase of development. The new Phase 2 portion of the park will include an expanded parking lot, a trail, a stormwater management area, an inclusive playground with a sensory friendly area, bocce, basketball, pickleball, hockey and more. The contract to begin work on the project is expected to be awarded by the township supervisors at a meeting on Aug. 2. The other project, the new Southern Chester County Emergency Operations Center and Medic 94 House, will provide a permanent base of operations for Medic 94 advanced life support service. Medic 94, which serves 17 municipalities, was founded 40 years ago. When Jennersville Hospital closed, the need for a new home became urgent. Township supervisors were committed to keeping the organization in Penn Township. A new building to be constructed at 863 W. Baltimore Pike will be its new home, as well as providing a base for Avon Grove Regional Emergency Management and serving as an emergency operations center for southern Chester County.
Source: Chester County Press; 5/23/2023

Tredyffrin supervisors approve grant application seeking $250K for bike park
Despite some opposition from neighbors, Tredyffrin Township supervisors unanimously approved a resolution to apply for a $250,000 grant for a bike skills/pump track at Mill Road Park. The park, located at 1400 Mill Road, is a 56-acre tract that has baseball and soccer fields. The township’s composting site is next to the fields. Tom McGarrigle, a resident of Eaves Spring Drive in the Malvern section of the township, asked the supervisors to slow down on making a decision to build the bike track. He asked the board to consider the environmental and parking impact. He also noted that in nearby Malvern, a referendum in the May primary resulted in a proposal for a bike track being defeated. Supervisor Sharon Humble said the township’s parks and recreation board has been reviewing the project for a year, noting there are a lot of dead trees in the park. In March, the supervisors hired engineering firm Pennoni for $8,400 to conduct a feasibility study for a bike track at the park. Pump tracks are trending in suburban neighborhoods. They allow riders to use an up-and-down pumping motion to propel the bike forward, instead of pedaling. The tracks have hilly dirt inclines and cover about a half-acre to an acre.
Source: Tredyffrin Patch; 5/23/2023

New master plan coming for West Chester Borough parks
West Chester Borough is creating a master plan for its 13 public parks. Borough council has budgeted $100,000 for the project and will hire a consultant who will be charged with writing grant applications and finding some of the funding needed to pay their own fee. A major plan update will address capital improvements and everything parks and recreation related, according to Keith Kurowski, borough parks director. The plan will consider how best to maintain staffing, activities and programs, and add new parks. Stormwater management, erosion and runoff will all be examined. The borough intends to engage the public in providing input. No parks master plan has been undertaken in the borough in more than 10 years.
Source: Daily Local; 5/19/2023

2023 Town Tours and Village Walks
Chester County’s Town Tours & Village Walks is a series of free summer strolls through historic neighborhoods, hamlets, villages and sites to learn about history. The 2023 program, "Our Agricultural Heritage," will kick off on Thursday, June 8, at the United Methodist Church in West Chester from 5 to 7:30 p.m. with a presentation followed by walking tours. Additional tours will take place on Thursday evenings through August. Learn more about the events being held through the summer here. Registration procedures vary depending on the event.
Source: Chester County Planning Department; 5/2023