CHESTER CTY VSON 2000 Secton' Fve Communty Facltes!- C( \.!. Comprehensve Plan & Economc Development Strategy 994
SECTON FVE COMMUNTY FACLTES *- NTRODUCTON T here s a strong relatonshp between the qualty of lfe n a local communty and the publc facltes and human servce programs that are provded to servce that communty. That s, the physcal and economc development, or n Chester's case redevelopment, of ts neghborhoods and streets requre certan publc nvestments. Wthout the publc sector nvestment, the prvate sector wll not be attracted to the area and the general qualty of lfe s not mantaned. There are many programs and publc facltes servcng Chester Cty and they are vtal to the lves of cty resdents. These facltes nclude: admnstratve servces and muncpal buldngs, parks and playgrounds, water and sewer, schools, lbrares, sold waste collecton, hosptals and fre and polce protecton. EXSTNG CONDTONS Admnstratve Servces and Muncpal Buldngs The prncpal publc buldngs n Chester are Cty Hall and Cty Hall Annex. These buldngs located across the street from one another house the admnstratve depart- ments that provde vtal servces to the cty. Cty Hall provdes ofces for the Mayor and Cty Councl members as well as varous departments whch councl members supervse, ncludng Publc Safety, Parks and Publc Property, Streets and Publc mprovements. Drectly across the street from Cty Hall s the Cty Hall Annex. Ths buldng houses the Cty Fnance Department, Cty Clerk, Cty Tax Assessor and Treasurer's offce. Other mportant servces whch nclude programs related to neghborhood development and housng are delvered through the Redevelopment Authorty and the Plannng Department whch occupy offce space at the Colony Buldng- located at 5th and Welsh Streets. The cty, through a parkng authorty, also owns three parkng lots whch are located n the vcnty of the Central Busness Dstrct. The purpose of these lots was to provde adequate parkng for vstors and shoppers patronzng the busness dstrct. The parkng lot located on West 7th Street has the capacty to park over 250 automobles, but t s not currently used by anyone shoppng n the busness dstrct. t s too far removed from shoppng areas and s not n vew of the stores. The other two lots are located closer to the shoppng area but are 99
also not often used by potental shoppers. These lots are occuped by employees of the varous busnesses and ndustres located n the area. Refuse Collecton Trash s collected from busnesses and resdents at curb sde four days a week by a prvate contractor. Trash s collected on Tuesday and Frday on the East sde and Wednesday and Thursday on the West sde. A fee of $ 0 per housng unt s charged and ncorporated n the basc cty tax bll. However, busnesses whch requre a collecton on days whch are not scheduled for ther area, may enter nto a separate agreement wth a prvate contractor and thus, not be charged by the cty. tems for recyclng whch nclude glass, metal, newspapers and food and beverage contaners are collected every Wednesday. Cty employees are responsble for: one leaf collecton n the fall, street cleanng and snow removal. The cty mantans ts hghway mantenance equpment at ts garage located on West 2nd Street. Parks and Recreaton The cty of Chester currently has approxmately 267 acres devoted to outdoor recreaton. These facltes are dstrbuted throughout the cty provdng resdents wth an opportunty to partcpate at a passve or an actve recreaton faclty. Chester Cty s recreatonal servces are pr-, marly orented toward outdoor actvtes. n January 99 the Cty developed a Park and Recreaton Plan, ttled Recovery Acton Program. Ths plan, prepared by c j Carter Van Dyke Assocates, dentfed 50 parks and recreaton facltes. located n Chester Cty. These facltes, shown on -, Fgure CF- and lsted n Table CF- nclude: = b. 8 Publc Parks Publc Boat Access Park 5 Play areas and vest pocket parks 6 Communty Buldngs 8 Schools wth Recreaton Facltes ;- Prvate Facltes YWCA Buldng An nventory of the cty s major recreaton al facltes by Plannng Dstrct s presented n Table CF-2. Currently, the largest cty owned recreatonal facltes are Chester Park,...Crozer Park, Sun Vllage. Park,, Memoral Park, Washngton.Park.and the Commodore Barry Delaware Rver Access (publc boat launch). These facltes are c supplemented by school recreatonal facl-. (- tes and small neghborhood vest pocket parks. F=. : n terms of unque resources, the cty has the,only publc boat launch n Delaware County.. Ths faclty s equpped wth benches whch allow. resdents to vew passng shps, fsh or enjoy the tranqullty of the water. The boat launch faclty attracts many vstors from outsde the cty lmts, n fact many of the users are other than cty resdents. One sgnfcant recreatonal ssue of concern dentfed n publc meetngs s less than adequate mantenance of exstng facltes. Cty resdents ndcated that there are areas n the cty s parks where recreatonal and playsound equpment s ether mssng or broken. Ths n turn has dened some resdents the opportunty to partcpate n cty sponsored recreaton actvtes. r f!, k: : t! 00
