NEED TO KNOW:

Wed 7/17, 6:30pm: Plastic Bag/Straw Ban Public Hearing

Melton Center Secures Development Funding

Have You Seen Mud Row?

Clean & Green West Chester Continues

DHerrin@west-chester.com

Public Hearing to Ban Plastic Bags & Straws

Wednesday July 17, 6:30pm

West Chester Borough Hall 

West Chester Borough Council will hold a public hearing to consider adopting an ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags and straws in the Borough effective January 1, 2020. 

Three U.S. states and 32 countries have already banned single-use plastic bags, and communities across the country have banned plastic straws. From 8 to 14 million tons of plastic enter the oceans annually, destroying the ecosystem and severely threatening our food supply.

Borough Council's decision will be complicated by recent passage of the PA state budget, which contained a last-minute rider to pre-empt local governments from banning plastic bags for one year. Many see this as the latest example of overreach of the PA state pre-emption authority by special interests. A similar proposed rule was vetoed by Gov. Wolf last year because it violated the Environmental Rights Amendment of the PA State Constitution. 

Read the ordinance here. 

Borough citizens have started a petition to Borough Council here. 

If you want to weigh in but can't make the hearing, write to your Borough Council representative. Find their contact information here. 

The Melton Center Clears Hurdle in Effort to Build Affordable Housing Development on Site

This week, the Charles A. Melton Center Board received approval of a funding request from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority, an essential piece of the financing package needed to build a 3- to 4-story affordable/workforce housing development on their property. The Center's board pursued the idea to generate a more sustainable income source while staying within its mission of service.

For more information, read the Daily Local News story here. 

Mud Row: An Important Window Into East End History

Have you seen Mud Row? It's a play about West Chester now showing at People's Light. Written by Emmy-nominated playwright Dominique Morriseau, Mud Row is a fictional story about the East End firmly rooted in our very rich history. She spent years researching the East End, speaking with some of West Chester's most celebrated citizens. 

Given the rapidly changing face and gentrification of the East End, this play is not to be missed. It's important for us to remember and share our community's history so we can work to preserve it. After the play's run is over, I will be hosting a community conversation for everyone who attends the play.

Read more about Mud Row in The Philadelphia Inquirer here. 

Read about a recent East End walking tour in the Daily Local News here. 

The play has been extended through August 4. Tickets are available here. 

Clean & Green Continues! 

Clean & Green West Chester is an initiative of the Mayor's Office to make our Borough cleaner and greener. Since our sidewalk clean-up in April, we have created plans to continue cleaning up our great town. Here's what we are up to: 

With sponsorship money left over from our generous donors (see below), we are purchasing cigarette butt receptacles for heavy smoking areas of the downtown. We purchased two to put out on a trial basis; look for them soon in front of Starbucks and Rite Aid, and let us know what you think! To ensure cleaner sidewalks, Borough Council is also poised to pass a new trash enforcement ordinance so the Borough can cite property owners on the spot for unkempt sidewalks. 

We are also working hand-in-hand with the BID to create a gum-free downtown sidewalk pilot area this August/September. Come September, an entire area will be gum-free, and you'll be able to see what a difference it makes! We'll then work to have property owners remove old gum from their sidewalks throughout our entire downtown. We are grateful to Pillar Real Estate Advisors for sponsoring our new gum removal machine!

Thank you to our many sponsors who are helping us get the "clean" part of "Clean & Green West Chester" off the ground!

Thank you! 

PLATINUM CLEAN & GREEN SPONSORS:

ADDITIONAL CLEAN & GREEN SPONSORS: