Yet another application

Eli Kahn isn't the only developer who has submitted an application for a larger development project in the borough just before council approves a new height ordinance.

It was announced during council's voting session Wednesday night that First National Bank of Chester County has turned in an application for a 99-fot building on East Market Street, on the north side, west of Walnut Street.

Council will discuss the application in August.

It remains to be seen if anymore developers will submit applications before the height ordinance is approved. Council members hoped to vote on the new height ordinance this week, but are not expected to resume the hearing in August, so the Chester County Planning Commission can review the ordinance, as required by state law.

It ain't over yet

After many long meetings, some of which lasted three and four hours, Borough Council members were looking forward to voting on the height ordinance. Well, they'll have to wait a little longer.

First, council was hoping to vote on the ordinance Tuesday night, until borough solicitor Michael Gill informed council members the borough recieved no letter of recomendation from the Chester County Planning Commission. Council members decided to delay the vote, in order to ensure the county reviewed the ordinance, as required by state law.

So, council was hoping the county did review the ordinance and they could vote on it tonight. Turns out, they'll be waiting a little longer. David Ward, assistant director of the county's planning commission, confirmed to the DLN today the county did not review the most recent proposed changes to the ordinance. Until the ordinance is reviewed, council cannot vote.

I guess we'll all just have to hang in there a little longer, eh? We've waited this long, so what's another month or two?

A botanist gets his day in the sun

Have you ever wondered who Marshall Square Park is named after? Well, as of today, a historical marker is in the park and reveils the history of Humphry Marshall, a Chester County botanist who the park is named after. The borough dedicated a square to Marshall in 1848, which is now the park. For some reason, no marker or sign stated who the park was named after, until today.

In addition, June 27 will now be Humphry Marshall Day in West Chester.

Perhaps one of Marshall's greatest accomplishments was publishing a definitive book on native American trees and shrubs, "Arbustrum Americanum. " Though it may not be summer reading, Phyllis Copeland, a board member of the Chester County Historical Society, described the work as a "landmark" of local history during the ceremony Wednesday morning.

The Borough's famous botanist

West Chester will soon have a Humphry Marshall Day. So you ask, who is Mr. Marshall? He wasn't some sports star or celebrity. He was a famous botanist that was originally from West Bradford and was an expert on local trees and shrubs. He was even called the "father of dendrology" and published "Arboretum Americanum: the American Grove, an Alphabetical Catalogue of Forest Trees and Shrubs, Natives of the American United State.” Tom Walsh, of the borough's Recreation Commission, even referred to him as a "minature Ben Franklin" before.

Marshall was so important that Borough Council voted in January to dedicate a historical marker to him in Marshall Square Park, which is named after the botanist. The ceremony will be held tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. in the park. It should prove to a chance to catch up ona little local history. Mayor Dick Yoder will declare it Humphrey Marshall Day in West Chester.

Great height debate winding down?

The debate over how tall buildings should be in the borough may be winding down, at least for now.

Borough Council will vote tomorrow on changes to its height ordinance. In short, if the proposal receives approval, it would allow the maximum height of buildings to be 75 feet through the conditional use process, or 90 feet, if a project is at least 25 percent residential. The proposal came after many, many months of meetings and discussions. Yours truly sat through a lot of those meetings.

Of course, the next council can come in and change whatever the current council decides to do tomorrow. And even if the new ordinance is approved, it seems the debate about appropriate development will continue, due to plans for a hotel, condomenium project and 110-foot office building that have recently come before council.

Tomorrow's special hearing starts at 6 p.m. at Borough Hall.

Proposed track use

Tonight, the West Chester Area School Board is set to consider voting on public track use at the schools.

This discussion came after about a dozen residents said at last month's board meeting they should be allowed to use the fields at the high schools, since their taxes help pay for the tracks.
The policy, if approved, would only apply to B. Reed Henderson High School. And it would be limited to certain hours.

The meeting starts at 8 p.m. tonight and will be held at the Spellman Administration Building on Paoli Pike.

Baseball in the borough?

One borough official certainly knows what he wants to see developed at the 32-acre Wyeth property. In an interview with Mayor Dick Yoder at Borough Hall Thursday, he expressed his support for a minor league baseball stadium. Currently, he is working with baseball consultant Howie Bedell to see if a stadium is possible.
See Sunday's edtition of the DLN for more details.
Ultimately, borough offiicals, the Wyeth company, the developer and residents will determine what goes at the property.