TABLE CF - CTY OF CHESTER EXSTNG RECREATON AREAS (Locaton ndcated on Fgure CF-) PUBLC PARKS PUBLC SCHOOLS. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 0.. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 20. 2. 22. 23. 24. CHESTER CROZER MEMORAL SUN VLLAGE WASHNGTON ETHEL WATERS WLLAM PENN LANDNG COMMODORE BARRY BRDGE BOAT ACCESS AREA EYRE DRVE RECREATON AREA PLAY AREAS OCTAGON (vest pocket park) LLOYD NEGHBORHOOD (playground) WLLAM MTCHELL (vest pocket park) FOUR SEASONS (vest pocket park) LTTLE S (vest pocket park) MARTN LUTHER KNG (vest pocket Park) BUTLER (playground) COMSAK (playground) HGHLAND (vest pocket park) McCLURG (playground) PULASK (playground) PD-2 (playground) PD-4 (playground) WEST loth STREET (vest pocket park) McCAFFERY (vest pocket park) 3. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 4. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. JEFFERS (closed) PULASK MDDLE SCHOOL SHOWALTER MDDLE SCHOOL SMEDLEY MDDLE SCHOOL STETSER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WASHNGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WETHERLL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WLLAM PENN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRVATE FACLTES BOYS CLUB DESHONG PARK EASTERN LTTLE LEAGUE ST. DANELS THOMAS COMMUNTY CENTER TRNTY METHODST CHURCH WESTERN LTTLE LEAGUE WLSON MEMORAL NURSERY Y.W.C.A. SALVATON ARMY BENJAMN BANNEKER HOUSE KATHERNE DREXEL CATHOLC SCHOOL COMMUNlTY BULDNGS 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. LAMOKW BENNETT LAMOKN VLLAGE WLLAM PENN WEST END CENTER CHESTER COMMUNTY CENTER SOURCE: Recovery Acton Program, Carter Van Dyke Assocates PREPARED BY RDC nsttute, nc. 03
. A second ctzen concern focused on the lack of outdoor swmmng facltes n Chester. Although the cty has numerous recreatonal facltes, the most notceable mssng faclty s outdoor swmmng pools for the publc s general use durng the hot summer months. Currently there are only two swmmng facltes avalable for publc use. The YWCA has a swmmng pool but t s not open to the publc on an all day schedule. The other pool s located at the Boys and Grls Club of Chester. The cty s currently n the process of renovatng the former Eyre Drve YMCA as a communty center. When completed ths faclty wll have a swmmng pool avalable to the publc. Ths buldng also has the potental to provde opportuntes for other ndoor recreatonal needs. A thrd major concern dentfed by cty resdents was the lack of suffcent ndoor recreatonal and entertanment facltes. Mssng facltes most often cted were skatng rnks, bowlng lanes and move theaters. TABLE CF-2 CHESTER CTY PLANNNG DSTRCT MAJOR RECREATONAL FACLTES PARK STE SZE (Acres) FACLTES ONE Chester Park Washngton Pak 7.96 3.00 A,P,PE,PA,PF,GC,B PA,PE TWO Sun Vllage Park Deshong Park 28.3 5.8 A,PF,PE,PA, PF,GC,B A,P,PF THREE Crozer Park Showalter School 49.4 23.0 A,P,PF AYPF FOW Commodore Barry/ Delaware Rver Access 4.00 BL,F FVE Memoral Park 2.2 A,P,PE,GC,PF,B KEY A - Actve P - Passve PE - Playground Equpment PA - Pcnc Area B L - Boat Launch GC - Game Court B - Shelter or Buldng SP - Swmmng Pool PF - Play Felds (Baseball, Football) F - Fshng SOURCE: Recovery Acton Program, Carter Van Dyke Assocates PREPARED BY RDC nsttute, nc. 04
-, -4 J 7 j! r- J.... Water The cty s water supply s provded by the Chester Water Authorty (CWA). n addton to Chester, CWA provdes water supply to surroundng muncpaltes n westem Delaware County as well as muncpaltes n southern Chester County. CWA blls each resdental and non resdental customer based on consumpton. The prmary source of water suppled by CWA s the Octoraro Creek Reservor n Lancaster County. The reservor has a 2.8 bllon gallon capacty. From the Octoraro Treatment Plant and Pumpng Staton, CWA dstrbutes water to varous storage areas. n Delaware-County ths water s sent to the Vllage Green tank farm n Aston Townshp. The farm contans eght 0 mllon gallon tanks. Water s then dstrbuted to Chester Water Authorty s customers throughout Delaware County ncludng the cty of Chester. The