Watch What You Call Us

This is what blight looks like, but it's not in N-town. 

In the last month, I've heard the word "blight" applied to Norristown twice. Both times the word was used incorrectly. And when you use that word incorrectly, you insult the residents of the block you're talking about. So let's begin with the dictionary definition.

The Urban Dictionary defines "urban blight" as "consisting of the deterioration of part of a town or city due to ageing, neglect, and lack of financial support for maintenance."

Collins English Dictionary defines it as "the decay and deterioration of an urban area due to neglect or age."

The first coinage of the term was used to mean a whole section of a city. It came from the type of plant blight that not only kills one plant, but spreads. But more recently, urban blight can also be used in terms of "a blighted property"--say, a single house that's been abandoned or neglected by the owner until it falls into obvious disrepair and ruin. It's used to describe man-made structures, not empty lots, or at least, a combination of both if the lots look, for instance, like Montgomery Hospital's does at the moment. That's why we have a law that says if you demolish a building, the lot must be planted in grass, so it becomes green space.

We have a few blighted properties in town, mostly rental properties neglected by their landlords. There are a few areas of town where you have more of these properties than others, and our riverfront has abandoned industrial buildings, but in Norristown where people are actually living, we don't have whole sections of our town that could be called blighted.

Last month, when Sarah Peck was pitching her newest development before Zoning, she said the 1500 block of Willow was blighted. The photo to the right shows that block. It's a nice, even pretty, residential street, not deteriorated in any way. She said that because there was a foreclosure on that block, it's blighted. I feel sorry for the owners who lost their mortgage, but they obviously took good care of the house, as do the residents on the rest of the block. The word "foreclosure" has nothing to do with the definition of "blight." Ms. Peck owes the residents on that block an apology.

The other day, I saw the word "blighted" used to describe the empty field that had been at 1202 Dekalb before Arbor Mews was built. Here's a photo of it. Mown grass and mature trees. Green space. If you're going to call that blight, you might as well call Valley Forge Park blighted.

Here's an example of a blighted property. This photo shows the fence over Saw Mill Run beside August Moon's parking lot on Main St. It's obviously deteriorated from rust and has been for decades. I haven't been able to find out who exactly owns it. Does it belong to the factory building or because it's a bridge over a creek, is it Municipal property? I suspect it might be the latter (the Municipality actually owns August Moon's parking lot). Wouldn't take much for Public Works to slap some rust remover and paint on that fence and powerwash that wall, on Main and at least as far back as August Moon's sign. Or, I'm guessing if the Municipality bought the supplies, The Norristown Project might do the work for free. Or make it a Day of Service event. We shouldn't have something that ugly on Main Street when it's easily fixable.

So, to summarize, if you see something in Norristown that looks like the photo at the top of this article, fine, call it blight. (Those properties, by the way, are in Philadelphia.) But where Norristown has real urban blight, let's fix it before it spreads. Remember, "blight" is a strong, negative word--a word that, for the most part, Norristown doesn't deserve. The vast majority of residents don't neglect their properties and they should be applauded, not insulted.

Results of Zoning Hearing

Just a short entry with some notes and the result of the Zoning Hearing last night regarding the proposed development of 1529 Dekalb.

The board's vote was split, 2 to 2, so no approval was given. Progressive Housing Ventures will go back next month with a modified plan, possibly with less units. The next meeting, I believe, will be on Dec 15th.

The audience wasn't allowed to view the plan during the hearing. That's never happened before. In past hearings I've been to, even if all the developer had was a poster on an easel (and even if the developer was Ms. Peck), they always voluntarily turned it at the beginning to give the audience a look. Last night Ms. Peck told the audience we could look at the plans at the end of the hearing. I wish the board had instructed her to let the audience see the plan even temporarily, but they didn't.

Here's what I got from her presentation without seeing it. She plans to build 34 units with 1-car garages underneath them. Some of the units will have 3 bedrooms for families or condo-owners who want to have a roommate to defray costs, but she's not providing extra parking for those units. The frontages on Dekalb and Willow would be 25 feet. On either side of each unit, 10 foot distance, though balconies and porches will bump out from that (the houses next door on the Freedley side will have no more than maybe 12 feet from their walls to the development walls, less where there are balconies and porches) . The total height of the units will be no more than 35 feet.

One main problem I saw was that Ms. Peck is asking for an increase in allowed impervious surfaces (surfaces that don't absorb water) from the 65% allowed by zoning to 75%, which means 75% of all the stormwater runoff that now soaks into that grass filled basin will be drained away from the site. This is one of the highest points in town, so all that extra water (we're talking thousands of gallons in a NORMAL rainstorm) will head downhill to the creeks. Those of us who live at the bottom of that hill, like me, already have enough problems with flooding during a heavy rain.

One thing that really angered me last night was that Ms. Peck's lawyer asked that negative comments be stricken from the record if the commenter didn't live in the neighborhood adjacent to the proposed development. This after Ms. Peck stated in her testimony that she intended to use public funding (ie, our tax dollars). The person who was commenting at the time was from East Norriton, but he rightly pointed out that he was a taxpayer in the NASD district and had every right to speak on the matter. The Zoning chair agreed and I thank her for that.

I'll cover some other points about this development in the coming weeks.

Ask The Questions That Council Won't

I attended the roundtable "discussion" at the Centre Theater last week. I put discussion in quotes because it wasn't that at all. It was a Q&A session where it seemed mostly that the people with the most interesting insights barely got the chance to express themselves while the more practiced political orators kept feeding us the same old promises/excuses.

Maybe in another Diary entry I'll cover it further--I haven't decided if it's worth my time yet--but today I just want to tell you about an answer to the question I asked that night. I wanted to hear any ideas the panel had for how our downtown could be brought back to life, or how could we learn from what was working on West Marshall and apply it to the Main Street.

Bill Caldwell said we can't learn from the West End district. He said the difference was that people lived close enough to West Marshall Street to patronize those businesses, but no one lives downtown. He said until we increase the number of residents living downtown, it can't thrive again.

First of all, the teacher in me balks when someone says we can't learn from something. You can learn from ANY situation. All you have to do is open your mind and think creatively.

Second of all, someone explain to me who owns all the cars that are parked on the streets downtown overnight and on weekends? Try going to a Sunday matinee at our theaters. Finding a parking space on the street is next to impossible. If no one lives downtown, where do all these cars come from?

But just for the sake of argument, let's say Mr. Caldwell is right. If we need residents downtown, then last week when Sarah Peck of Progressive Ventures proposed yet another ultra dense development--34 stacked condos on 1.2 acres in another residential area--why didn't Mr. Caldwell or any other Council rep ask Sarah why she can't build these big behemoths of hers downtown where we supposedly need more residents?

The proposed development will be at 1529 Dekalb between Freedley and Brown. Never mind that this marks another historical building slated for demolition, and that the lot is some of the only green space left at a high point in town where it right now efficiently collects stormwater and lets it drain slowly. Let's ask instead what Norristown businesses will the residents of this new development support? How likely is it that they'll buy groceries and gas in Norristown? Where will they go for a fast meal? It's about 3/4 mile from 1529 Dekalb to Eve's Lunch or Sessano's or Zachary's, and all routes involve some pretty steep hills. Even Jules is a half mile walk.

