News NewsRe-Appraisal UpdateNovember 18, 2019UncategorizedThat’s right, it’s budget season again! In advance of a longer newsletter about our 2020 budget, I’m sending an update reminding everyone that Delaware County is conducting a re-appraisal this year that is projected to go into effect in 2021. I’ve heard a lot of questions and more than a little misinformation about this process, so I’ve been meaning to share my understanding. In general, tax assessment appraisals are conducted at three times: (1) subdivision and construction of a new property; (2) during a tax assessment appeal filed by the property owner; and (3) during county-wide re-appraisals. County-wide re-appraisals are provided for by law, and are encouraged in order to ensure that the County’s tax pool remains equitably distributed. Without regular re-appraisals, new homes would be taxed at higher rates reflecting the improving market, while existing properties with the same market value would retain their original assessed value. That’s plainly inequitable, and also harms the Township’s ability to raise revenue. I’ve heard from a lot of people that they understand that the reappraisal is required to be revenue neutral. That’s sort-of true and sort-of not. The re-appraisal will reflect* the fact that market prices have increased since the last re-appraisal in 2000, so the total assessed value of the County and Township will increase. The Township, County, and School Board, however, are all required to adjust their base tax rates to reflect the increased appraisals, and are then limited as to how much they can increase taxes in calendar 2021. How the re-appraisal affects individual homeowners will vary based on the the ratio of the total increase in value to the specific increase in value of their home. A few examples might be helpful. Radnor Township’s 2019 tax rate is .41582%, which is calculated based on each non-exempt property’s assessed value. The Township’s total assessed value is in the neighborhood of $3.3BB** right now, so the Township collects approximately $13MM in property taxes. If the total assessed value of the Township doubled to $6.6BB in 2021, our base tax rate would need to be cut in half to .20791%. From that new rate, the Board would be permitted but not required to enact as much as a ten-percent tax increase, making the final property tax rate as high as .228701% of the newly assessed value. How that affects individual homeowners, however, will vary. For instance, if one resident purchased a fixer-upper in 2010 for $250,000, she probably qualified for a tax assessment appeal which might have knocked the assessed value of the home down to its fair market value, which is the price she just paid.† Since then, however, the same homeowner probably finished the fixing-up process, and the home she bought for $250,000 might be worth $750,000 today. In 2019 the homeowner paid $1,040 in real property taxes to the Township but, in spite of the decreased millage rate, the same owner will owe $1,715 in 2021—a seven-hundred-dollar increase in spite of a dramatic decrease in millage rate. A neighbor down the street, however, might have let his property fall into decline. Although it was in fine shape when it was purchased a decade ago, it now needs a new roof, new heater and furnace, and has suffered a crack in its foundation that needs repair. Instead of increasing with the market, the home that the neighbor purchased for $500,000 in 2010 is now worth only $400,000. In 2019, the neighbor paid $1,663 in property taxes to the Township, but in 2021 would only pay $914. Don’t panic! It’s not likely that the total value of the Township has literally doubled since 2000—that’s just a convenient guess to keep the math simple. My anticipation is that, in general, new construction homes and homes with recent tax assessment appeals will likely have little or no change in value; homes that have not been appraised since the last county-wide assessment in 2000 will likely increase in value, perhaps significantly. Individual homeowners can take an appeal of their re-assessment, but doing so will likely require a private appraisal. In short, keep your eye on your tax bill and appraisal over the next twelve months. _________ *The tax appraisals that are being conducted are, by virtue of the scope of the project, formulaic in nature. In other words, they focus on the number of bedrooms in the home as opposed to the quality of the wallpaper in each bedroom. Their ability to accurately reflect a home’s true fair market value is limited. **Also equal to one vest made of mithril chain mail. †Actually, a tax assessment appeal probably would have reduced the assessed value of the property to about $150,000, because assessments are reached by multiplying the fair market value of the property by the Common Level Ratio, but sticking to fair market values simplifies the example without damaging its essential accuracy.... Last Night’s Wawa VoteJune 11, 2019UncategorizedLast night, on June 10, 2019, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted against Wawa’s Land Development Plan, which proposed construction of a ‘Super’ Wawa convenience store and gas station at the intersection of Lancaster and South Aberdeen. Ultimately, the Plan included violations of Radnor’s Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision and Land Ordinance that prevented its approval absent onerous conditions; given Wawa’s negotiating position and the residents’ overwhelming opposition to the project, there was no meaningful opportunity to seek a compromise at this phase of the project. I’m honestly a little disappointed by this outcome. Opinions can obviously differ but, based on my own idiosyncratic preferences, I believe that a Wawa at the intersection of Lancaster and Aberdeen would be a better aesthetic than what’s there now. More importantly, it’s my expectation that the gas station, service station, and car wash have all