CWA has an on-gong mprovement program and expends approxmately one mllon dollars annually reparng and replacng nfrastructure. Currently, there appears to be no problem wth CWA meetng Chester s water demand n the foreseeable future. Sewer Chester s sewage s collected and treated by the Delaware, County Regonal Authorty (DELCORA) System. Both resdental and non-resdental sewage s collected and conveyed by means of gravty and pumpng statons to the treatment plant located at Front and Booth Streets. - The plant s treatng 37 mllon gallons of sewage daly, wth the capacty to treat up to 44 mllon gallons daly. The present capacty appears to be capable of treatng addtonal sewage for Chester n the future. DELCORA s n the process of makng long range mprovements to ncrease ther capacty to enable them to treat up to 60 mllon gallons daly. Lbrary Servces The J. Lews Crozer Lbrary located on the West Sde of Chester s the only lbrary provdng lbrary servces to the resdents n the cty of Chester. Chester cty resdents have access to Wdener Unversty s lbrary, but cannot take out books unless they are students. J. Lews Crozer Lbrary was bult n 974 and was desgned as a branch wth the capacty to serve just the mmedate neghborhood. The current status of the lbrary s summarzed n Table CF-3 The J. Lews Crozer Lbrary s admnstered by a Board of Drectors. The lbrary s operated by a professonal lbraran and chldren s lbraran. Funds for the lbrary are receved from the cty of Chester, the State Lbrary of Pennsylvana, the School Dstrct, and fees collected from the rental of vdeos. The Cty Councl does not nclude a lbrary lne tem n ther budget, thus, they must approve specal fundng each year. The locaton and sze of the Crozer lbrary lmts ts effectveness for servng all resdents of the cty especally ones lvng on the East Sde. The buldng has approxmately 6,800 square feet of usable space whch s 05
TABLE CF-3 CHESTER CTY LBRARY SERVCE STATSTCS Hours open 49 hours per week Sze of Collecton 56,259 New Ttles 4,000 Annual Crculaton 60,4 Perodcal Subscrptons 20 Vdeos,000 Pad Staff 2 Annual Budget $3 24,000 SOURCE: () 990 Statstcal Summary, Delaware County Lbrary System. (2) ntervew wth Lbraran. -. --... - j ;.- ---% 2 - shared by both the lbrary and the REACH project. Because REACH occupes a podon of the area, the lbrary s reference secton s not accessble to the publc.. Although the lbrary has cramped quarters, t stll provdes a refuge for young persons to do homework, and for anyone seekng a quet place to read or study. The lbrary has developed programs that are benefcal to the communty. Some of the programs nclude: vsts to elementary schools; an annual book mark contest; a summer readng club; and monthly story hours for chldren. The lbrary also provdes work shops for adults and conducts specal actvtes durng the year. There s no publc lbrary on the East Sde of the cty for resdents to use or take out books. The YWCA has consdered the possblty of developng a lbrary at ther faclty at 7th and Sproul. The J. Lews Crozer Lbrary s also nvestgatng the potental of an East Sde faclty. Ether of these optons would wll help address some of the needs of the resdents on the East Sde. Hosptals The ctzens of Chester have excellent access to two fully equpped hosptals. Communty Hosptal (formerly Sacred Heart Medcal Center) was recently purchased by the Crozer Keystone Health System. Communt4; Hosptal, bult n 953, s a 250 bed full-servce hosptal and one of the largest provders of psychatrc n-patent servce n the County. t s a short-term general hosptal and has a school of nursng afflaton, practcal nursng and a school of radologcal technology. The hosptal also provdes pedatrc care, maternty and general medcal surgery. Some of ts specal programs nclude: mammography, moble C.T. unt and laser surgery. Although the hosptal s located n Chester, t draws the majorty of ts patents from other communtes. Approxmately 53% of the patents are not Chester resdents. The hosptal s one of the cty s largest employers wth approxmately 675 employees. 06
