The proposal for 75 feet by conditional use and 45 feet "By right" was authored by PZBID chair Carolyn Comitta (Dem, Ward 5). Besides lowering the maximum permitted heights in the current "height overlay districts" (HO-180 and HO-90), it retains the current HO district boundaries and represents a compromise between the 60-foot limit favored by the Neighborhood Consortium and the Borough's Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB), and taller limits recommended by the Business Improvement District (BID) and the Borough's Planning Commission. Following the discussion, Holly Brown (Dem, Ward 1) voted with Comitta, while Chuck Christy (Dem, Ward 3) spoke in favor of a 90-foot limit before voting no.

Before the vote occurred, several people voiced opinions. Ray Ott, a professional land planner who lives in the Borough, provided some focus to the discussion by presenting a table showing estimates of the amount of floor space and tax revenue that buildings constructed under the 60 and 90-foot limits. He explained that the figures were not exact, but were instead based on assumptions about the number of stories that could be accommodated under each limit (5 at 60 feet; 8 at 90 feet), the amount of floor space consumed by parking if it must be placed on-site, the amount of taxes generated by commercial and residential uses, the additional cost of Borough services consumed by tenants of a new building, and the number of parcels remaining to be developed in the HO districts. The results were what can only be called "ballpark figures," but they showed that higher buildings make it easier to provide on-site parking, residential space generates more tax revenue for the Borough than 100% commercial use in a building, and the tax benefit to the Borough of allowing 90-foot buildings rather than 60-foot buildings is on the order $75-180,000 per year (i.e. not $10- 20,000 or $500,000-$1 million, as has been suggested).

Ott's figures generated debate by Council members about whether the additional revenue from the 90-foot limit was worth it. Christy said that it was, recalled the difficulty with which Council kept this year's real-estate tax increase to 4.2%, and concluded that he does "not want to raise people's taxes to pay for 45-foot buildings." After that, a succession of supporters of the higher limit spoke, claiming Ott's figures were too conservative; accusing Council of attempting to sabotage one of the hotel proposals; suggesting that as long as parking is required on site, no on will build a shorter building and therefore the Borough will receive no increase in tax revenue; and recommending that Council should include new HO district boundaries in this effort. Supporters of the lower limit also questioned Ott's assumptions and cited the vacant office building at the corner of N. Darlington & W. Gay Streets, plus the "space available" sign on Eli Kahn's building (corner of N. Walnut & E. Chestnut Streets) as evidence that there is no need to allow higher buildings in the Borough.

Steve Krug, a consulting architect and Borough resident, suggested that Council consider adding incentives to include residential space in taller buildings because 1) residential use generates more tax revenue by adding earned income tax to the real estate tax benefit, and 2) it reduces the parking need by allowing residents to use spaces at night which are available for commercial tenants during the day.

Following the public comments, the Council members voted to send the 75-foot recommendation to the full Borough Council for discussion at next week's work session. Expect a long meeting, as many of the people at last night's session heeded Comitta's request to save their comments for the full Council meeting.

Here in West Chester, the Borough's Department of Building, Housing & Codes Enforcement (DBHCE), which oversees the rental inspection program, used the time from July through January to create an install computer software that allows them to track property violations. The database allows them to integrate data from their own inspections with data on police citations provided by the state. Most importantly, it enables them to determine when a citation has resulted in a guilty verdict -- a requirement of the FRO that has to be satisfied before points can be assigned.

Last month, DBHCE sent out its first letters to the owners of five properties -- all student rentals --- in the 200 and 600- blocks of S. Walnut Street and the 600-block of S. Matlack Street.* The offenses range from noise violations, disorderly conduct, providing alcohol to minors and open [alcohol] container violations. None were cited for housing or fire codes, although the ordinance does allow that, and several property owners got the benefit of a clause in the FRO that limits the number of points on a single day to three, no matter how many violations occurred. All of the owners were instructed to "submit a written correction plan to the Codes Official outlining your actions to alleviate future offenses at this property" and offered a chance discuss the violations with Borough officials.

Two of the owners might be considered "novice landlords" since they acquired their properties in 2004 and 2005 respectively, but the other three are veterans of West Chester's student rental scene, having acquired the properties in question in 1996, 1990 and 1978. Each has thirty days in which to submit their correction plans, so the story will continue.

* Although the names of the property owners are a matter of public record, the goal of the FRO is to encourage compliance, not to produce public shame. Consequently, WCJIM has chosen not to publish them at this time. Let's hope they (and their tenants) get their act together and become benefactors -- not problems -- in their neighborhood.