infiltrated hazardous substances into the soil that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to remediate; Wawa is one of a select few businesses that could fit in that space and have the financial wherewithal to repair the pollution. And, while I view the additional traffic as dangerous to pedestrians—especially children—the untreated petrochemicals that I anticipate to be in the soil so close to schools is another kind of very real danger. Given the near unanimity of resident opinion, however, this is clearly an issue where I need to be a true representative and not indulge my own preferences; I plan to continue to be that representative. Which brings us to phase II of the project. Some of you at the meeting wondered why Wawa withdrew the amended plans it had developed in conjunction with the neighbors in favor of its original land development plan. I don’t know. But, if I had to guess, I would suggest that this is a negotiation tactic: the Plan that Wawa will now appeal to the Court of Common Pleas in Media is the least appetizing option to the Township; this gives Wawa the opportunity to re-offer the amended plans that some of the neighbors endorsed during the course of their appeal, in exchange for permission to build in spite of the zoning violations that would have barred any of the three plans from approval last night. To mix metaphors, Wawa has moved the goal posts of the negotiation in order to prevent the Township from bootstrapping new concessions in addition to the earlier amendments. But wait! In my last e-mail I wrote that the Board of Commissioners only had the authority to call balls and strikes, and that concessions that did not bring the Plan into conformity with our Zoning Ordinance and SALDO would not save the plan. That raises the question: how can the Township negotiate with Wawa on appeal if it isn’t willing to submit a truly by-right plan? The answer is that, having ruled on Wawa’s Land Development Application, the Board of Commissioners has ceased to be a quasi-legislative/quasi-judicial body and is now merely a party to Wawa’s pending appeal.* And, while the Board of Commissioners cannot violate the Zoning Ordinance in its quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial functions, it’s well-settled that, as a party to an appeal, it is free to enter into settlements—even settlements that violate the Zoning Ordinance.** If you’re thinking that this system just encourages deep-pocketed land developers to file successive appeals in hopes settling after exhausting the Township and residents’ interest and financial ability to oppose the development, then congratulations—you’ve just discovered the flaw America’s appeals system. On the other hand, the Township is currently appealing the Court of Common Pleas decision permitting Villanova to erect a dome next to a residential neighborhood so, if you support that appeal, then you’ll agree that there is an upside to the messy, confusing, and frustrating appellate process. Here’s what all that means for residents: First, the Board voted against the Wawa Land Development Application, but that doesn’t mean that the project is dead. For those of you who are in favor of a Wawa under appropriate conditions, the new stage of the proceedings increases the Board’s flexibility in both making offers and imposing restrictions, so this is a win for you. For those of you who are opposed to the Wawa under any circumstances, last night’s vote was a key victory for you, but it’s important that you continue to make your positions known because the process hasn’t ended. Second, the negotiations will not be carried out in public, and the public will not receive meaningful status updates. The Board is permitted to keep litigation matters confidential,† and its decision to waive that privilege can result in waiving the attorney-client privilege for the entirety of the representation, and not just with respect to the specific information made public.†† I understand the frustration at being told that what was a transparent process is about to become completely opaque. Unfortunately, sharing confidential information about active litigation would possibly be a breach of the individual Board members’ fiduciary duties to the Township, and not something we’re going to do. On the other hand, at least one group of residents has already retained counsel and of course others are free to do so as well. Interested residents who intervene in the appeal will be included in mediations and in multi-lateral settlement discussions, and will not only be kept abreast of the situation but will have a genuine say in any settlement that is proposed and, maybe, reached. So, just like Wawa, the law provides a back-door for residents as well. I strongly urge you to take advantage of it. Third, my newsletters going forward may continue to include footnotes and have fewer pictures. I’d love to get back to writing something that doesn’t require the use of double-daggers, so hopefully this case doesn’t last too long. __________ *Technically the appeal hasn’t been filed and served yet, but I suspect that’s just because it takes a while for the Prothonotary to stamp Wawa’s Notice of Appeal. ** See, e.g., Boeing Co. v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of Ridley Twp., 822 A.2d 153, 161 (Pa. Commw. 2003). (“Because court-approved settlements of zoning cases are lawful, we must recognize such settlements as being distinct from zoning hearing board variances; even though a judicial settlement may result in a departure from the ordained zoning pattern, that kind of departure falls within the court’s jurisdiction, not the board’s jurisdiction.The objectors’ real concern here is that if parties to zoning appeals can settle them by stipulation, the procedures and purpose of the MPC may be totally circumvented. However, the law favors settlement”). † “An agency may hold an executive session for one or more of the following reasons: . . . (4) To consult with its attorney or other professional advisor regarding information or strategy in connection with litigation or with issues on which identifiable complaints are expected to be filed.” 