The Crozer-Chester Medcal Center, also owned by the Crozer Keystone Health System, s a 480 bed full-servce hosptal. Crozer-Chester Medcal Center s located just outsde the cty boundares, but does provde health care to many Chester resdents. The Crozerkhester Medcal Center s a result of a merger of the former Chester and Crozer Hosptals. Ths hosptal s now one of the 3 desgnated trauma centers n Pennsylvana and the only one n Delaware County. ts specal programs nclude: Alzhemer's Day Care Center; ntensve care nursery; heart catheterzaton; Sleep Dsorder Center; Lower Back Treatment Center and a regonal Bum Center. The hosptal also has an out-patent clnc at 9th & Sproul Streets for substance abuse and treatment of mental dsorders. Other health care facltes avalable to Chester resdents are the ChesPenn Health Clnc, the Chester ADS Coalton and the PA Department of Health. Wth the two major hosptals and other health care facltes located n Chester, resdents have access to excellent health care. Polce Protecton The Chester Polce Department has a complement of 9 polce offcers who provde polce servces to the cty. These personnel serve the cty from a polce admnstraton buldng located at 5th and Avenue of the States. Fre Protecton The cty of Chester has a pad professonal fre department that ncludes approxmately 54 employees. Two fre statons provde fre protecton for the cty of Chester. Staton 8 s located at 3rd & Tlghman Streets and s equpped wth engne and one squrt vehcle. They also have one engne n reserve. The other fre staton s located at 320 E. 4th Street. Ths faclty serves as a general fre staton and the Chester Fre Department admnstraton buldng. Ths staton s equpped wth engne and one ladder vehcle. They also have one engne n reserve. Tranng and mantenpce of equpment s handled at ths - staton.._ Educaton Chester Cty s part of the Chester-Upland School Dstrct.. Chester Cty, Upland Borough and Chester Townshp make up the Dstrct. Presently, the buldng nventory of the Chester-Upland School Dstrct ncludes a senor hgh school, three mddle schools, seven elementary schools and some ancllary buldngs. Over the last decade the school dstrct has experenced problems n enrollment and wth students scores on state evaluaton tests. The school dstrct and the communty have recognzed ths as a major problem. The School Board s n the process of preparng a Comprehensve Master Plan for the School Dstrct wth the purpose of reorganzng the school system. Ths plan wll develop a strategy+to address the current problems. The fnal recommendatons of ths plan have not been released. 07
There are fve schools n the cty that are operated by the Catholc Archdocese of Phladelpha. The Archdocese has announced plans to close all but one of these schools. The remanng school wll serve an elementary school level populaton. There are three prvate schools n the cty wth grades from kndergarten to seventh. COMMUNTY FACLTES AND SERVCES ANALYSS Communty facltes and servces, whch a government delvers to ts tax payers, ncludng resdents and busnesses, play a - vtal role n makng a communty lvable. As mentoned n other sectons of ths plan, the cty s experencng many socal, economc and physcal problems related to crme, hgh unemployment, and loss of housng and populaton. The varous servces that a government delvers can have a postve mpact and respond to many of these unfavorable.rends. Ths secton of the plan wll dscuss the major ssues, opportuntes and potental strateges related to communty facltes and servces n Chester Cty. A. Admnstratve Servces and Other Muncpal Owned Buldngs and Propertes. Admnstratve Servces The major admnstratve servces to the resdents and other tax payers of Chester Cty are delvered through varous cty Departments located n three (3) separate buldngs n the downtown area. These buldngs nclude Cty Hall, Cty Hall Annex and leased offce area at Fourth and Avenue of the States. The Cty Hall buldng s showng sgns of an aged buldng not equpped to handle the demands of a modem socety. The buldng s relatyely small for the number of departments occupyng t. -. The lobby s dmly lghted and s lackng adequate watng room area for vstors. n addton, a drectory wth drectonal sgns to drect vstors to ther destnaton s lackng. These types of condtons tend to create unfavorable mpressons regardng the qualty-of. servce the cty delvers. The Cty Councl holds ther regularly scheduled meetng on-the 3rd floor of Cty Hall. Ths area s relatvely small and does not have adequate space for meetngs or lobby space to accommodate vstors pror to enterng nto the Councl Chambers. Because Cty Hall s not large enough to house all cty departments, several are located n the Annex and another buldng on the Avenue of the States. The Redevelopment Authorty and the Plannng Commsson delver vtal servces related to housng and economc development, yet these departments share a buldng that s nadequate n sze and s n dsrepar. n addton, the buldng s not handcapped accessble and ts current poor condton contrbutes to a percepton of poor servce. 2. Muncpal Owned Buldngs and Property Accordng to tax records, the cty govemment owns many other buldngs and propertes scattered throughout the cty. Some 08
