50 PA school districts will get extra money because of their high tax burdens
Fifty Pennsylvania school districts with high property tax burdens will receive an extra $32 million as part of a sweeping effort to overhaul education funding in the new state budget. The supplements, which range from $50,000 to $5 million, target districts with high local taxes compared to the wealth of their residents. Many of the districts that will receive a supplement are in Allegheny County and the Philadelphia collar counties. State law directs local school boards to use the money to mitigate or prevent property tax increases, supplement existing tax reduction programs or reduce debt. Among the recipients are one district in Bucks County, two in Chester County, seven in Delaware County and five in Montgomery County. View the full list of how much each district will receive at Spotlight PA.
Source: Spotlight PA; 8/14/2024

‘Landmark’ $200M in funds will support new trails in Philly, Chesco, Delco, Montco
An infusion of $200 million in federal funding will bolster the region’s trail system. The two-mile Spring Garden Connector, for example, which would link the Schuylkill River and Delaware River trails, will receive $21 million spread out through 2036. The federal funding was approved for distribution to counties in July by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) as part of an annual process. A new source of money, the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), provides $120 million for the Circuit Trails, a planned 860-mile network of trails to connect urban, suburban and rural communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The remaining $80 million comes from a variety of other government and private sources. The DVRPC is a federally designated planning organization for the Greater Philadelphia region and apportions money for trails and traffic-reducing projects through its transportation improvement program. DVRPC officials call the approval of money for the 2025 fiscal year starting Oct. 1 a “landmark” level of funding designed to connect “significant segments” of the Circuit Trails.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 8/17/2024

New ‘zoning atlas’ seeks to demystify local zoning laws throughout country
A newly expanded online tool is making it easier to understand how communities use zoning to control land use. By “digitizing, demystifying and democratizing” zoning codes, the National Zoning Atlas seeks to provide a more comprehensive understanding of what a state’s zoning landscape looks like. Users can select filters to view areas where it is permitted to build various types of housing, such as single-family homes on small lots, apartment buildings with more than four units and accessory dwelling units.The Philadelphia region is not yet well represented in the atlas. Read more here.
Source: Route Fifty; 8/13/2024

Middletown trash fees to increase, but collection days will decrease
Residents of Middletown Township will pay more for fewer trash collection days next year. Supervisors voted 3-2 to approve a new $28.4 million contract with its current hauler, Waste Management. The new contract will change the current twice-a-week manual collection to once-a-week automated collection. Weekly bulk pickup will change to a monthly bulk service limited to one item. Trash collection fees are expected to increase from the current $401 a year to $512 a year. The cost to maintain the current level of service with Waste Management would have cost residents an additional $300 per year for a household trash collection bill around $700. Under the new contract, each household will receive 96-gallon totes for trash and recycling collection on automated trucks. Smaller cans can be requested, and a second can will be available for a fee.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 8/17/2024

Homes proposed in Richland along Superfund site
Better Living Homes has proposed building 104 townhomes in Richland Township beside a Superfund site. The proposed development would be on about 54 acres at 860 E. Pumping Station Road. The proposal notes that Better Living Homes plans to sell the property to another developer that will build the townhomes. Part of the land sits on the former Watson Johnson landfill that was listed as a Superfund site in 2001 and has also been monitored for PFAS since 2019.The township planning commission moved to recommend preliminary approval of the project in November 2022, and necessary approvals from the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Protection for new construction have also been obtained. The landfill contamination was first identified in 1997, and cleanup began in 2015 when funding became available. The first five-year review of the site in 2021 found that remediation measures were “protective of human health and the environment in the short-term.” The next review will be in 2026. Township officials did not respond to requests from the Bucks County Courier Times on the project status.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 8/19/2024 
*Note: The Aug. 23 news briefs email misidentified Richland as Richboro in the subject line. We regret the error.