So, if baseball comes to West Chester, what should the team be named?

Contract talks continuing

Today, members of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) are meeting with members of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to continue contract negotiations for professors and coaches at all of Pennsylvania's 14 state schools.

Contracts are set to expire on June 30. Tony Zumpetta, a sociology professor at WCU and a local spokesperson for APSCUF, said earlier in the week that if there is a strike, the walk-out is scheduled for Monday, July 2.

Previous times, the faculty has not gone on strike and settlements came at the last minute. At issue are benefits, salaries, raises and benefits for domestic parnters.

But of course, there is also the possibility it can happen this time. If it does, what impact will that have on students at WCU and other state colleges across the state? Will classes be cancelled? Will credits be lost? We'll see what happens come June 30.

East Goshen's deer problem

Over in East Goshen, just down the road from the borough, deer have become quite an issue.
According to the Deer Management Committee, the township has a deer problem. The commitee presented a report stuffed with statistics and recomendations to the Board of Supervisors Tuesday night.

Recomendations include allowing archers on township open space to thin the herd, as well as creating a stronger education system between residents and the township about the issue.

One of the most surprising statistics in the report states Chester County has the higest amount of cases of Lyme Disease in the state, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
The supervisors will be discussing the report at a future meeting. The date has yet to be scheduled.

Summer theater at WCU

Looking for something to do on these long summer days? West Chester University has a large theater program going on with shows open to the public.

The Summer Performing Arts Project of WCU is starting its second annual season of summer theater. The first production will be "Members Only," by Fabrice Roger-Lacan.
Michael Durkin, program coordinator, described the play as "an intimate, fast-moving, cruel and tender comedy about friendship, obsession and the absurdity of desire."

In addition, the program is hosting a guest artist to direct the play. Tom Reing, an artistic director of Inis Nua Theater Company, which produces and develops plays from Ireland, Scotland and Great Britain, will be the director.

The production opens on June 22 and will run until June 24, then from June 27 to June 30. It will be put on at the E.O. Bull Center's main stage.

For more info, call the WCU Department of Theater and Dance at 610-436-3463. For reservations, call the box office at 610-436-2533.

And residents say...

Yesterday afternoon, I braced the humidity and heat to walk around the neighborhood surrounding the former IGA property, where developer Eli Kahn wants to build a 110-foot office building. The plans were presented before Borough Council Monday night.

A full story on the reaction from residents will run in our paper later in the week. I encountered a wide-range of reaction from people living right near the property. Some people seem to have concerns about the construction woes the project could cause. Others are concerned about the building's height. But not everyone expressed opposition to the project. One resident, Carlos Correa, who lives on West Gay Street, behind the property, believes commercial development will only raise property values and bring more people to West Chester.

Eli Kahn has said he is willing to meet with residents to recieve their feedback. I'll stay tuned and do additional stories on this in the future, as things move forward.

Talks to continue

The application submitted by developer Eli Kahn to build a 110-foot office building on West Market Street, at the old IGA site, did not recieve a vote of approval of disapproval by Borough Council on Monday. The hearing will continue.
Council members had a slew of questions involving traffic, facade, parking and the possibility of putting retail or a newsstand on the building's first floor.
A few residents living directly near the property expressed little support in having something so large in their neighborhood, especially with the Chester County Justice Center, which towers at about 125 feet, only a block away.
For a more detailed account of last night's meeting, check out today's Daily Local News.

In addition, I'm doing another story on this project. Later this afternoon, I plan to walk around the neighborhood and talk to more residents living near the property, so I can get a better feel of what they think about this proposal.

meeting reminder

Tonight, developer Eli Kahn is going to talk about his conditional use application for a 110-foot office building on West Market Street, at the former IGA property. There is no word yet on how many residents are going to show up to the meeting about this, but it should prove to be interesting.
The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at Borough Hall.

Noise about noise

Borough Councilwoman Holly Brown is hoping to make some noise about noise. She wants council's Public Safety committee to do something to address loud noise from motorcycles. See Saturday's edition of the DLN for more details. This should be an interesting story to follow.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Behind the scenes at "Our Lady of Victory"

It has been a hectic news week here in West Chester, so I did not get a chance to visit Hollinger Field House at WCU yesterday for the filming of "Our Lady of Victory," and I will be out of town this weekend for my brother's 40th birthday bash, so I won't have the chance to visit the set. However, Heather Simons, an intern here at the DLN, did a great story that ran in today's paper about the movie. She wanted me to post some tidbits from the set yesterday.