of the buldngs provde a defned functon such as the cty's garage, whch stores Park and Streets Department equpment or a fre staton. But other buldngs and property are not so clearly defned or dentfed. Many buldngs and propertes currently owned by a cty agency are not dentfed as part of the system that delvers a servce. Some of these propertes mght be canddates for placement on the tax roles. ssues A major ssue s the condton of the cty's buldngs that provde vtal servces to ts resdents and busnesses. Another mportant ssue s the locaton and functon of cty owned propertes located throughout the cty. Many propertes owned by the Redevelopment Authorty and the cty of Chester reman vacant and unused. Although the cty makes an effort to mantan these propertes, they stll become depostores for trash and unlawful events. Once ths happens the neghborhood begns to declne and more buldngs become vacant. Opportuntes Propertes that are dentfed as surplus should be consdered for prvate reuse. These propertes, once cleaned up and utlzed for legtmate uses, wll tend to encourage new renvestment n the area. Where vacant land s located between exstng structures, these parcels may be consdered for conveyance to adjacent propertes for off-street parkng or addtonal sde yards. Consoldaton of all cty agences nto one buldng for more effcent admnstraton and delvery of servces and nformaton should be serously evaluated. Potental Strateges nventory all cty owned propertes and dentfy ther locaton and functon. Ths lst should be computerzed for easy updatng. Propertes that are dentfed as surplus should be consdered for mmedate sale unless they xe part of a larger parcel assembly or land bankng program. The cty should commsson a space study to determne how much area s needed to consoldate all cty agences n one buldng so servces can be provded on a more cost effcent and productve manner. On an nterm bass, physcal condtons n Cty Hall that create a percepton of poor qualty servces (e.g. lghtng, sgnage, etc.) should be upgraded. Smlar physcal upgrades should occur at the leased premses at Fourth and Avenue of the States and/or a new locaton should be sought. B. Parks and Recreaton The Delaware Valley Regonal Plannng Commsson (DVRPC) has developed open space standards specfcally talored for the urban realtes of the Delaware Valley. As part of ths process, DVRPC developed a year 2000 defcences and needs lst for Delaware County muncpaltes based on year 2000 populaton projectons. The standards developed by DVRPC recommend a total of 6.7 acres of local park land per 000 resdents. For Chester Cty these standards, translate to a requred area of 246 acres to serve 09
the projected populaton n the year 2000 (Table CF-4). Based on ths analyss, the cty s current 267 acres of recreatonal capacty s more than suffcent to meet the antcpated demands of the cty s populaton. The Carter Van Dyke study, referred to n the exstng condtons secton, assessed the cty s Park and Recreaton program wth a specal emphass on the need for ndoor recreatonal capacty. The study developed goals and recommendatons for mprovng the cty s park and recreaton system. Ths part of the cty s Comprehensve Plan wll reterate several of the fndngs, make some adjustments based on addtonal nformaton and focus on the defcency or surplus of land devoted to park and recreaton. n addton we wll dscuss major ssues related to specfc areas. n lookng at the recreatonal needs of the cty n comparson to the current locaton of avalable facltes, two factors have drven ths analyss: seekng to mprove user access to recreatonal facltes and seekng to mprove the cty s ablty to adequately mantan ts recreatonal resources. The Van Dyke study reports that the cty s lackng meanngful ndoor recreaton facltes. Because of ths dsparty n recreatonal area the cty should focus on provdng a balance of ndoor and outdoor recreatonal space to meet the needs of ts populaton. To some extent ths may. requre reducng the area devoted to outdoor space and ncreasng ts potental to generate more ndoor actvtes. Thus, there are certan ssues that relate to expanson and reducton of park land that have been dentfed through communty meetngs and our assessment of exstng condtons.. Crozer Park Crozer Park s a 49.4 acre parcel that ncludes a lower level and an upper level. The front lower level consst of ball felds and open feld. The back porton of