Meanwhile we've got loads of vacant space downtown, and lots of restaurants and a few other businesses who would love to have condos within a block or three of their doors. Why isn't Council trying to get developers interested in Main Street, instead of letting people like Sarah Peck build where it will only cause annoyance to the existing neighbors, worse floods for those downhill (like me) and no boost whatsoever to our businesses? (Did Arbor Heights or Arbor Mews help our any of our businesses? No.) AND here's the destruction of yet another architectural landmark, coming so soon on the heels of Montgomery Hospital.

Tonight is the Zoning Board Hearing at 7 pm at Municipal Hall. The 1529 Dekalb condos will be voted on. As I said in my Diary last week, this development will use public funding--our tax dollars--so we need to have a say in it. One would assume we DO have a say, through our elected officials, but besides Olivia Brady, none of them so much as asked questions last week before approving the project. I suspect it might be no coincidence that this zoning issue was scheduled for a holiday week when people will have trouble attending, but PLEASE, go to the hearing if you can. Get up and voice an opinion for the record.

And next election, we need to start asking our candidates upfront if they intend to sit on Council like silent bumps on a log while outsiders walk all over them and our community.

Council's Agenda--Leveling The Tennis Club

Tonight starting at 6:30 pm will be a Council Workshop Meeting at Municipal Hall. The full agenda is at this link, but I wanted to touch on one item in particular.

Sarah Peck, the infamous developer of Arbor Heights and Arbor Mews, will do a presentation on her latest project--the demolition of a Norristown architectural landmark, the Ersine Tennis Club building and grounds at 1529 Dekalb, to put up "housing."

Ms. Peck's definition of housing is stacked condos so dense, that if she were allowed to develop every block of town and managed to sell all of her condos, our population would increase twelve fold. Her projects put a powerful strain on the infrastructures of their surrounding neighborhoods--electrical grid, water pressure, roads, etc. They never include the requisite 2 parking spots per unit. When snow comes to the Arbor Mews parking lot this winter, rest assured Mews residents will put their cars on the streets before the storm to avoid being plowed in.

Her proposals totally violate our zoning code, which says that proposed houses must match the existing housing in the neighborhood. If a block has only single houses on it, you can only build single houses there. If it only has twins, you can only build twins, etc. Yet, somehow, she always manages to get zoning approval.

I've sat in on Sarah Peck's past conversations with Council. She asks for money continually. She expects Norristown and the county to find the money to fund her projects, instead of investing some of her profits like a normal businessperson would. She usually refuses to compromise on design to settle conflicts with the surrounding neighborhood unless she's given even more money. And once when she was speaking to me, not knowing who I was, she actually said Norristown was a soft touch.

At last night's roundtable discussion at the Centre Theater, Buck Jones stood up and asked how developments like Arbor Heights have changed Norristown for the better. No one answered his question. Our economy hasn't improved since Arbor Heights opened. That neighborhood hasn't changed in any fundamental way, other than being more crowded. Her designs certainly don't improve the look of the street much (though the final Arbor Mews design was MUCH better than the proposed warehouse look, but it still doesn't match the rest of the neighborhood).

Now Ms. Peck's proposing to level a landmark. The structure was originally built to be a mansion in 1892, then the Ersine Tennis Club bought it in 1895. Weddings, music concerts and other social events were held there for decades. Tennis was played on lawn courts, the grassy expanse to the left of the building. It was a vital part of Norristown's North End community.

Sure, the building's been empty for a while, but it's still a loss to the architectural character of the borough. The last group to level a landmark--Einstein--at least donated funds toward architectural preservation in Norristown to somewhat compensate for the loss of Montgomery Hospital. I'm guessing Ms. Peck would bawk at such a suggestion. Her M.O. is asking for money, not giving it or anything else to our community.


Last night Bill Caldwell tried once more to convince us that Norristown ought to be considered a city. Thing is, Council doesn't seem to have any intention of updating our sagging infrastructure and solving our parking problems to accommodate the population increase. But they don't even talk about that. How can they approve one overly dense development after another--how can they put our tax money toward it?--when the town as it stands can't handle the extra residents?

Council Agenda: the Sequel

As I said yesterday, I split council's agenda into 2 Diary entries because there was a lot to explain. To read part one, read yesterday's Diary. To read the original whole agenda, go to this link. If you're the kind of person who'd rather see the movie than read the book, go to the Council meeting tonight at 6:30 pm in the 1st Floor Conference Room at Municipal Hall.

The third item on tonight's agenda is a motion to approve or disapprove authorizing the advertisement of a Public Hearing for establishment of LERTA Program boundaries to encompass the entire Redevelopment Area. LERTA means Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance and was established to allow local taxing authorities to exempt improvements to a business property if such property is located in a deteriorated area.

Now maybe I've lived in Norristown so long that I remember all kinds of different boundaries for what we've called Redevelopment Areas or Enterprise Zones or whatever. So I'd like a clarification of what the boundaries currently are BEFORE the Public Hearing. The last time I heard LERTA discussed by Council, it concerned the Luxor Apartments. That development is NOT located in a "deteriorated area."

Council, in my experience, seems to exempt every developer or big business that comes along, so I'm not sure why we need a fancy name or a motion for it. It would be nice to see our small businesses reap the benefit of LERTA instead. I would love to see LERTA used to bring back our downtown--make improvements on Main Street and start to develop Lafayette in anticipation of the road improvements there.

Nor-Fab on Stanbridge St.

Fourth item: "Motion to approve or disapprove the Nor-Fab Corporation project at 1310 Stanbridge Street, Norristown with no conditions."

Nor-Fab is a textile manufacturer that makes protective clothing for fire fighting and industrial uses as well as other applications. They're a third-generation family owned business. I remember when they opened in Norristown in 1979--they had an open house and my dad and I toured the factory. So, they have a 36 year history in the borough and that counts for quite a lot. But it would be nice if the residents in that area and downstream on Stony Creek knew ahead of this vote what the project entails. Does it, say, pose any risk to the creek or the park which is directly down the hill from the factory?

Under "Items for Discussion" -- (a) A proposed easement for 5 Saints Distillery (opening this summer at 129 East Main). Again, no detail as to what this easement involves. I don't know whether 5 Saints requested it or if this is just something that needs to be formalized to allow the production of bourbon on the property.

(b) Council Cultural Events Committee -- I didn't know Council had a cultural events committee. Usually cultural events are planned and executed by non-profit organizations in Norristown. Unless they mean the concerts in the park on Sundays. I'd love to know what this committee does.

(c) Environmental Advisory Council -- Again, no explanation. Not sure if this is something being formed in Norristown or an outside agency.

(d) I love this next item: "Process for Waiver of Fees and Requesting Funding." Apparently so many developers ask us to waive fees and fund their projects that we need a formal process for it. If a formal process will allow Norristown to say NO to people like Sarah Peck, who is constantly asking us for money for her projects, then I'm all for the process. I'd much rather see any excess funds we have being used to improve our infrastructure before we allow many more large development projects.that put more strain on our already inadequate infrastructure. I'm talking road repair, sewers and stormwater control especially.

(e) Block Party/Street Closure events -- Not sure if this is just an information item, noting our normal street closure events that happen in the summer (like the National Night Out in August), or a way to inform neighborhoods of the process if they want to hold a block party, or someting new.

(f) Building Permit Fees Schedule -- This at least, seems fairly straightforward. They're probably raising, or considering a raise in building permit fees.