Producer Pat Croce’s mom showed up on-set unexpectedly on Thursday. Dolores Croce had never seen the set before, and said that her son had no idea she was there, but she didn’t know where he was either. Miscommunications aside, Dolores supported the film and her son’s efforts. “He’s amazing,” she said. “He always tells me, ‘It’s a challenge, Mom!’ and I say, ‘How many challenges can you have?’”

WNBA player Ruthie Bolton, who has a role in the film, also spoke to Heather about an after-school program she started for children called "Aim High."
"I have played professional basketball for 15 years, but basketball is only a platform to do God’s work," Bolton said. "I know what my purpose in life is and everyday I try to fulfill his purpose by reaching out and paving the way for youth,” she added.

David Boreanaz, a star of the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and Carla Cugino, who was in "Sin City" and "Night at the Museum," will be on-set Saturday for the last day of filming at WCU.

Over 3,000 extras are needed for the shoot, so if you are over the age of 14, show up between 12 noon and 8 p.m. in ‘70s gear to do some cheering, experience the on-set atmosphere and ogle a celebrity or two. There will be live entertainment by Joe Conklin and a DJ and prizes , including a flat screen TV, scholarships to the Cathy Rush basketball camp, two nights at the Borgata, and autographed memorabilia, and more.

Thank you to Heather for this info.

The height debate may not be over yet

Just when it seemed like the debate over height of buildings in the borough was winding down, at least for now, a developer has put in a conditional use application for a 110-foot office building on Market Street, at the former IGA site. The application came from Eli Kahn, and the borough will hold a public hearing about it Monday at 6:30 p.m. in Borough Hall.

It has yet to be seen if Kahn actually wants to build something that large. The application comes shortly before Borough Council is set to take a final vote on the new height ordinance the last week in June. The ordinance would allow developers to build structures 45 feet by right, 75 feet through the conditional use process, or 90 feet through conditional use, only if it has a residential aspect. The ordinance applies to the historic town center and parts of the eastern corridor.

Wyeth development and the downtown

As plans for the Wyeth property continue to be discussed, it will be interesting to see if more business owners raise concerns about the development's impact on the downtown. Representatives from the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) presented some rough concepts of the development Tuesday. Retail is a major part of their plan. Realtor Stan Zukin and Larry Malcolm, owner of Kaptain K's Ice Cream on East Gay Street, raised questions about the development's impact on the downtown and said they want to ensure any future development of the 32-acre property does not negatively impact the town center. No one else raised that concern during Tuesday's meeting, but Douglas Grayson, a representative from PREIT, said the company does not want to hurt the downtown and something may be worked out in terms of transportation to ensure people still visit shops downtown.

Rain date

Due to poor weather, B. Reed Henderson's graduation was postponed yesterday and will be held today. It begins at 5 p.m. It will be held at the school.

Committee round-up

I wanted to take the time to post some notes about some other Borough Council committee issues that were discussed this week.

Public Works Director Bob Wilpizeski presented some findings to council's Public Works Committee concerning the need for a larger Public Works building. According to the study, done by Kimmel Bogrette, the space on Lacey Street just is not big enough for the borough's Public Works needs. The study says the current facility has about 11, 900 square feet of space, but about 44, 580 square feet of space is needed.

The committee took no action on the study, but it will continued to be discussed in the future. If Public Works does get a larger facility, the borough will have to determine where to build it. Most of the borough is built out.

And the borough recieved a little bit of positive news on Tuesday. During the Public Safety Committee meeting, council members were told the borough is eligible for a grant of $15, 245 to purhase new video systems for police cars. For the borough to recieve the grant, it must also recieve approval by Coatesville and Chester County. Police Chief Scott Bohn said he sees no reason why that will not happen.

A surprise guest at the movie set tomorrow...

Basketball fans may want to stop by the set of the "Our Lady of Victory" film Thursday at Hollinger Field House, located at West Chester University.

WNBA player Ruthie Bolton is making an apperance in the film and will be on the set tomorrow. She plays as a guard for the Sacramento Monarchs. In the movie, she is set to play the head coach of the 1972 Mississippi State Basketball team.

The film crew is seeking 4,000 extras for the scenes scheduled to be filmed Thursday, Friday and Saturday at WCU.

Contact ourladygames@gmail.com for more info.

It's that time of year again...