the lower level contans a buldng whch s n dsrepar and a swmmng pool that was recently flled. Access to ths area s va a long wndng drve that s frequently blocked by downed trees and trash from llegal dumpng. Ths area, because of ts remote locaton s dffcult to polce and s undesrable for actve or passve recreaton. The upper level conssts of lttle league ball felds whch are n far to poor condton and n need of grass cuttng and regradng. Portons of at least one, and possbly two ball felds are located on prvate property. n addton, the park s separated from most of the cty s resdents by -95. The southbound -95 on-ramp at Kerln Street s located several hundred feet from the entrance to the park. At varous tmes durng the day egress and ngress to the park s not desrable for foot and bcycle traffc because of the heavy automoble and truck traffc usng the -95 access ramp. Much of the park conssts of dense woodland whch needs contnuous clearng of trash and downed trees. Mantenance of ths area s relatvely expensve and therefore, s not performed on any regular bass. ssues A major ssue s whether the cty should contnue to put lmted resources nto an area that s hampered by many obstacles that prevent the park from beng used to ts full potental. 0
TABLE CF-4 YEAR 2000 RECREATON NEEDS AND DEFCENCES (n Acres) CHESTER CTY - Year 2000 Exstng nventory Year 2000 Defcency (-) CLASSFCATON ( 993) Requred (4) or Surplus (+) Communty Parks () 93.2 9.7 73.5(+) Neghborhood Parks (2) 54.8 99.75 44.95 (-). Sub-Neghborhood Parks (3) 9.3 26.7 7.4 (-) TOTAL: ' 267.3 246.5 2.5 (+) \. Communty Parks. The prmary purpose s to serve both actve and passve recreaton. Park szes range from 20 to 00 acres n sze and should serve a populaton between 0,000 to 50,000 persons. The DVRPC ' recommended standard for communty parks s 3 acres per,000 persons. 2. Neghborhood Parks. Neghborhood parks serve actve and passve recreatonal actvtes requrng lttle space. The parks should be 5 to 20 acres n sze and serve a populaton beteen 2,000 and 2,000 persons. The DVRPC recommended standard for neghborhood parks s 2.5 acres per,000 persons. 3. Sub-Neghborhood Parks. Sub-neghborhood parks are small vest pocket parks or tot lots. A park should cover at least 200 sq. ft. and serve 50 to 2,500 persons. The DVRPC recommended standard for vest pocket parks s.67 acre per,000 persons. 4. 2000 requred acreage are the amount of park land needed based on the DVRPC year 2000 populaton forecasts for Chester Cty. _. SOURCE: Recovery Acton Program, Carter Van Dyke Assocates. DVRF'C Populaton Forecasts 990-2020 PREPARED BY RDC nsttute, nc.
Because of the proxmty to -95 ramps and heavy traffc, access for pedestrans s hazardous. The park s defned as a communty park and could be consdered surplus as ndcated n the DVFQC standards for open space and recreaton n urban areas..* The exstng lttle league ball felds would need to be relocated f ths park area s desgnated for other uses. Snce at least one of these felds s currently located on prvate property, ths may be a prudent acton n any case. Opportuntes Because of the proxmty to -95, ths area could accommodate a hgher ntensty commercal or ndustral use. Shftng the use of ths ste to a non recreatonal use would present an opportunty for the cty to dvert mantenance resources to a recreaton area that has a better opportunty to serve cty resdents. f ths property s sold for prvate use, t would ncrease a declnng tax base for the cty. Exstng actve recreatonal uses could be relocated. (e.g. stream valley) s unque and should be retaned by the cty. Based on the results of the above lsted determnatons, the cty should develop and mplement a reuse plan for-crozer Park that maxmzes the use of the ste. 2. Eyre Drve Recreatonal Center To replace the recreatonal resources (prmarly lttle league ball felds) lost wth a converson of Crozer Park to another use, the cty should consder the creaton of a major new recreatonal center on the property adjacent to Chester Hgh School and the former YMCA. (See Fgure CF-2) Ths parcel s approxmately 5 acres n sze and s already home to the cty's major ndoor recreatonal faclty. Wth a carefully desgned layout, ths ste could accommodate 3-4 ball felds, basketball courts, tenns courts and possbly an outdoor. swmmng pool (proposed for ths locaton n the Carter Van Dyke study). Ths faclty could be desgned and bult as a model urban recreaton center. ssues An Eyre Drve recreatonal center provdes a more accessble locaton to cty res-. dents than does Crozer Park. Potental Strateges The cty should determne f there s nterest from prvate developers for commercallndustral development of ths ste. The cty should evaluate whether any porton of the recreatonal actvty at ths ste 2 Wth a hgher level of use, mproved access to ths ste wll become essental. - The parkng lot for Chester Hgh School may need to be reconfgured to allow for the optmum desgn of the ste. --. 2 ',,, ' -