So that's the agenda. If you actually want to figure out what most of the agenda items mean, you have to go to the meeting. Even then, someone will probably need to get up during the Public Comment part of the meeting and ask Council to explain each agenda item, or they might just take their votes and leave us in the dark.

Council's Short Agenda This Week

Not much of great importance on Council's agenda for tomorrow night. You can read the whole agenda at this link. The meeting is at 7:30 pm, Tuesday, in Municipal Hall.

They're voting on only 4 items:

1. Approval for a temporary construction easement within the Access  easement Area for the purpose of constructing the emergency access lane regarding 900 Sandy Street now known as 900 Luxor Lane. I suppose "Sandy Street" doesn't sound ritzy enough for them.

17 East Airy

2. Approval of the usual requests for handicapped parking signs and to remove ones confirmed as no longer needed.

223 East Oak

3. The most important item: acceptance of the audited financial statement for 2011 and 2012. Now we're only 2 years behind.

527 Stanbridge

4. And approval of the HARB certificates for 17 East Airy, 223 East Oak, 527 Stanbridge, and 501 Astor. The HARB board oversees changes to the facades of buildings in our historic districts to make sure they'll still look historic after renovations. It's great that these properties ARE being renovated (though hopefully not being chopped up into more apartments inside). I always loved the 2nd floor side porch on 501 Astor.

501 Astor

So that's it. Should be a short meeting.

Live Chat With Crandall Jones

For an hour last Friday morning, our Municipal Administrator, Crandall Jones, answered questions from residents in a live Facebook Chat. For those of you who couldn't participate, either because you're not on Facebook or had to do something else like work, here are the questions and replies. 2 other questions came in too late for Crandall to answer in the allotted time. The questions below aren't necessarily in the order they were asked. I corrected spelling but otherwise, the conversation is verbatim.
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Nick Graff: Demolition of Mont hospital still on schedule. Really happy that it has not been a noise, dust or traffic issue

Crandall Ortiz Jones: Yes, the demolition is still on schedule. I think Council and particularly, President Christian has made great efforts to ensure that the disturbance to the community will be kept at a minimum. The developer has been really responsive.
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Schannon Hadley Stoudemire: Can you tell us about upcoming projects in Norristown?

Crandall Ortiz Jones:  We have a micro distillery being developed now, luxury condos being developed now--both downtown. Last night Council approved a project bringing Diva's Restaurant downtown, luxury apartments coming to Sandy Street, other projects we can't discuss yet
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Ernie Hadrick: How do you feel the Lafayette Extension will impact Norristown economically?

COJ: The Lafayette project is a great boon for Norristown! Think of Conshohocken before they got access to the turnpike. The same possibility now exists for Norristown. I think our potential is greater because we have are a transportation hub. Development activity is already increasing.
     There is so much development conversation going now. Property is beginning to move consistently and our Planning Department is getting a good number of calls. Ultimately, as business begin their development, our tax base increases, property values increase, individual taxes should begin to go down and you'll see more jobs and increased infrastructure development in town.
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Elena Santangelo: Can you tell us about the new parking kiosks that go into effect Sunday?

COJ:  The weather is not cooperating with us in letting us get to some areas where we need to do some electrical work--ice is still on the ground. Looks like we're going to be delayed a few weeks until it warms up. We're finally migrating to credit card usage; pay and display instead of numbered spaces; reducing the hourly rate to $1.50 and allowing for incremental parking instead of mandating $2 only. The goal is to support businesses, commerce and movement in the downtown
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Ernie Hadrick: Folks are concerned about funding for youth recreation/after school programs. Is the Municipality pursuing funds for this purpose?

COJ: Yes. Council identified youth programs as a priority in their retreat last year and we've been working on it. A week ago, Council approved us adding an additional full-time staff member to our Recreation Department. There are also multiple discussion going on about different approaches we can take at implementing some youth projects. More to come
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Cory Steeley: While all the development of new/luxury condos is great, is there any plan to provide some incentive to developers to do more with existing blighted/abandoned properties?

COJ: The reality is that the current national development trend is not for single-family development; rather, it is for apartments. The current demand for housing shows that there significant shortage in the area nationally. Developers are responding to that--after all, they're in it for profit, not necessarily community development. On the other hand, the Municipality is doing other things to help with blighted properties--we have, through grant programs, put hundreds of thousands in improving blighted properties all over Norristown. Also, our New Horizons Collaborative project is targeting blighted and distressed neighborhoods in Norristown.
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Nick Graff: Any new updates on public pool being available this summer and any upgrades to the parks in the area for Spring and Summer?

COJ: The Municipality does not have any control over what's happening with the Carver pool; however, we have been assisting them as we can in trying to resolve the pool issue--their board is in the drivers seat on that. As I mentioned earlier, we are looking at alternative ways we can impact youth activities through beefing up our recreation activities. We've had a one-man operation in the Rec department for 3 decades, we've got some catching up to do and things are underway.
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Linda Thomas Smith: What is being done to reduce property tax?

COJ: Good question! Development is going to reduce property tax, by bringing in businesses that help share the load. That's a really exciting opportunity coming from the Lafayette Street project. Also, we're doing business smarter in order to reduce government spending--$100K reduction in phone expenses, effective reduction in staff to eliminate waste; restructuring to do the same; your trash bills will be coming down.
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Linda Thomas Smith: What is being done about quality of life issues, i,e absentee landlords, late noisy late night basketball games (not really a problem in this cold weather, but a regular occurrence in the warmer weather), trash/litter, over crowded rental properties, etc.

CJ: Great question. We created the New Horizons Collaborative (info on my page of the website) to deal with quality of life issues. it's modeled after the Philly Rising Collaborative. Staff and I are currently working on several quality of life issues, which include an upcoming series of meeting with landlords and their reps on their responsibilities, tenants rights and responsibilities and our "new normal" in how we are holding everyone accountable for quality of life issues. A big quality of life change is our new trash contract--we're moving to 64 gallon rollers for trash and recycling. Also, our new policing strategy in Norristown is exceptional. You should come to the next public Police COMPSTAT meeting to listen, ask questions and get a picture of how we're policing in a positive way that directly impacts quality of life in Norristown. By the way, crime is Norristown is down 23% from 2013.
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Donna Malin:  Do you think there will ever be an affordable gym in Norristown?

CJ: Over the last year, Development staff actually spent time working on attracting a major gym to the downtown. At the time our demographic/economic profile wasn't as attractive as it needed to be. I think the Lafayette Street project is a game changer, so there is the possibility that it can happen--in a variety of ways
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Elena Santangelo: Any thoughts on how Council & municipal government can help to improve the appearance of Main St, to help attract visitors to our restaurants downtown?

CJ: We're doing several things on main already. Police walking beats; a new lighting improvement project is underway to brighten main street and West Marshall Street at night; we're partnering with the Elmwood Park Zoo with putting up attractive banners about the giraffe season there and are seeking other partners who want to likewise put skin in the game; working on night market and food truck activities for downtown; we've already invested millions in streetscape improvements. With our new trash and recycling program, we're going to be much more aggressive about businesses providing for residential and commercial trash collection downtown in order to keep our downtown and Marshall Street clean.

Last Night's Town Hall

Despite nasty rainy, cold weather yesterday, we still had a pretty good turnout for the Town Hall at the library last night. I define good as being better than the number that usually show up for Council meetings. We had at least double that.