Bucks County warns of algal blooms that could harm kids and pets
Recreational activities like boating, kayaking, fishing and wading are “under advisement” at lakes in two Bucks County parks after the discovery of algal blooms at Lake Luxembourg in Core Creek Park in Langhorne and Lake Galena in Peace Valley Park in New Britain Township. The harmful algal blooms present in the lakes contain toxic cyanobacteria — an algae potentially harmful to humans and pets. The Bucks County Parks and Recreation Department stressed that adults, children and pets should stay out of the water and avoid swallowing it. Dogs are particularly prone to cyanobacteria poisoning. They advise to seek medical attention if illness appears in humans or in pets. No date was mentioned on when the advisory might be lifted.
Source: The Advance; 8/18/2024

Pennridge mistakenly bills students in dual enrollment classes
Pennridge School District mistakenly sent invoices to parents of students enrolled in two dual enrollment classes with Bucks County Community College. The invoice from MySchoolBucks — a third-party software used by some districts for school-related payments — showed students were being charged $750 for the upcoming semester. David Thomas, communications and public relations coordinator for Pennridge School District, said anyone who paid the errant invoice before it was removed should reach out to the school district for a refund.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 8/16/2024

Doylestown to host preparedness seminar on Aug. 26
Doylestown Borough will host a “preparedness seminar” to discuss what to do after a weather emergency. The seminar will be held Monday, Aug. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Borough Hall, 10 Doyle St. Find sign-up information here.
Source: Doylestown Borough 

Natural Lands launches fundraising push to preserve Crebilly Farm in Westtown
Natural Lands announced that it is launching the Save Crebilly Campaign, the final step in the organization’s multi-year fundraising effort to preserve the entirety of the 308-acre Crebilly Farm, the iconic open land in Westtown Township. The campaign seeks to raise $2.5 million by Oct. 31 to unlock $2 million in challenge funding offered by Mount Cuba center and an anonymous donor. The campaign targets residents in communities within a 10-mile radius of Crebilly. To date, more than $20 million has been committed thanks to revenues from a newly enacted Westtown Township open space tax, county, state and federal grants, and private donations.
Source: Daily Times; 8/17/2024

Oxford approves changes to building height, moving Moran Farm Development forward
Oxford Borough Council held a public hearing to adopt Ordinance No. 965-2024, updating Chapter 27, Zoning, of the municipal code of ordinances to change the maximum building height in the PD-1 and R-1 zoning districts for lot clustering. The decision doesn’t affect how many houses would be allowed under the guidelines, just the maximum height. Councilmember Peggy Russell said there are concerns about homes on Third Street that might be overshadowed if taller buildings are constructed nearby. Borough Manager Pauline Garcia-Allen noted that all the other districts in the borough allow for 35 feet. Council voted to adopt the ordinance, with Russell and Councilmember Amanda Birdwell dissenting. Now that the ordinance has been adopted, the Moran Farm Development is moving forward after delays.
Source: Chester County Press; 8/14/2024

Judge hears testimony from customers opposed to Aqua rate hikes
More than 200 Chester County residents filed into a public hearing in New Garden Township on Aug. 8 to voice opposition to Aqua Pennsylvania’s proposal to increase its water service rates by nearly 19% and its wastewater rates by more than 20%. Aqua filed the request with the Public Utility Commission (PUC) on May 24, which ordered an investigation to determine the “reasonableness” of the proposed and existing rates and assigned the investigation to administrative law judges Gail M. Chiodo and Alphonso Arnold III, who are compiling testimony from all nine public input hearings in Luzerne, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties from Aug. 1 to 12. The two-and-a-half-hour hearing in New Garden heard a total of 21 testimonies. Other officials present were representatives from the Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement, the Office of the Small Business Advocate and the Pennsylvania Office of Consumer Advocate. If the PUC rules in favor of the water giant, the proposed rate hikes would increase Aqua Pennsylvania’s total annual operating revenues by $126.7 million. A number of residents testified about the impacts the increased costs would have. The PUC’s final decision on Aqua’s proposed rate increase is due on Feb. 22, 2025. 
Source: Chester County Press; 8/14/2024

Chester County earns national recognition for GIS project
The National Association of Counties (NACo) recently recognized the Chester County Department of Computing and Information Services (DCIS) as a 2024 Achievement Award recipient for its GIS Productivity Tools and Applications project. DCIS developed a series of geographic information systems (GIS) tools for use by staff across county government departments that increase productivity and reduce unnecessary costs.
Source: Chester County; 7/25/2024

'Anything With A Plug' recycling event planned at Tredyffrin’s Wilson Farm Park
Tredyffrin and Easttown townships are partnering up to give area residents a chance to responsibly dispose of electronic products. On Saturday, Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, residents and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees can recycle electronics in Wilson Farm Park in Wayne. Read more at Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch.
Source: Tredyffrin-Easttown Patch; 8/8/2024