But that wholesome image obscures a lot of behind-the-scenes activity that ranges from drudgery to bizarre, as the following story shows. The WCRR, like any other railroad, is subject to the same National Railroad Administration as its larger cousins, so they have to deal with the same kinds of red tape. A year ago, the WCRR agreed to a request from a local supplier of railroad-related products to store an old boxcar at their Adams Street railyard for use in product testing. Last month, the company located a suitable boxcar and the WCRR began the process to have it delivered to Glenn Mills where they could move it to their yard.

Fortunately, the WCRR has a well-honed passenger operation which resumes service with the "Easter Bunny Express" at 11am on Saturday March 31. Check their schedule at www.westchesterrr.net, and keep an eye open for changes to the test boxcar.

Like any university catalog, it contains descriptions of he curriculum, "Rules for Final Examinations" (no reference to turning off cell phones), descriptions of the four available degrees -- Bachelors and Masters of the Elements and the Sciences -- plus a teaching certificate, and descriptions of the campus and the town. According to the 1896 catalog, "West Chester is a beautiful town of 10,000 inhabitants, the county seat of Chester county, and is pre-eminent for its healthfulness, morality and intelligence." The catalog also stressed the excellent railroad connections to Philadelphia ("two railroads, over which trains run at all hours of the day") and the trolley link to "the Wilmington and Northern R. R. at Lenape."

The campus was "situated in the southern part of the borough, half a mile from the Court House. The main building is new, built of greenstone and marble, 256 by 234 feet, four stories high, with basement. It is one of the finest and handsomest school buildings in the country. The buildings are surrounded by nineteen acres of beautiful grounds," and included a recently completed "first class gymnasium," Recitation Hall (finished in 1894), an infirmary and five acres of playing fields. Student rooms were "good sized, have high ceilings, are well ventilated, and are all thoroughly heated by direct steam radiation. The rooms are newly and comfortably furnished, have closets, single beds, wash stands, bowls and pitchers, and are furnished with woven wire mattresses. The ladies' rooms are all partly carpeted. The whole building is lighted with gas, every student's room being fitted with an Argaud burner."

The students' were expected to obey a fairly stringent set of rules. Besides mandatory attendance at the school chapel each morning and they were required to "attend religions services each Sabbath morning in the town, at the churches preferred by their parents or guardians." The catalog also warned:

Some clues as to the definition of "vitiating conduct" appeared in two pages of "Regulations." They mentioned "objectionable books, papers and cards," disorderly conduct, the use of tobacco and alcohol. In fact, rule 18 stated "Students must not enter any saloon, barroom, billiard or pool room. They are absolutely forbidden to use as a beverage alcoholic liquors of any kind whatever during their connection with the school."

Obviously, a number of things have changed since 1895. The University is nearly twenty times larger, court decisions have limited the rules that can be imposed on students eighteen or older, and the definition of "objectionable books, papers and cards" has been greatly diluted. Attitudes towards tobacco and alcohol have also gone through some changes, and while resistance to tobacco use has increased in recent years, alcohol use remains a big concern for the University, the Borough, and for many individuals and their families.

The 1895 catalog should not be misunderstood -- it is not a model for solutions to contemporary problems. At best, it provides a response to people who ague that nothing should be done because "West Chester has always been a college town" and anyone who fails to accept that "fact" should just move out. West Chester has had a college since 1871, but that college, and the town, have changed a great deal since then. Any solutions to current problems will have to be based on current conditions, and not on myths or memories about the past.

For example, one of the displays was a "house" constructed entirely of scrap wood and trash, typical of the shantytowns that house rural Africans when they migrate to the cities looking for work, schooling or medical treatment. Another display asked the viewer to imagine how life is different in places where things like plastic bottles, mirrors and cellphones are luxuries. WCJIM has visited such places, where goods are so scarce that plastic bags (like those given away free at our grocery stores) have a price.

The day's events were the result of several years of interaction between the WCU Honors College and South African schools, thanks to contacts made by the program's director, Dr. Kevin Dean. Each summer, a group of students travels to South Africa for a two-week intensive course on social and political relations. Their involvement led to efforts like this one, to raise money to help children orphaned as a result of AIDS. According to a recent report by the South African government, almost one in five South Africans is affected by AIDS, and the infection rate for women aged 25 to 29 is twice as high. That has left a lot of young children without parents, and placed an enormous burden on local social services.

This year, the Honors College students collected shoes to donate to children in rural areas in South Africa. Thousands of pairs of shoes were on display inside the Hollinger Field House, and at least one young visitor pointed out shoes that he personally donated. As one student explained, "A lot of the family and their children do not have shoes. They have enough clothes, but shoes are a big problem. ... We have been very lucky to have collected so many shoes this year."