I'd also rate as "good" the meeting itself. Not excellent, because there wasn't enough time for questions on topics that weren't on the agenda. I barely had time to shout out "What about leaf collection?" before the library threw us out. I had a few other questions and I'm fairly sure other attendees did, too.

But we WERE given a lot of information last night. Jayne Musonye, director of Planning, gave an update on most of the developments currently in progress in the borough. On the Montgomery Hospital site, they're currently removing asbestos and other hazards from the buildings, then will proceed with interior and exterior demolition. The planned development is 100 units. A committee of borough officials and residents are working on the language for the the zoning to make sure the development is good for Norristown and the neighborhood. A resident asked if it would include Section 8 housing. Jayne said because Elon is using state funding, Section 8 has to be allowed, although this will be a seniors-only community. I agree with her that it makes a difference. I think we need affordable housing for our seniors. I just hope they're decent places to live.

Luxor at Sandy Street will be 157 units of upscale, luxury apartments. The belief seemed to be that this particular developer had attracted other investors in places he'd developed before, so they're hopeful the same will be true in Norristown.

The Kennedy-Kendrick Project (also senior housing) had been waiting for funding, but should get moving soon. Ditto for the Condominiums at Courthouse Square (the top floors of the bank building at Main and Swede). The Municipality is working to find a good tenant for the first floor, one that will compliment the development, but also enhance Main St and be accessible to the public.

The Lafayette Street Project has begun outside N-town's borders (between Ford St and Conshohocken Road), but has apparently already stimulated investors who are now looking at properties along that corridor and between there and the river. Lafayette Street will eventually be a 4-lane boulevard between Ford St and the Dannehower Bridge. The extension will connect it to the turnpike. Jayne assured us that riverfront development will be smarter here than in Conshy. A public walkway is planned between the development and the river so residents will have access, and to prevent worse flooding.

Five Saints Micro-Distillery has been hard at work converting the Humane Firehouse at Green and Main. Once open, they'll manufacture bourbon, which will be sold worldwide, but also conduct tours, have a tasting room and maintain part of the building as a firehouse museum. They're on schedule to open next March. They'll provide jobs to the community, yet also be a place that will attract visitors to Norristown.

Let me say that I think Jayne Musonye is a real asset to N-town. I've seen her go to bat for the residents many times and that's because she's a long-time resident herself. You can tell how much she loves the town as she talks.

Next up was the Police Department. We heard a Crime Stats update (violent crime down 27%--part one crimes down 23%). He explained how COMPSTAT works and how the new community policing policy is making a difference, especially in neighborhoods most vulnerable to crime in the past. He reminded everyone that the COMPSTAT meeting on Thursday night is open to the public (6:30 pm at Municipal Hall).

Then Bob Glisson, Public Works director spoke. Markley Street is ahead of schedule and should be complete from Elm to Johnson Hwy by next September. After that, the next phase will cover Main to Elm.

As far as street paving goes, I was disappointed to hear that the only streets mentioned and apparently being worked on were Oak, Elm, and Willow. I wanted to ask why the main roads in need of paving--Swede and West Marshall, for instance--were being ignored, but as I said, we didn't get a chance to ask additional questions. Seems to me, if you want to project a positive image of Norristown to visitors--if you want people to shop on West Marshall or downtown--you'd make sure the roads they have to drive to get there don't bounce them around like they're in an earthquake. Well, if enough members of Council and Mr. Glisson had to drive over the mess on Swede next to the library last night, I hope they noticed the problem.

Lastly, Crandall Jones talked about administrative stuff. The Municipality's new website should be live in about a week. It will include a mobile app that will let you photograph, say, a pothole and send it directly to Public Works. (I can see the website crashing when thousands of photos start rolling in.) He spoke about the budget, explaining that they were still conducting an audit, so they're being conservative in expenditures until that's done. He encouraged everyone to come to the Citizens Leadership Academy when it's offered again.

As for leaf collection--it's a townwide problem. Many people, including myself, reported seeing the leaf collector out the 1st or 2nd week, but haven't seen them since. Mr. Glisson said the problem should be taken care of this week. Someone on James Street said he saw the collector yesterday--not his usual street cleaning day. If they're showing up on other days, that's a problem, because cars are only moved on street cleaning day. On my street, we have lots of cars parked in front of or on top of leaf piles on other days. If the collector doesn't come this week, or misses leaves on your street because they came the wrong day, call or write Mr. Glisson (and copy council) and complain. rglisson@norristown.org or 610-270-0437 .

So that was the Town Hall. A fairly good meeting, though maybe for the next time, a venue (GNPAL perhaps?) that will allow a longer meeting would be nice, so we can ask more questions.

Thanks to Linda Christian for taking photos last night. I forgot to bring  my camera.

Council's Nearly Useless Agenda

1029 W. Main St. 

The agenda is available for the Council Meeting, which will be on Wednesday night at 7:30 pm. You can view it at this link. I've read it through and I still have very little idea what's going to happen Wednesday night. Here's the gist:

Okay to be fair, the first item is fairly straight forward -- "Motion to award the contract for the Main & Marshall Street Lighting Improvement Project to AJM Electric of Chester, PA for a not to exceed price of $98,804." And the HARB certificates near the end are pretty standard.

But the rest is anyone's guess. Take the next 3 motions on the agenda, all listed under the vague sub-header "Council." The first is "Motion to approve the Waiver of Conflict regarding 1029 West Main Street." Like most reisdents of Norristown, I'm no lawyer. I'm not sure what a waiver of conflict is, let alone how it can apply to a place. 1029 West Main is owned by L & M Partners, a Philadelphia development firm. It's the only property they own in Norristown. The house is listed as about 3333 square feet of dwelling, 787 s.f. office, and the rest unfinished basement. Would it have been that difficult to put an extra sentence on the agenda explaining what residents need to know about this item? For instance, what is the conflict that's being waived? What if anything is L & M proposing to do with the property?

Next item: "Motion to approve the Waiver of Conflict regarding Laborers' Local 135." I DO know this union local is headquartered on Sandy Street in Norristown and they seem to be involved with the building trades. Otherwise, I have no idea what this item means.

Next: "Motion to approve Resolution 14-139--participate in the Borough Elected Officials Program (BEOP)." I tried googling "Norristown Resolution 14-139" and "Norristown Borough Elected Officials Program" and "Norristown BEOP" and came up blank each time.

Next, under the sub-heading "Public Safety," the item "Motion to advertise a proposed Ordinance regarding House Bill 80/Lost and Stolen Firearms." Now, you can read PA House Bill 80 at this link, but the language isn't particularly easy to understand. Like I said, only a very small percentage of residents are lawyers. Unlike Council, we can't turn to the borough solicitor sitting next to us and ask for a summary of what it means. Even if we did understand the bill, there's nothing in this agenda item that explains what Norristown's ordinance regarding the bill would be.

And lastly, my favorite item on the whole agenda--under the sub-heading "Code"--which merely reads "Contractor's License." That's it. No other explanation.

And yet, the Public Comment for Council Meetings is still BEFORE any of these items come up on the agenda. How is anyone supposed to make an informed comment when information is impossible to obtain before the meeting? As I said above, would it be so difficult to add ONE sentence to each agenda item, to explain the context and meaning as it applies to the average taxpayer?

I really appreciate that this Council seems to have fixed the problem of agendas that were being published too late, but if these new early agendas don't communicate anything, why have them at all? Council reps keep saying they want us to participate in our government, yet won't tell us what that government intends to do in time for us to participate. Some people in this town would say that's intentional--that our elected officials are trying to keep us in the dark. I hope not. Though, even if it's just indicative of our town-wide communication crisis, it's got to stop.

