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PA starts testing lenders

A new law requires the licensing and testing of individual loan officers and solicitors working for mortgage companies in the Commonwealth. Until now, only the brokerage company had to be licensed in Pennsylvania. The new law, which took effect as of July 8, will require all loan officers to pass a test and be licensed. Besides licensing, testing and continuing education for loan officers and originators, other new Pennsylvania laws will:

• Require lenders to send mortgage-foreclosure notices to the PA Housing Finance Authority to help the state track delinquencies.
• Cut the interest rate on emergency loans to homeowners facing foreclosures from 9% to market rates.
• Allow the Banking Department to release news about fines and prosecution of lenders.
• Increase the amount of mortgages exempt from payment penalties to $217,000 from $50,000.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 8/13/08

 

Housing Collapse Ahead? Not According to the Data

In a Washington Post feature, three economists from Columbia University and Wichita State University shared their mutual conclusions that the wave of foreclosures will not have a devastating effect on home prices. They noted that declines of more than four percent have occurred in only four states: Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada, according to the house price index of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, an index that includes a broad coverage of markets across the country, representing more than three quarters of U.S. homes sales. The report criticizes a recent Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller housing price index which reported a 14.1% decline between March 2007 and March 2008 because it includes no data from 13 states and has only partial coverage in 29 others where housing values have proven more resilient. According to the authors, the Case-Shiller index results are skewed, as they weight the results based on prices, giving an $800.000 sale eight times the value of a $100,000 sale.  Click here to read the entire Washington Post article.

Source: Washington Post; 8/4/08

Bucks County

Open space to increase by 322 acres in Bucks

A second phase of open space borrowing, approved by voters in the fall, will help preserve 322 acres in Bucks County. Plans to float $87 million in bonds at the end of October will initially help the county acquire or put conservation easements on three crop farms and two natural areas tracts at a cost of $765,732. The state will pay 95 percent of the price of the development rights for the three crop farms with the county covering the remaining 5 percent. For the two other parcels, the county and state will each pay 50 percent of the value.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/14/08

Commissioners approve voting district changes

In a controversial vote, Bucks County commissioners agreed to alter the voting districts in four townships this week. The changes are as follows:

• In Buckingham, District Upper 3 was divided into two districts with 1,370 and 1,567 voters each. The dividing line is Cold Spring Creamery Road.
• In Hilltown, Blooming Glen Distric 2 was divided into two districts with 1,488 and 1,365 voters each. The dividing line is Route 152/Walnut Street.
• In New Britain Township, the boundaries for South 1 and South 2 districts were shifted to more evenly divide the voters. The dividing line was not specified.
• In Plumstead, the boundaries of Districts 2 and 3 were moved, and a District 5 was created. The newly realigned districts have 1,651, 1,700, and 1,586 voters, respectively. The dividing lines were not specified.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/14/08

Central Bucks buys bus depot for $2.5M

The Central Bucks school board voted to purchase the old Cayuga Concrete Pipe Co. property at Route 202 and Bristol Road in New Britain for use as a bus depot. The $2.5 million purchase will allow the district to create a centrally-located depot for its 300 buses, which have been housed at several locations around the district. The district estimates that the new depot will save about $432,000 in bus-related costs per year. 

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/12/08

Buckingham voters to see emergency tax question on November ballot

Supervisors in Buckingham Township voted to place a referendum question on the November ballot that will let voters decide if they want to back an emergency services tax. The ballot question will ask voters if they want to support a ¼ mill tax, dedicated to emergency services in the township. If approved, it is expected to generate $97,000 for the Central Bucks Ambulance Service.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/14/08

Bensalem homeowners get some extra cash

Bensalem Township Council approved the “Homeowner Assistance Grant,” which will provide $250 to homeowners thanks to the township’s share of revenue from the Philadelphia Park Casino. About 14,600 homeowners will receive the grant, and homeowners age 65 and over could receive an additional $100 if their income is less than $17,000 annually. Last year, in its first year, the grant provided $200 for homeowners as a way to share the wealth of the casino directly with Bensalem residents.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/12/08

Chester County

Gerlach proposes single task force for pipeline plans

Congressman Jim Gerlach (R-6th) is urging Chester County to assemble a task force that would serve as a central clearing house for all the natural-gas pipeline projects proposed in the county. Gerlach expressed concern that not all county agencies impacted by the proposed pipeline projects have been kept fully informed or given an opportunity to assess and provide commentary. The five pipeline companies with projects pending in the county are Transco, AES Sparrows Point, Columbia Gas, Spectra Energy and Dominion.

Source: Daily Local; 8/09/08

 

Coatesville official blames city woes on subsidies

City Manager Harry Walker is calling for Chester County's Housing Authority to temporarily stop building housing projects and placing people into subsidized housing in the city. In an open letter sent Tuesday, Walker opined that public housing is exacerbating the crime and social instability that began when the city's manufacturing jobs disappeared. "Coatesville receives more than half of the county's (Section 8 housing) vouchers, which equates to over 28 percent of the city's housing stock," he wrote. "This ill-conceived policy has resulted in crimes that attack the basic rights of the residents of Coatesville." Of Coatesville's 713 Section 8 voucher holders, 233 are seniors and 119 are handicapped or disabled.