A large number of people and organizations chipped in to make the event possible. HomeAID for Africa, a group of local volunteers who donate the proceeds from their craft sales to aid organizations in Malawi, set up a booth that sold exotic dyed scarfs and other textiles. Members of Hopewell United Methodist Church talked about their visit to South Africa and efforts to help people at Sparrow Village, a residence for AIDS patients near Johannesburg. WCU Student Government President Kyle Mullin allowed people to duct-tape him to the wall for a dollar a strip, in order to raise money. Borough and University fire and emergency medical personal donated their time to make sure that everyone stayed safe, while students of the WCU Honors College acted as guides and hosts.

NOTE: Tune in to "Talk About West Chester" at WCU 91.7FM on Thursday, April 5 at 8am for a special audio report on "Aid to South Africa" and check out their web site. For more information on HomeAID for Africa, visit HomeAidforAfrica.org.

Objects that we take for granted are luxuries in the some parts of the world

SGA President Kyle Mullins raises money in his own unique way

Borough volunteers helped to keep everyone safe

The tree identification walk will take place from 11am to 12:30pm. Marshall Square Park is located in the northeast section of the Borough at the intersection of East Marshall and Matlack Streets. The walk will highlight the important role of urban trees in: (1) reducing carbon dioxide in our local atmosphere; (2) storing carbon dioxide; and (3) providing shade during the summer months, which reduces demand for air-conditioning and in turn reduces demand for electricity produced by coal burning power plants. At the end of the walk, native tree seedlings will be given out to attendees to Step It Up and plant in their own yards. Photos will also be taken of the event that will be uploaded to the Step It Up website for viewing by Congress.

You can email or call John Turgeon at 610-344-4845 for more details regarding the tree walk. More information about the Step It Up 2007 campaign can be found at: www.stepitup2007.org.

Right: One of the properties to be redeveloped by Habitat for Humanity.

According to Habitat's newsletter Site Lines, the three homes are being sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of West Chester/Westminster Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church of West Chester, and QVC. This will be the 27th home sponsored by QVC, and will bring the total of Habitat-built homes in Chester County to one hundred. By sponsoring a house, each of these organizations has committed to providing roughly $80,000 for materials plus about five to six thousand "people-hours" of labor, usually spread out over about fifteen months. That's ten volunteers working eight hours a weekend but, as Habitat's Associate Director Jason Pyrah explained, it could also mean more volunteers working fewer weekends, or any other arrangement that results in a finished house.

Habitat also offers the chance to sponsor portions of a house. Sponsorship of either the first or second floor costs $35,000; a foundation can be had for $10,000; a roof, or doors and windows requires $5,000; plumbing/heating costs $2,500 and drywall finishing plus pPaint can be done for $1,000. Habitat also welcomes groups and individuals who want to combine their resources to create sponsorships. And of course, they will always accept cash contributions, or you can visit their "HomeStore" in the Caln Plaza at 1853 East Lincoln Highway, nea Coatesville (open 9am-6pm on Tuesday through Friday and 9am-4pm on Saturday).

To volunteer, or to get more information about Habitat for Humanity of Chester County, visit their web site or email Jason Pyrah at Jason@hfhcc.org. Or give him a call at 610-384-7993, ext. 12.

There are two options. One is to close one lane at a time and allow traffic to squeeze through for the six to seven months that it will take to complete a "full depth street reconstruction" -- excavating the street to a depth of three feet, replacing any damaged utility lines and pipes, then building it back up and grading the result. Even then, it will be necessary to close down the other lane from time to time to move equipment, and there will always be a risk that a passing vehicle will veer into the wrong lane by accident, creating an unexpected tie up. Finally, Borough personnel measured the turning radius at Market and New Street and determined that a large tractor-trailer will not be able to make the turn when the "outside lane" (i.e. the lane on the south side in front of the new parking garage) is closed, so for at least part of time, trucks will have to use an alternate route.

The other option is to shut both lanes down at the same time -- in other words, to completely close Market Street between New and Darlington -- for about three months during the summer. That means that everyone will have to find another route, but it will reduce the length of the disruption. Members of the Council committee plus Police Chief Bohn, Borough Manager Ernie McNeely and members of the audience tossed around some ideas. One is to reverse the direction of N. Darlington Street between Market and Gay so that traffic on W. Gay Street can get to W. Market Street without having to go on New Street. Another is to postpone the High Street Revitalization project until after the work is completed. A third is to reroute bus traffic so that there are no stops west of High Street.

For the moment, Council members have to wait until they get a written proposal from the County, and then see if they can negotiate firm dates, money to repair Borough streets, and/or help diverting trucks away from the center of the Borough. Ultimately, since Market Street is part of State Route 322, PennDOT will grant the final approval to close one or both lanes. But since the Borough will have to deal with the consequences, PennDOT will wait to see what Council says.