Luxury Development in Norristown

Tonight is the monthly Planning Commission meeting at Municipal Hall at 7 pm. There's only one item on the agenda:

For Property Located at:
900 Sandy Street
Property Owner: Sandy Spring Real Estate Partners, L.P, 1300 Virginia Drive, Suite 215, Fort Washington, PA 19034

Sandy Spring Real Estate Partners L.P. is requesting subdivision and land development approval to build a 157-unit luxury apartment building with surface and subsurface parking facilities.

The word that jumps out at me is "luxury." Developers rarely use that word to describe projects in Norristown. We hear "low-income, subsidized" instead.

900 Sandy is located where the street ends in a cul de sac, right before the strip of stores where Genuardi's used to be. The lot is 3.5 acres, so that would be about 45 housing units per acre, less crowded than the planned stacked condos on Cherry Street. On Sandy Street, near the town border, there's less of an impact on infrastructure than in the heart of town where we have many more residents competing for parking spaces and water pressure. And 900 Sandy Street is already zoned for apartment buildings.

On the surface, I'd say this looks like a good development for Norristown. Hopefully, our Planning Commissioners will have caught anything below the surface that's not good, like bad design or poor storm water management, and have it corrected before the project gets final approval.

One thing I DO hope for this development--I hope 1000 Sandy Hill Associates, who owns the strip of stores adjacent to these new apartments, takes advantage of the word "luxury" and uses it as a selling point to get SOMETHING into the big anchor store. They do have some small businesses-- Sandy Hill Cleaners, a Comcast store, Family Dollar, Anytime Fitness--but with the big store still empty, it makes the whole strip look vacant (especially with the "space available" sign at the curb). If a large store or an office building aren't feasible there, maybe create an arcade for smaller stores and restaurants. I've seen this done in other cities I've been to, but in Norristown, we always seem to feel the size store must dictate the size business that goes inside. We need to start encouraging creative solutions.

The problem is, 1000 Sandy Hill Associates is based not in Norristown, but in Jenkintown, and we're probably only a dot on a map to them. They probably have no clue luxury apartments will be going up next door. They probably don't care much about what happens in our town. And that's perhaps the crux of Norristown's problem--too many out-of-town landlords with no real vested interest in our community.

Friday's Chat with Crandall

Today I'm going to post the gist of the live chat session with municipal administrator Crandall Jones that took place Friday morning, for those of you who missed it. Mostly, I'll just quote what's there (you can read it firsthand at this link), but I'll also try to clean it up a bit so it's more understandable. There was confusion at first as to where the chat would take place, so the Municipality posted questions from the event page, not always saying who asked them, plus some of the answers aren't for the questions listed above them, so I'll try to make that clearer here.

Also, questions are not necessarily in the order they were asked or answered. Facebook uses an algorithm to put comments in an order it thinks is most meaningful for each user (it never is meaningful, but they do it anyway). So if you go the page to read the original transcript, it will be in a different order on your screen than it appears on mine.

First, Crandall answered a question from Grace Williams about how our tax money is allocated.

Crandall: Good morning and great first question. The great majority of tax dollars are spent on service delivery--Police, Fire and Public Works (streets, parks, etc) are the largest departments. You are correct in noting that you can't find it on our website. We're working on doing a better job with that.

Shae Ashe: Why hasn't there been any additional discussions on paving roads in Norristown since May's workshop? Specifically 1000 of Oak.

Crandall: Actually, there has been more discussion. We put the street paving project out to bid and just last month the Municipal Council approved a $600K paving project that includes East and West Oak. The program will be posted on the website and work actually begins in the next 2 weeks.

Grace Williams:  Along the lines of Shae Ashe's question, will there be more focus on getting last winters pot holes properly repaired before the coming winter weather.... Is it there a plan in place or do pot holes get addressed as reported or put on a list? If there is a plan great, if not then asking residents for input would be helpful. I saw an answer to Shae's question but that doesn't address ongoing maintenance, just a one time repaving project.

Crandall: There is a great deal of reprogramming going on right now in terms of how we handle pothole repair. Council has been very focused on this issue and we are working to improve the process.

Nick Graff: What is the status of all the construction going on on Markley, is it still on schedule, behind? When should it be all done?

Crandall: Markley Street is actually a bit ahead of schedule. The next phase will start early next year and the project should be completed around the end of 2016.

Unknown: Hello. I live in a twin on Swede St which shares a walkway with a rental home. The landlord refuses to put a fence at the rear of his property. Therefore anyone can walk through and leave trash, cigarette butts and beer bottles that I am constantly cleaning up. This is a MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN for me. What can I do?

Nick Graff: Just report them to code enforcement. And I agree, rental houses are getting worse in Norristown, these landlords will let ANYONE use their property and be obnoxious.

Crandall: Correct on Code Enforcement 610-292-8096. We're reaching out to landlords directly to deal with Code issues, both through our New Horizons Collaborative and in how we are revising our Code Department business model.

Grace: When I was working part time I was able to better keep up with the website and other concerned citizens (Elena Santangelo's blog, Norristown Nudge), but one thing I noticed early on is that the Council meeting agendas are rarely posted in a timely manner and if a topic is coming up that impacts my family I would like some time to talk it through with my husband and communicate our perspective to our Council People. Any possibilities to better this process?

Crandall: Yes. I actually thought we had resolved this. I promise we'll do better at getting this done.

Elena Santangelo: With recent developments in the last months, has there been any discussion on how the municipality might identify rental properties where the landlords are not licensed? Seems to me we might be missing out on a lot of revenue, plus having unknown codes violations/hazards to neighborhoods.

Crandall: Yes--one of the things I saw was a bit of "bunkerism" among our team in dealing with property issues--we're actively attacking that mindset and there's now a great deal more of a team approach among various departments in dealing with property issues--both rental and non-rental.

Grace: ...about demolition of Montgomery Hospital...This is not only in my neighborhood, I use that bus stop every morning. While I'm disappointed enough that Norristown as a Municipality took the "it's their property they can do what they want stance" on allowing them to knock it down without a proper development plan & funding in place, we're here now. What does this timeline look like and how will it impact me as a neighbor and also a SEPTA commuter?

Crandall: The timeline is pretty fluid right now. They're in the hazardous material abatement and demolition permitting phase. From our discussions, they are anxious to move forward with demolition as soon as possible. The Municipality always requires that the developer coordinate with SEPTA to insure the least possible adverse impact to riders

Grace: Follow up to that, what expectations have been set to avoid all that goes along with a vacant lot, especially one of that size. The look will do nothing for my neighborhood, but more importantly will the property owner be held accountable for security maintenance, pest control issues that could arise?

Crandall: The Municipal Council, especially Council Member Christian, has been very pointed about making sure that the vacant lot does not become an eyesore. She has named a representative committee of citizens from the neighborhood who continue to meet with Einstein representatives and staff about the intermediate and long-range plans for the site to make sure they are in line with community expectations. Yes, the property owner will be held accountable.

Nick Graff: Is Norristown going to improve on investing in parks and recreation programs, ie. the park could use some refurbishing, having a public pool open in the summer. I see all these other towns with these amazing recreation centers, I go there instead of taking my kids keeping them on their home town.