65 Pa.C.S. § 708 (a)(4). †† See, e.g., Bagwell v. Pennsylvania Dep’t of Educ., 103 A.3d 409, 418 (Pa. Commw. 2014) (“a party in litigation may not selectively disclose records that help its position, while protecting others on the subject as privileged, because to do so is to wield the privilege as both a sword and a shield. To do so is fundamentally unfair to the opposing party, in addition to not serving the interest in candor to the courts.”).... Super Wawa UpdateJune 10, 2019UncategorizedTonight, on June 10, 2019, the Board of Supervisors will vote on Wawa’s Land Development Plan proposing construction of a ‘Super’ Wawa convenience store and gas station at the intersection of Lancaster and South Aberdeen. Many of you have written to me about this project, generally expressing your opposition to it, and I anticipate that a lot of you will come out to speak about the project tonight. This newsletter addresses the status of the project and the basics of the legal framework for the Board’s vote. Core to the land development process is the well-settled rule that the Board of Commissioners does not have unfettered discretion to approve or deny land development applications. Instead, every “subdivision plan which complies with applicable regulations must be approved.”* As a result, the question is not whether the proposed Wawa will be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for the Township and the neighborhood but, instead, whether it complies with the Township’s SALDO and Zoning Ordinances. If the answer to that question is yes, then it must be approved; if the answer is no, it must either be (1) approved subject to agreed-upon conditions that, once satisfied, would bring the Plan into compliance; (2) approved pursuant to the Township’s waivers of the violated provisions of the SALDO;** or (3) denied for specifically articulated reasons which are provided to the applicant in writing. As most of you know, the Township’s Solicitor has issued an opinion concluding that the waivers from the Township’s SALDO that Wawa seeks are not mandatory and, in any event, that Wawa’s plan includes non-waivable violations of the Zoning Ordinance. A copy of that memo is available for download. Wawa has responded, and the Township’s Solicitor has issued a reply memo, both of which are available for download as well.† In short, the Township’s Solicitor contends that the Board must deny the plan or approve it with conditions that would not be acceptable to Wawa; Wawa contends that, to the contrary, the Board must approve the plan. Both sides of this issue feel strongly. A collection of 840 residents have signed a petition asking me to oppose the Wawa Land Development Plan, and in the last few weeks I’ve been averaging about half-a-dozen e-mails a day urging me to vote no tonight. A group of residents have hired an attorney to oppose the Wawa Land Development Application. If the Board votes in favor of the Wawa Development, I have no doubt that the affected residents will appeal; similarly, Wawa has indicated that it intends to bring a court reporter to tonight’s meeting, which is also a clear indication that, if the Board votes against the Wawa Development, Wawa will appeal. No matter what happens, this plan will head to the Court of Common Pleas in Media and, from there, to the Commonwealth Court. As a result, it is my strong advice to First Ward residents that anyone who speaks at tonight’s meeting should keep in mind the criteria by which Land Development Plans must be evaluated. If the Plan were to be denied, Wawa’s contention will be that the Township’s decision was based on political calculation rather than genuine legal considerations. Indeed, Wawa’s most recent memo to the Board specifically urges the Board to accept the Zoning Officer’s prior favorable determination on the grounds that “to allow otherwise, would politicize the entire land development process by allowing the governing body to interpret zoning ordinances under the guise of political expediency.”†† Conversely, I’m sure that if the Plan were approved, residents would make the same argument in reverse. Simply put: if you plan to attend and speak at tonight’s meeting, for whatever side of the issue, please consider your words carefully and understand that whatever you say may be used in a subsequent court proceeding, possibly to advocate against your position. __________ *Goodman v. Bd. of Comm’rs of S. Whitehall Twp., 411 A.2d 838, 841 (Pa. Commw. 1980); Stoner v. Twp. of Lower Merion, 587 A.2d 879, 883 (Pa. Commw. 1991) (same); see, also, Delchester Developers, L.P. v. London Grove Twp. Bd. of Supervisors, 161 A.3d 1106, 1108 (Pa. Commw. 2017) (“If the plan submitted by the applicant complies with all of the objective provisions of the applicable subdivision and land development ordinance (SALDO) as well as all other applicable regulations, the plan must be approved by the reviewing body.”). ** The Board of Commissioners cannot grant waivers from the Zoning Ordinance except in certain rare cases; only the Zoning Hearing Board can do so by way of variance or special exception. † Why we bother to mark those memos as attorney-client confidential and then post them on the Internet is beyond me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ †† Memo, Apr. 27, 2018, at 2.... Downtown WayneMarch 19, 2019UncategorizedLast week I met with members of the WBA to discuss their need for the Township to improve the Township-owned areas in the Wayne Business District. Among other things, the WBA has asked that the Township replant the trees that have been removed over time and provide plantings for the raised cement beds at the street corners. These small projects seem doable, and I am pushing to get them completed in