A reader pointed out that next week Swarthmore Borough is holding a meeting to discuss its plans to update the downtown zoning. The meeting is April 11th from 7-9 pm at the borough hall. The website here has links to the meeting details and an online survey. I’m told the survey is open to anyone, but probably of more interest to borough residents.

The Memorandum of Findings on the website has a thorough run-through of how Swarthmore got to where it is and what drove those decisions. Of note to those of us on this side of the Crum, it points out that the previous multi-municipal comprehensive plan didn’t say anything about the borough’s downtown. Nether Providence probably chose well to go it alone this time and Swarthmore’s probably better off too, because the two municipalities face different issues that seem hard to tackle together.

Back in the 1980s, the comprehensive plan then listed, “Population loss, and fewer families/school-aged children.” as a concern. By 2015 though the aging-in-place task force said, “There is not enough diverse, accessible, and affordable housing in Swarthmore to house those who want to age in place here.” I guess the efforts after the 1980s were too successful.

There’s clearly lots of muddled codes and standards for Swarthmore to sort through, and if you want to be part of it, take a look at the survey or attend the meeting next week.