Source: Daily Local; 8/13/08

 

Coatesville City Council endorses development with supermarket

City Council has endorsed a proposal to build a shopping center anchored by a mid-scale to upscale supermarket at the Flats. The Council unanimously gave the city’s Redevelopment Authority permission to continue negotiations with Mosaic Development Partners, the company behind the proposal. The city has long been trying to find a buyer for the Flats, a former industrial site on the city’s west side. Power-plant operators expressed interest, but the Mosiac proposal comes closer to what city officials envision for the former industrial site. Mosiac plans to partner with Iacobucci Homes on the development of the Flats. While Mosiac wants to put a shopping center on the southern end of the property, Iacobucci wants to build more than 100 townhomes on the property’s northern end. Before development begins, council must approve the sale.

Source: Daily Local; 8/12/08

 

West Chester unveils new parking plan

West Chester Borough unveiled its alternative parking plan Monday for the Mosteller Garage’s monthly customers who will need to find alternative parking by next spring, when the garage is slated to be torn down. Of the 414 parking spaces in Mosteller, there are about 280 monthly customers for which the borough needs to find alternative spaces. The garage on the corner of East Chestnut and North Walnut streets was built in 1973 and has suffered damage from water infiltration over the years. A new garage is being designed that will provide 700 to 800 parking spaces, including parking for two new hotels scheduled to be built in the downtown.

Source: Daily Local; 8/14/08

 

DASD receives academic warning from state

A report released by the state showed that the Downingtown Area School District (DASD) was the only district in Chester County to fail to meet a Pennsylvania Department of Education-mandated academic target. This report, known as Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), was released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education on Thursday. The AYP is a part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act and is broken down into three major categories: attendance, academic performance and test participation, according to the state.  DASD responded to the warning by stating that the district’s large number of special education students had impacted test results. “The state does not test special-education children on where they are academically, but rather on a grade-level standard,” a DASD spokesperson stated. “In other words, the 922 children in our district with diagnosed learning disabilities had to take the same test that was given to the other students their age and in their grade level. It is important to note that in 2008 our special-education students scored in the top 25 percent of all county special-education students.”

Source: Daily Local; 8/15/08

Delaware County

SEPTA rolls out service expansion for Delco

Representatives of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) announced Thursday that riders will start seeing the benefits of a $10 million overhaul in coming months designed to address overcrowding from increased usage.  SEPTA General Manager Joe Casey said it is the largest expansion of service in the authority’s history, and should help alleviate the pressure of adding 38,000 new riders since gas prices have spiked. Riders are encouraged to pick up new schedules as they become available to review exactly how their routes will be affected.

Source: Daily Times; 8/15/08

 

New Gas Lines Set For Wayfield Road 

PECO energy has announced plans to fast-track the installation of new natural gas lines along Wayfield road in response to residents' concerns about odor from the existing lines. Residents who will be affected by the construction and home service should be receiving notification from PECO approximately two to three weeks prior to the start of the project. As underground construction is necessary, there may be some short-term inconvenience on Wayfield Road, leading to a long-term solution to the residents' concerns.

Source: County Press; 8/12/08

 

Eddystone approves sewer project

Eddystone Council recently approved phase one of a sewer project that will include videotaping the borough’s sewer system to pinpoint any cracks in the pipes. Engineer Charles Catania told council there is a special state grant program that could provide the funding for the work estimated to cost $32,000.

Source: Daily Times; 8/14/08

 

Rose Valley Borough forms email notification system

Rose Valley Borough has launched an e-mail system to notify residents of important community news, particularly public safety issues. Residents may add their names to the distribution list by notifying the borough office at (610) 566-2040 or e-mailing rosevalleyborough@comcast.net. Individuals may also join by creating a Google account, searching for the group called "RVB-alert" and adding themselves as members.

Source: Daily Times; 8/15/08

Montgomery County

New home construction in Montco declined last year

The 2,109 new homes constructed in Montgomery County last year represented the lowest number of homes built since 1983. Throughout the 1990’s, the county averaged about 3,000 new homes annually.  Scott France of the Montgomery County Planning Commission attributed the slowdown to a sluggish economy, slow housing market and less available land to the decline in construction. Of the 62 municipalities in the county, the top ten for new construction in 2007 were: Whitemarsh (239); Conshohocken (180); Upper Providence (157); West Norriton (127); Franconia (116); Lower Merion (101); New Hanover (101); Upper Hanover (84); Upper Pottsgrove (83); and Upper Gwynedd (81).  Single-family homes accounted for only 927 of the 2,109 units, with twins, townhouses and apartments accounting for the majority of new construction for the fourth consecutive year.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/14/08

 

Upper Dublin to revisit $30 million open space referendum

Residents of Upper Dublin will once again be asked to vote on an open space acquisition referendum question in November – the same one that was posed to them in 2006. A technical error in advertising the open space acquisition referendum was discovered during a review by the Department of Community and Economic Development, which prompted the township to revisit the referendum for the November 2008 election. If approved again, the $30 million would be applied to both future purchases and about $6.7 million in acquisitions that have already taken place. Upper Dublin voters can expect to receive a letter in October with more information on the referendum and an explanation of the technical error.

Source: The Ambler Gazette; 8/13/08

 

Tax-increment financing to entice redevelopment in Willow Grove

The Upper Moreland School District has partnered with the township and Montgomery County to utilize tax-increment financing (TIF) as an incentive for new development.  When TIF is designated as a funding mechanism in a particular municipality, it serves as a tool to boost economic development via the higher value in surrounding real estate. It operates by earmarking future increased property tax revenue to finance the current improvements that will create those gains. On June 30, the township decided to pledge between 85 percent and 100 percent of increased TIF revenues, while the school board recently determined a range of 50 percent to 75 percent. Once each taxing body has its necessary approvals, the TIF guidelines will be advertised as early as September.

Source: The Intelligencer; 8/14/08

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