West Chester increases rental licensing fee
West Chester Borough Council last week increased from $42 to $43.50 the annual licensing fee that landlords must pay to the borough for each rental they own. Council had considered increasing the fee to $43.33 until borough administrators said accounting would be easier if the fee were rounded down to a flat $43. But council did not want a fee that could result in the borough losing money. So instead of rounding down, the officials rounded up to $43.50. Arguments over such small sums of money are not trivial in light of the borough’s history with the West Chester Apartment Housing Association, a group representing borough landlords. Nearly a decade ago, the association sued the borough, claiming it had been charging more for license fees than it cost to inspect the rentals. The fee is intended to cover what it costs the borough’s codes department to ensure apartments and rooming houses are in compliance with borough code. In 2003, county Judge Juan Sanchez ruled the borough was charging more for the licenses than it cost to conduct inspections. Sanchez ordered the borough to return money to local landlords and follow a strict formula when calculating the license fees. This rule, which officials now call “the Sanchez Formula,” dictates the borough must charge no more for the fees than it costs to inspect the rentals.
Source: Daily Local; 6/22/10
Coatesville hires law firm to fight rate hike
With Coatesville residents facing three-fold hikes in their sewer bill, the city hired a law firm that specializes in public utility issues to help them fight Pennsylvania American Water Co.’s proposed rate hike. About six municipalities, including Coatesville, in PAWC’s service area are metered users and the city is trying to form a coalition. So far Parkesburg is willing to join and West Caln is thinking about it, City Manager Ted Reed said Thursday. The other three municipalities that have metered users are East Fallowfield, Highland and West Sadsbury. The city hired Thomas, Long, Niessen & Kennard of Harrisburg, a firm that specializes in PUC matters, to analyze the Pennsylvania American Water Co.’s application to the PUC for the rate hike. The law firm will be looking for areas that it could argue to the PUC that PAWC’s proposed rate hike is not justified. The water company announced in April that it was seeking a rate hike of 229 percent for current residential customers and 191 percent for commercial customers.
Source: Daily Local; 6/18/10
Another round of proposals sought for redevelopment
The Flats, the 27-acre former G.O. Carlson site at the corner of Business 30 and Route 82, is back on the market and is attracting interest. Mosaic Development Corp., which had an agreement with the city to purchase the property for $2 million, is backing out. The developer’s proposal for the site centered around building a 82,000-square foot shopping center with a supermarket as an anchor. Fresh Grocer representatives initially indicated they were interested in building a store there. That deal fell through after it was revealed Fresh Grocer wanted a $2 million grant from the city and didn’t want to pay any city real estate taxes. Interim City Manager Ted Reed said the city didn’t have $2 million to pay Fresh Grocer and it was impossible to forgive all city taxes. The Coatesville Redevelopment Authority agreed Monday to return $50,000 it was holding in escrow to Mosaic. With two other developers interested in the site, the authority asked the Chester County Economic Development Council to help them write a set of developer’s criteria. The developer’s criteria, similar to any commercial real estate loan application, will answer questions such as does the developer have a sound business plan, does he/she have investment capital or equity to put into the project.
Source: Daily Local; 6/23/10
Oxford sewer plan in the home stretch
A new 537 Plan may finally be in sight for the Oxford Area Sewer Authority, as the latest version of the regional sewage disposal plan moves into the public comment phase before final submission to the state Department of Environmental Protection for approval. Authority Director Ed Lennex gave an overview of the plan at the authority’s board meeting Wednesday, and there will be a similar presentation at the next planning commission meeting for each member municipality. The remaining meetings are set for June 28 in East Nottingham and July 6 in West Nottingham. A copy is available online at the sewer authority Web site here. The authority also appears to have approval of a $27 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help make the project possible. The USDA Rural Development published an environmental assessment of the authority’s project on April 28 for a 30-day comment period. There were five comments received and responded to, and an additional 10 days given for follow-up comments. Closing on the loan is expected before the end of June.
Source: Daily Local; 6/18/10
