Spring City Borough Moves Forward with Historical Preservation Efforts

Monday night's meeting was largely focused on discussion of planning issues and the ongoing historic preservation program that is currently in its early stages.

Councilman Michael Hays, who is heading up the effort, presented three options to council that would allow the creation of a historic district.

The first step for any of the options would be to complete a survey to see where historical buildings are in the borough. Most of them are grouped on Main Street and Bridge Street.

The first option would be to apply for status with the National Register of Historic Places. This option would open up several avenues for grants and tax credits. With assistance from Karen Marshall, a Chester County Heritage Preservation Coordinator, Hays said grants of $5,000 to $25,000 could be applied for by the borough.

Marshall said she discovered in doing research that a PennDOT project in 2000 had already laid some groundwork for a Register application, and that a survey done in 1979-1981 had also identified several historical properties.

The downside to applying for the National Register of Historic Places is that the buildings cannot be for private use; they must be public, so any homes declared historic would no longer be able to be used as private residences.

The second option is for council to create an Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) and declare their own historical district under Pennsylvania Act 167. The HARB would be empowered to regulate and protect the historical buildings in its district.

Hays said he didn't want to see a HARB in Spring City. Council President Louis Di Guiseppe agreed, saying "I don't want taxpayers to have to come before council if they want to put a new screen door or something on their homes."

The third option, which council opted to move forward on, utilizes the Municipalities Planning Code to allow council to establish a Spring City Historical Commission and begin a historic resources list.

Council voted unanimously (with Councilmen Thomas Kratz and Michael Petak absent) to start with option 3, and asked Marshall to provide them with as much information as she could on the 1979-1981 survey and the 2000 PennDOT project.

Councilman James Burns gave a lengthy report summarizing the between Spring City's commission and the East Vincent Township Planning Commission.

Of major concern is the Pennhurst property and the traffic it creates when it is open as a haunted house attraction. There is a protracted zoning battle going on within East Vincent Township over an application to rezone the Pennhurst property. Currently, legal action is pensing in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

Burns did say that the two commissions have decided to hold more joint sessions instead of meeting just once a year, as several ongoing issues affect both municipalities.

In other council business, council accepted a letter of resignation from planning commission member Rick Schreiner and appointed local resident Jacqueline Finkelstein to the open seat.

Council also approved the borough's police and non-uniformed pension plans and set the Minimum Municipal Obligations for the year.

The is looking for a temporary home for its book collection whiule the new library is being built. The Royersford Methodist Church has offered space.

Hays, a member of the library board, said that the library is required by law to keep access to its books available while construction is going on.

Construction will start in spring 2012 and take about a year.