time for the warm weather. I’m also working with the WBA on a larger revitalization project for the downtown area, and look forward to sharing the details of that concept in my next newsletter!... March 7, 2019 Sewer Committee MeetingMarch 14, 2019UncategorizedOn March 7, 2019, the Sewer and Public Works subcommittee met to discuss the status of Gannett Fleming’s survey of the Township Sewer. My understanding of their report is that the core of the survey is an analysis of the age of the existing sewer pipes. Any pipes that have outlived their useful lifespans will be slated for replacement. That mechanical analysis will then be supplemented with whatever observational data is already available for pipes, and a survey-specific investigation of the Township’s pumping stations. Substantially all of the First Ward’s sanitary sewer is made of 100+ year old terracotta pipe and requires repair. Because the survey has already reached this conclusion, I have asked for an interim report that would enable the Board to begin the process of bidding out the repair of the First Ward in advance of the May/June release date for the final results of Gannet Fleming’s study.... PotholesFebruary 20, 2019UncategorizedOur Board President, Lisa Borowski, is leading the effort to make PennDOT take responsibility for the condition of our deplorable state roads. She reports that State Representative Jennifer O’Mara is headed to PennDOT this morning armed with a list of Radnor’s state roads in need of attention. By way of reminder, Jenn O’Mara holds office hours in Radnor the First Thursday of every month from noon-to-four. Also, Amy Fulton, Constituent Services Representative for State Senator Daylin Leach, has also been reaching out to PennDOT on our behalf. PennDOT has begun filling some holes on Sproul Road between Radnor Valley County Club and Conestoga. But still not enough. We need more of our road repaved.... Stormwater Myths Part IVFebruary 18, 2019UncategorizedWelcome to this week’s installment of Stormwater Myths, my semi-regular response to some of the crazier stories I hear on the street about stormwater and flooding in Wayne. This week I’m responding to the claim I’ve heard a few times over the last few weeks that the Township is hoarding stormwater fees and refusing to spend money out of the fund. That’s a myth I’m glad to bust. Since the inception of the fund, the Township has consistently spent significant stormwater dollars handling maintenance of existing stormwater facilities, as well as emergency repairs. Last year alone we spent $447,370 on maintenance, repairs, and project planning. That may seem like a lot but, as a result of the push the Board made in 2018 to move aggressively on stormwater projects, we’re budgeted to spend another $2,425,928 on stormwater projects in 2019. Importantly, that figure doesn’t include the cost of constructing the Flood Plain Restoration Project I’ve been hyping in the last few newsletters; if we’re able to get shovels in the ground in 2019, that figure will only rise. So it’s good that we’re not hoarding fees without doing anything with them. But, if you’re anything like me, the idea of spending down all the Township’s savings probably sounds like an alternative that’s just as scary. It shouldn’t be. By law, stormwater dollars can only be used for stormwater projects. We can’t use those funds to pay the police, or service the Township’s general debt, or keep the parks open. On the contrary, if we keep the money in the bank, it costs the Township more dollars out of the general fund to pay first responders and our public works crews to clean up avoidable flood damage. It also costs the taxpayers whose homes and cars are damaged by storms. And, in the event of a true emergency, there’s nothing to prevent the Township from using its general fund or reserve fund to supplement the stormwater fund—stormwater dollars cannot go to general use, but general fund dollars can go to stormwater use. With that in mind, I look forward to spending every dollar in the stormwater fund on the infrastructure that we need across Radnor Township... North Wayne Field BasinFebruary 13, 2019UncategorizedOn July 16, 2018, the Township voted to authorize the cleanout—but not the expansion—of the North Wayne Field Basin; now we’ve finally gotten started actually doing the work. In addition to the cleanout of the accumulated silt, the Township will be installing a pair of separators that will enable us to keep the system free of debris going forward, without the cost, delay, and disruption involved in digging up the field.... Wawa MeetingFebruary 12, 2019UncategorizedThe Community Development Committee of the Radnor Township Board of Commissioners will hold a meeting on Wednesday, February 13, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. in the Radnorshire Room of the Township Building, 301 Iven Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087. The topic of discussion will be for a proposed WAWA at the corner of Lancaster and South Aberdeen Avenues. In addition, the CDC will be discussing the Villanova dome that the Township has appealed to the Commonwealth Court.... Retaining Wall RepairFebruary 11, 2019UncategorizedAnyone who’s driven down Radnor Road recently has probably noticed the repair being done there. The new retaining wall replaces a set of gabions that were damaged and failed. Initially, I was concerned about this project. My fear was that, by installing new permanent infrastructure, the Township would further channelize Gulph Creek, exacerbating the existing flooding problem. Our Township Engineer, however, is (as usual) two steps ahead of me. Before undertaking the emergency project, he conferred with Meliora, the firm designing the flood mitigation project. Meliora has confirmed that this construction will not impact their design. As a result, we’re able to make an emergency repair to a failing system without undercutting our future project....