The warm weather and summer season must mean it's graduation time. Tuesday, West Chester East High School had its graduation. See today's edition of the Daily Local News for a nice article by one of our correspondents, Nikki Sabella. B. Reed Henderson was supposed to have its graduation Wednesday, but it was rained out and will be held Thursday. Visit the school district's website, http://www.wcasd.net/, for more information.

Wyeth concept plans revealed

After a lot of rumors and rumblings among residents, the concept development plans were presented for the Wyeth property Tuesday. Representatives from Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) presented concepts to a Borough Council committee of what they want to develop at the 32-acre property.

The first concept includes retail space, office space and residential units.
The second concept includes a baseball stadium that could seat about 3,000 people, retail space, residential units and office space.

The developer stressed these are only rough concepts and resident feedback will be taken into consideration.

Residents living near the property had a slew of concerns, including traffic, liquour licenses, the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods and some other issues.

Read the more detailed account of last night's meeting in Thursday's DLN.

Wyeth property

Tonight, Borough Council's Planning, Zoning, Business and Industrial Development (PZBID) committee is going to discuss the future of the Wyeth property, which is about 30 acres of property located on East Union Street.

Before the meeting, it was still unclear what exactly would be discussed at the meeting. Councilman Charles Christy said in a phone interview Tuesday he hopes the possibility of having a baseball stadium at the property will be discussed. He also expressed some interest in the possibility of using part of the property for a recreation center in the future. Currently, the borough is considering paying for a feasibility study to see if residents actually want a recreation center, since the YMCA on East Chestnut Street is closing.

With the borough being virtually built out, the Wyeth property is one of the last pieces of land for any new development in West Chester.

For more information about the feasibility study, which was the focus of a council committee meeting Monday night, see Wednesday's edition of the Daily Local News. There will also be an article about the Wyeth discussion later in the week.

Movie crew still seeking extras

Want to be in a movie that is being filmed in West Chester?

As reported last week, the film crew for "Our Lady of Victory" is still seeking extras for three days of filming at the Hollinger Field House at West Chester University.
Producer John Rizzo said Monday the crew needs about 4,000 people for the scenes. The movie is about the championship womens' basketball team of Immaculata College in 1972. The scene with the extras will involve a basketball game in the gym. Filming starts Thursday and runs until Saturday. Residents do not have to be there for all three days.

The movie is being directed by East Bradford resident Tim Chambers and being produced by Rizzo and Pat Croce. Its star is Carla Gugino, who was in "Sin City" and "Night at the Museum."

So, if you want to see your face in a movie, send an e-mail to the film crew at ourladygames@gmail.com.

WCASD Recieves EPA Grant

With the help of an EPA grant for $325,000, the West Chester Area School District is taking steps to create a healthier environment. The grant will help improve air quality and health in the district by funding the retrofitting of particulate filters that will reduce pollution on 65 WCASD buses.

Superintendant Alan Elko and EPA Regional Administrator Donald Welsh were some of the people on hand for a ceremony involving the grant at E.N. Pierce Middle School Monday. Members of Moms for the Future, a local group involved in enviornmental issues, were also present.

Look for a full story on the grant and its impact in an enviornmental insert the DLN will be running in July.

Borough Council committee meetings

Who said the summers are a slow time for news? This week, Borough Council's various committees will undertake a number of issues, one of the most interesting being the possible future development of the Wyeth property, a 30-acre space located on East Union Street.
On Tuesday, council's Planning, Zoning, Business and Industrial Development (PZBID) committee will finally begin the discussion about the future of the site, according to the agenda for the meeting.

Meanwhile, council's Parks, Recreation and Environmental Protection committee will be busy tonight talking about ways to fund a feasibility study to determine if residents want a recreation center in the borough. The idea for a study came as a result of residents complaining at previous meetings that the borough will have no rec center, once the YMCA on East Chestnut Street closes and moves to East Goshen.

These are some of the stories that I plan to work on this week. Also, look for a story about the Market Street closure in Tuesday's edition of the DLN. Some motorists and business people are not happy, while others said the closure has had no impact on them so far.

Welcome to my new blog!

Like other reporters here at the DLN, I thought I would launch a blog to provide some more coverage of my beat, which is the West Chester area. Here, you'll find additional information about West Chester Borough Council, the West Chester Area School District and other matters involving my beat.
I'll be using this blog to write about stories that might not make the print edition. Also, I'll be using this as a way to preview stories coming in tomorrow's paper.
So, I hope you keep coming back!