Grace: Considering what a draw Elmwood Park Zoo is, phenomenal question...the park is just so drab & ill-maintained.

Elena: Would also like to see work on Riverfront and other parks. The Dragon Boat Club is doing improvements to Riverfront at their own expense. Can the town at least spring for some trash cans there?

Crandall: Love this topic! There is lots of discussion going on among Council and staff about parks and recreation in Norristown--even discussion about how to develop a community center. We all know that will take money. We're doing some of the "not so sexy" background work--getting our financial house in order is the first order of business. We are in discussions with multiple potential partners in trying to make something happen. Recreation is now a direct report to me instead of Public Works, because I know it is so essential to quality of life.

Kathy Walsh: When is the new development to start at the old Kennedy Kendrick School ?

Crandall: Hopefully early in 2015. Our development team and I met with them earlier this week--the project is still moving forward--the banking regulatory environment today is really slowing the process

Kathy: Why not partner with Habitat for Humanity?

Crandall: We are partnering with Habitat. Council gave them money a few months back for the Cherry Street project and many of our departmental staff (Planning & Development, Public Works) are working with them routinely.

Tom McGlynn: Many people who work can't come to this meeting. many people who don't work don't use Facebook. can we have a more accessible alternative? Thank you for your time and initiative.

Crandall: Absolutely! The first one will be sometime early November--we'll let you know. Council Members Caldwell and Christian are planning it for the entire Council.

Crandall: Everyone--thanks so much for your interest and participation in this first chat--way better than I expected! You all rock for taking the time to join me.. Have a great weekend!
______________________

That's the gist of it. Facebook, because of their algorithms and because you have to keep refreshing the screen to see new comments and answers, was in my opinion, a really poor choice for this kind of online chat. A Google Hangout or something of the sort might be a better venue if the Municipality considers doing this again. Crandall's last answer refers to a Town Hall meeting being planned by Council for next month, so watch out for news of it.

I do appreciate Crandall taking the time to meet with us, though. Thanks, Crandall, for doing your best to answer our questions despite the confusion.

Update on Montgomery Hospital Demolition/Development

This is my week for meetings. Last night's was for the zoning committee for the development that's to take place at the site of Montgomery Hospital.

I think I mentioned that the zoning codes have to be changed for that block. Right now it's zoned for a hospital and nothing else. The developer wanted to to write up his own zoning changes and just hand them in to be approved, but our Planning Department is doing the right thing and making it a public process, with input from neighbors-especially those right across Locust Street--and from County Planners and the developers.

I use the plural because representatives showed up from Einstein last night. Einstein said over and over in the meetings about the fate of the hospital that as soon as the hospital was demolished, they'd be done with the matter and the developer, Elon company, would take over. So I'm not sure why they should have a say in the wording of the zoning.

But it turned out to be a good thing they came because even before the final permit has been issued for demolition, there are already glitches in the process. The infamous 6 foot fence was constructed this week around the property (it is, essentially, there for insurance purposes. Not sure why it took so long to be approved). The bus stop shelter is now completely fenced in. Brilliant.

Notices about the demolition schedule had been placed on the building. With the fence up, the notices can't be read except with a good pair of binoculars. The residents asked that the schedules be laminated and attached to the fence.

This past week, a couple of thuggish gentlemen showed up at Locust Street neighbors' doors, saying the residents had to let them in so they could take photos inside the houses before demolition. There was no notice sent out beforehand. It sounded like a scam, so many of the residents said no. To that response, everyone said the men freaked out and demanded to be let in, making themselves even less welcome on the block. Supposedly, the demolition firm hired these fellows to take photos of existing cracks inside and outside the neighbors homes so that the homeowners can't later claim the cracks were caused by the vibrations of the demolition. Einstein knew nothing about it, so it still might be a scam. Even so, if you live within a block of the hospital, you'd do better to take your own photos or schedule an independent home inspection. You aren't obligated to let representatives of the demolition company in.

But back to the new zoning. The changes specify that the site be used for senior housing and a small adult day-care center, or single family housing, or professional/medical offices. If the developer chooses to do so, they can put small retail like restaurants, banks, or personal service shops (think barber) on the first floor of the buildings, but the buildings can't exceed 4 stories. There has to be a minimum 25% public open space, which must be landscaped for passive recreation and can include walking paths, benches, etc. Shade trees should line the streets (which would also help with stormwater runoff). There was more--parking requirements, etc.--but it sounds like a plan that could be a benefit to Norristown and the neighborhood.

Next the developer (Elon, I assume, unless Einstein has a say for some reason) will look through the document and say what they can't live with. Then, I also assume, we'll have another meeting and I'll report back.

You Can Do Something About Zoning

More than 950 people read my diary entry last week titled "Our Zoning Board Will Approve Anything." I saw quite a few opinions on Facebook afterward and no one who spoke up was pleased about Zoning's decision to allow 16 housing units on the 1/4 acre lot at 522 Cherry.

This weekend, I received a copy of the board's letter sent to Swede Street Associate's lawyer confirming their decision. The letter ended by saying that the "formal Opinion and final Order" would follow shortly, then "As you know any interested party may appeal the decision of the Board within thirty (30) days of the date the Board issues its final Order."

So I checked the Municipal site to find out how one goes about appealing a decision. The only thing I could find said "Appeals under § 320-163 and proceedings to challenge an ordinance under § 320-164 may be filed with the Board, in writing, by any officer or agency of the borough or any person aggrieved." It didn't say who to send the letter to, or if this means a court case. I'm sure a lawyer could figure out it out, but how many of us, even collectively, can afford to lawyer up?

I also wonder what they mean by "person aggrieved," which I define differently from "interested party." Someone who lives within a certain distance of the proposed development? Or can any resident appeal because we feel this kind of variance sets a dangerous precedent for the town as a whole? Would any resident not living close to the development be listened to? I certainly wasn't listened to at last week's hearing.

But, since this is supposed to be a democracy, if you think 16 housing units on a 1/4 acre shouldn't be allowed in Norristown, send a letter saying so to

Norristown Zoning Board
Municipality of Norristown
235 E. Airy St.
Norristown, PA 19401

Mention "Application 13-14" and "522 Cherry St." Say why you're against the development. Some key points are parking, trash, and excess strain to water, sewer and electrical infrastructure, but feel free to express your own objections. (If you live in 524 Cherry, you might want to think about the fact that no sunlight will shine on your house and yard ever again.)

It doesn't have to be fancy. Don't have a printer? Write a paragraph out longhand and sign it.

If the Zoning Board gets enough letters, even if it does no good this time, they might think twice before approving the next high-density development to come along.

Our Zoning Board Will Approve Anything

I'm tempted to just say that the people of the 500 block of Cherry Street deserve what they get.

I went to the Zoning Board Hearing last night and was pleasantly surprised to find, for once, a good sized crowd in attendance. What I later found out was that most of those people were there because of a Siloam Baptist Church building project. Apparently only one resident from Cherry Street came. Or, at least, only one got up to speak.

To review: the proposal for 522 Cherry is for 16 "stacked townhomes" to be built on what is now a parking lot. They clarified the lot size last night--98 x 116 feet or about 11,400 square feet, just slightly more than a 1/4 acre. In perspective, that's roughly equal to the size lot of a usual set of twin houses in Norristown, or 5 rowhouses.

