PUBLIC WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT, APRIL 30
MOBILIZE TO THRIVE REGIONAL STUDY

Please join us on Wednesday, April 30 for a public workshop about transportation and land use improvements in the Wissahickon Valley. This workshop will take place at the Chestnut Hill Library at 8711 Germantown Avenue, at 7:30 pm.

At the meeting we'll talk about pedestrian-friendly business districts, transportation options and economic development for the region, including Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy and Springfield Township.

These rights can help protect public health, the environment , personal property and give citizens greater knowledge and partcipation in the creation of the city and protection of the environment.

Rights of Citizens and Environment near Building Projects


1) Easy and quick Citizen access to environmental reports of sites located within eight blocks of their home.

2) Notification, Access and Transparency of decisions of building sites made by City Planning and License & Inspections, City Council, and Zoning provided easily to Citizens within eight blocks of residence.

3) One of the First Steps in getting any approval at City Planning is Environmental Reports. If Environmental Report is not adequate, missing or false then any proceeding decisions made by City Planning or Zoning is invalid.

4) Give Citizens the Right to demand a third party or neutral Environmental study to be made at site owners expense of any developing site within affected neighborhood.

5) Require that NO fugitive dust from Construction or developing sites escape the site and invade residential area or public areas. This is already Federal law but is not currently enforced in Philadelphia. Hold developing site and City responsible for enforcing effective dust control. Citizens can FINE the City and the Developer for invading dust.

6) Circulate information of known health hazards of dust and other common environmental hazards to local citizens so they can more easily protect and treat their health.

7) If a site developer violates the health of Soil, Air or Water and the damage is not reversible, then the violator must contribute to a project or fund that will clean up Air, Water or Soil elsewhere.

8) Site developers and the City must go to each neighbor within site influence and know the health status, vulnerabilities and concerns of each neighbor, in order to implement required protections and respect for each neighbor. Quick and effective responsiveness to neighbor concerns are required by developers and city.

9. The new site developers, whether City or private, must go to each adjacent neighbor and pay for a property/ home inspection before any demolition, excavation or building proceeds in order to record prior status of adjacent home so that if any damage is done there is a record.

This happens in parking garages or when you rent a car. The rental agency or parking attendant will walk around your car and take notice of dents and scratches so that when the car is returned to you there is a record to show if any new damage has occurred. The developer needs to pay for the inspection.

10) 100 year history of former site use needs to be circulated to neighbors within 8 block radius. Philadelphia has a long history of industry and environmental damages must be known in order to execute proper and healthy remediating and protect public health. Too often the history of a site is hidden by both the city agencies and the developers and then proper remediating is avoided and the environmental health and rights of the community suffers.