The proposal is being make by Swede Street Associates who owns the lot. They're a business that does things like property titles and deed transfers, owned by the Chalphin family. On hand last night was Mark Chalphin, a 1971 graduate of Eisenhower High School. He grew up in Jeffersonville and the family business has been in Norristown for years. I actually met him in high school. He graduated with my brother. Anyway, I think I'll refer to Swede St. Associates as SSA for convenience.

Back to the proposal, which calls for 2 buildings on the site, one along Cherry. We were told that, from the street, this building's facade would even with and made to look like the existing row houses, with 5 entrances and similar steps leading up to the doors. There will be one tunnel-like access to the rear of the property in the center. This building, however, will be 4 stories tall. SSA said vaguely that some of the building might be able to go below grade to make up for the scaling differences (not likely since the property slopes from the rear, or else a full story would be underground with no windows) . This building will contain 10 units--5 doors on Cherry, 5 facing the Maple Alley.

The 2nd building will be behind the first, perpendicular to it and on the south side of the lot. It will be 3 stories and contain 6 units. The units in these buildings can be as small as 800 square feet. Both buildings will be wooden construction.

Also in the rear, on the north side, will be a parking lot with 16 spaces, accessible from the alley. This is the only parking provided in the plan--the only parking thought necessary by SSA and, according to them, the only parking required. (I could have sworn 2 spaces per unit were required, but perhaps that's only for rental units in the borough, or perhaps the Town Center District has other rules.) SSA seems to believe that the residents of their new buildings will only park in the lot, even those in the 5 units facing Cherry St. They couldn't imagine that any of the units' occupants will ever have more than one vehicle, or will ever have visitors.

The board asked about trash removal. The 5 units facing Cherry will put their trash out on the street for usual collection. SSA said that "some arrangement would be made" for the 11 units in the rear to bring their trash to a "central location" on the property (one would assume, dumpster). A homeowners association would be formed and be responsible for having the rear occupants trash picked up (begging the question--why would the Cherry St unit occupants agree to chip in for such a service if they're using regular pickup out front?)

The homeowners association would also be responsible for maintaining the landscaping (some trees and plants will be put in around the rear building), and for maintaining the parking lot and having it plowed in winter. I pointed out that Norristown's alleys are rarely plowed (and Mr. Chalphin himself confirmed that Maple Alley's never plowed). The homeowners association will also have to make sure the alley's plowed in from Airy St. to the lot. If they don't, of course, 16 cars will be looking for parking on Cherry and Airy until the spring thaw.

I also pointed out that our old infrastructure for water and sewer would be stressed by 16 new households on a 1/4 acre. No one seemed terribly concerned about whether the other residents of Cherry St. have water pressure or if their sewers back up. And no one was concerned about the stress to the electrical grid--all those units will have A/C, refrigerators, washers and dryers, TVs, etc. Brownouts anyone?

Only one Cherry St. resident got up to speak. I think he lived next door (as usual, it was hard to hear, the microphone wasn't turned up very high, and few speakers spoke directly into it). He was for the project, but worried about how the excavation process would effect his property (I didn't think SSA's answers were very comforting.)

I was the only person who spoke against it, and as I said last night, I'm not against building residential housing on the property or bringing more homeowers to Norristown, and I'm certainly not against fixing the stormwater problem on the site. I'm simply against the proposed number of units for the lot size. It's TWICE as dense as the 1202 Dekalb project. People living on top of each other like that will make neighborhoods go downhill faster.

Why do I think it's important to protest this kind of development? Because tomorrow it could be in my own neighborhood. Or yours. I'm sure all those suits who showed up to speak on behalf of SSA have nice single homes in the 'burbs. If their next door neighbor put 16 houses on an adjoining 1/4 acre, they'd sue. But everyone seems to think this sort of development is simply what Norristown deserves. People packed in like sardines. The lawyer for SSA said they have high density development in New York City and it's not a problem there. I've visited Manhattan for up to a week at a time. It's cockroach infested. The streets are dirty. There's no parking to be found. Often their trash is out of control. There are rats around their dumpsters. It's the least healthy city I've ever been in. Do we want Norristown to be like that?

Mr. Chalphin, despite being painted last night as a hometown man who loves and cares about Norristown, is in my opinion, more caring about the money he'll make off the sales of those units. The Zoning Board? They approved the variances unanimously, with hardly any discussion.

Stacked Townhomes AGAIN

The Zoning Board will meet at 7 tomorrow night at Municipal Hall, and 522 Cherry is on the agenda. The wording is "Swede Street Associates is seeking... a Special Exception to allow for sixteen (16) multi-family units, with a mix of handicapped-accessible flats and 2-story stacked town home units in the Town Residential District."

522 Cherry Street is actually 6 addresses, from 512 through 522. There's a parking lot on the site right now, accessible from Maple Alley. From Cherry Street, all you see is a white wall. The front of the property is so much lower than the back, the retaining wall had to be built to level the lot. The description says the property is 20,000 square feet, but under lot size, it says 11,396. For comparison sake, a half acre equals 21,780 square feet.

Aerial view of the lot

There used to be houses on the spot. In the early 1900s, a veterinarian named Bornemann lived at 522. His widow lived there until 1934. I'm not sure if there was ever a house for each address. 6 row houses could have fit the space, though really tightly, since the frontage on both the alley and street is only 98 feet.

The address is within the Central Norristown Historical Area, in a HARB-A district, meaning the HARB review board is supposed to look at anything being remodeled or built there to make sure it falls into the guidelines of the historic district.

The current zoning for Residential Districts in Norristown says that you can't build anything denser than what's already there. If the block has single homes, you can only build single homes; if twins, only singles and twins; if rowhomes, only singles, twins and rowhomes. Nothing denser. No apartment buildings, no commercial buildings, certainly no "stacked townhomes" which are simply condos with a fancy name.

And yet Swede St. Associates is asking to put 16 condos on less than a half acre, with only a 98 foot width.

The law says you have to provide a minimum of 2 parking spaces per unit in new construction. That would be 32 spaces. The standard space size in the US is about 19 x 8.5 feet. Parallel parking spaces are usually 20 feet to allow for maneuvering space. So figure 5 cars in front of 522 Cherry. If there were perpendicular spaces off the alley, you might fit another 11 cars. That's 16 cars total, which means the lot shouldn't hold more than 8 units, tops. But, if you're filling up the lot with 16 units, how much footage will be left over for parking spaces at all?

What about trash? With 98 feet on the alley, each condo owner would have about 6 feet of space for their trash, or less, if cars are parked on the alley side. Unless you're going to have some rule that says only 1 occupant per condo, whole families, generating several bags each might live there. In my neighborhood we have a lot of single homeowners. Many put out more than one trash can, including myself on occasion. Trash, in that dense a development, would be a nightmare.

Those are just a few reasons I intend to go to Zoning Board Hearing tomorrow and protest this proposal. I said last year that the ridiculously dense development at 1202 Dekalb would open the flood gates for this kind of thing all over Norristown, and here we are with another one. We need to say "no more" NOW.  I hope you'll join me.

Preserving History With Alcohol

Everyone knows you use alcohol as a preservative for food. We have a new venture coming to Norristown that hopes to preserve history as well.

Some of you also know that last year, due to a lack of volunteers, the Humane Fire Company (founded in 1852) was forced to merge with Norristown Hose Company, leaving the Humane Fire House at 129 East Main empty. The firehouse was built in 1888.

This past week, Five Saints Distilling (John George and Louis "Jay" Rachelli) came forward with their plan to convert the firehouse into a micro-distillery that will produce aged bourbons, whiskeys, vodka and other spirits. The top of their homepage on their website states that they'll be opening in fall of 2015. Toward the bottom, it says January 2016.

In the next year and a half, though, Five Saints claims that they will host community events and, to celebrate key milestones in the construction process, they'll give tours of the distillery-in-progress.

Best of all, they intend to restore the old firehouse and preserve the historical memorabilia left behind, like the original fire pole. Once the distillery opens, the firehouse will be open for tours. Five Saints also plans to sell merchandise with their logo and proceeds from that will help support the Norristown Fire Department.

The project will need $100,000 of public funding in the form of a job creation grant from Federal Community Development Block Grant funds, which will provide the financing for distillery equipment. In exchange, Five Saints must create at least 3 full-time jobs.

I think most of Norristown tends to hold their breath when projects like this--especially those using public funding--are announced. We've had so many go bust in the last couple decades. No one wants to get their hopes up too high. But, though Five Saints website isn't fully functional yet, they do seem to support Norristown and our revitalization efforts. A few things worry me--that there's no information about the owners on their website at all, that there's no way to contact them by phone (one number given is directory assistance, another is an international exchange that seems to be connected to a place in Albquerque, NM), and that their website is vague and has conflicting information. I'm hoping this is all just organizational growing pains, but I really would like to see bios of the owners, at least.

If all goes according to plan, Five Saints should bring jobs and a few tourists to town, as well as adding to our tax base, plus be a delightfully unique addition to our community. I wish them all the luck in the world and hope they have the business sense to pull it off.

Their first event will be June 13th, when Humane Fire Company publicly transfers the ownership of the firehouse to Five Saints. No time was given for the ceremony. I'll let you know when I find out.

Tonight's Council Agenda

Municipal Council meets tonight at 6:30 pm at Borough Hall. Note the change of time (meetings used to be at 7:30). Hopefully the weather won't be awful tonight. Read the full agenda here, but a few things caught my eye.

First, the new Zoning Ordinance. Hopefully Council will approve it tonight and, more hopefully, Zoning and Planning will use the new ordinance the way it's intended, and not simply ignore it to grant variances to every developer that comes along.

Second, there's to be a discussion of parking issues, specifically "Lazy parking, rolling stops, double parking." I'm going to skip over "rolling stops." That's not a parking issue, it's a moving violation issue, and unless we're going to install force fields at intersections to make cars stop, I can't think how it can be prevented other than to catch drivers when they do it, which would require a bigger police force than we have.

I also don't understand why double parking requires discussion. If I see cars and trucks double parked on certain streets every time I venture across town, they shouldn't be hard for our meter maids to find and ticket.

Combatting lazy parking on the streets is impossible unless we line parking spaces all over town. Where they're already lined, like downtown or in parking lots, again, simply ticket those cars that take up more than one space.

I think it's interesting that the parking discussion only covers what drivers do wrong and doesn't mention what intrinsically creates parking problems in town. For instance, approving development that brings in more cars than a neighborhood's parking spaces can handle, like the townhouses at 1202 Dekalb St. And continuing to allow variances for houses that have more apartments inside than parking spots outside. And not enough free public parking in areas where we should be encouraging retail development and visitation--like downtown, Arts Hill, and West Marshall.

Third, Public Works will review which streets need paving and how much it should cost. I hope they include Swede, a major route into downtown from the north which took a lot of damage from last winter's ice, on top of simply getting a lot of use. It's a lumpy, bumpy mess. And several streets in the West End that are filled with half-patched potholes, the worst, I think, being Oak Street.

Last, 3 Special Council Meetings have been set for "Main Street Economic Development Project Fuego." I couldn't find anything on this, so hopefully all will be explained at tonight's meeting. The special council dates are tomorrow, May 22, and next Wednesday and Thursday, the 28th and 29th.

I wish there was a way of knowing more about all the agenda items before each Municipal Council meeting. With little or no information, it's difficult for residents to know if the topics will impact them and if they should come and voice an opinion.

Requiem for a Hospital

You might remember, the last time I blogged about Montgomery Hospital, I reported that Einstein plan to demolish the buildings had triggered a PA Section 106 Project Review. A review like this is held anytime someone plans to demolish a property supposedly protected under the PA History Code and/or National Historic Preservation Act. You can read about the review on the PA Historic and Museum Commission's site.

Triggering this type of review, though, doesn't  mean the buildings can't be demolished. All it means is that the state takes a look at the individual case to determine what's legal. The law states that no federal or state money can be used in a project that has an adverse effect on an historic property. That's the main thing.

The 106 Review for Montgomery Hospital was held 2 weeks ago. It's a fact that Elon will be asking for tax credits, and will therefore be using public money, and that they're the ones asking for Einstein to level the site for their project. It's also a fact that Einstein and Elon keep referring to their arrangement as a partnership--Elon will be responsible for a quarter of the demo costs. However, at the review meeting, Einstein stated that they intended to demolish the buildings regardless whether or not Elon receives funding. The state essentially decided that the demolition and the development were two different projects, and since the demolition uses no public funds, they decided that Einstein could legally level the site.

Einstein got their way, as usual. Montgomery Hospital will come down.

Let's take one last look at what Einstein has said in the last 5 years or so. I'm only repeating what I, in person, heard their representatives say at town meetings. First they said they weren't taking the hospital out of Norristown. Then, when they announced the building of their new place in East Norriton (which the loss of hundreds of jobs here), they said they planned to keep Montgomery open as a clinic for emergency medical care, with the rest of the building used for other medical purposes. Well, THAT didn't happen, and our community's close access to emergency care went away when the hospital closed.

They really did take a community survey about what we thought the hospital buildings should be used for. I answered the survey myself. And they did have one developer, Mission First, come in to do the conversion to senior apartments. But the process seems to have been a closed one--no open town meetings as they had these last months with Elon. We had no input. Possibly if we had, especially the Norristown Preservation Society, we could have helped make those plans work.

Next we heard that Einstein planned to demolish the site. At the last 2 town meetings with them, the community expressed concern that, if Elon couldn't get funding, we'd be left with a vacant lot. Einstein assured us, more than once, that they were partnering with Elon and that they were committed to making sure the site was developed and not vacant. Now they tell the State Review that they intend to level the site no matter what.

I heard it said last week that Einstein took heroic measures to try to preserve the hospital. Heroic is not the word I'd use for people who lie at every turn and who obviously don't care about us. We didn't just lose a pile of pretty Art Deco bricks out of this deal, we lost our largest employer, and close access to emergency care. Lots of our citizens can't afford the $1500+ for Plymouth Ambulance and many don't have a car. NOTHING Einstein has done since buying Montgomery has been in Norristown's best interest.

And what of Elon and their development? Last week, John Cover of Montgomery County Planning explained the zoning for that district to a group of residents living near the hospital. What Elon has proposed so far isn't allowed in the existing OR the proposed code. They can and should make modifications to their plans before submitting it. And if we want quality senior housing on that site--housing that fits in with the neighborhood, doesn't lower the property values, and is an asset to the community--we need to make sure we show up en masse at zoning and planning meetings and INSIST that the code be followed. Remember, they'll be using our tax money to build. We get a say.

That is, of course, assuming Elon gets funding and development takes place at all. Otherwise, another vacant lot for Norristown.

In the meantime, for at least the next year, the demolition will take place..