RECREATON EXPANSON -AREAS Fgure CF = 2 U DELAWARE RVER
=L! P- Opportuntes Development of a major outdoor recreatonal faclty at ths locaton bulds on and renforces the nvestment the cty has already made n convertng the former YMCA buldng to an ndoor communty recreaton center. Property to the northeast across the Chester Creek from the Eyre Drve property could eventually add to the recreafonal capacty of the ste. Potental Strateges The cty should engage a recreatonal plannerflandscape archtect to create a development plan for the Eyre Drve Recreatonal Center. The plan would allow the cty to proceed wth the development of ths faclty as funds and opportuntes became avalable. n addton to the recreatonal facltes themselves, the plan should nclude a dscusson of feld lghtng, area lghtng, vehcular.access pedestran crculaton, bleachers, parkng, a concesson stand and any other related ssues. The cty should engage a professonal engneer to work wth the recreaton plannerflandscape archtect to desgn a new brdge to provde access to the Eyre Drve center across Chester Creek at the eastern edge of the faclty. The cty should actvely seek state and federal funds to develop ths faclty based on the desgn concepts. n partcular, the Land and Water Conservaton Funds program, the Urban Parks and Recreaton Recovery Program (UPARR) and Foundaton and corporate support should also be solcted. 3. Deshong Park ssues On July 9, 984, the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, ordered that the Deshong Park, together wth buldngs be conveyed n fee smple to the Delaware County ndustral Development Authorty, n trust for the County of Delaware, to develop and create tax ratable propertes to beneft the cty of Chester and the County of Delaware. The Court further stated that no conveyance shall be made by the ndustral Development Authorty wthout pror approval of the Orphan s Court of Delawae County. e Actvtes at the Deshong Park are currently admnstered by a local organzaton known as the Board of Drectors of the Alfred 0. Deshong Museum and Cultural Arts Center (AODMCAC). Currently the Deshong Park (approxmately 5 acres) contans ball felds, an arboretum, a manson and a museum. The museum serves as a communty buldng and cultural center. The ball felds are used on an nfrequent bass for actve recreaton and for pcncs for varous groups n the cty. Over the last couple of years the park has been faced wth several development optons. These optons ncorporated the museum n ther plans, but utlzed other areas for buldngs and parkng areas. No development opton s beng actvely consdered at ths tme. Currently, the Board of Drectors of AODMCAC s faced wth the dlemma of how to rase funds for the development of programs. The park currently receves funds from a Delaware County admnstered trust fund for mantenance of the park grounds and buldngs. Other funds are rased through donatons 5
j and foundatons for certan programs and projects. The Board of Drectors of the AODMCAC are proposng an ambtous program for a wde range of actvtes at the park. Opportuntes The museum and other portons of the property are consdered as havng hstorcal sgnfcance. The Board of Drectors of AODMCAC has submtted an applcaton to the PA Hstorcal Museum Commsson for verfcaton of the ste s hstorcal sgnfcance. Ths acton s now pendng. The park s strategcally located n an area that s sutable for hgh ntensty development. - - Portons of the park ncludng the museum should be preserved for cultural actvtes. An opportunty exsts for the museum and other portons of the ste to be ncorporated nto a concept that would generate ncome for the mantenance and operaton of the museum. The arboretum functons as downtown green space and can be an ntegral part of an overall physcal revtalzaton program for the Central Busness Dstrct. Potental Strateges Resolve the ownershp and operaton of the park by establshng a Task Force consstng of members of the Board of Drectors of AODMCAC, cty offcals and representatves from Delaware County. The Task Force should come to a consensus on the future use and operatonal structure of the Park. The Task Force should then 6 - meet wth the Orphan s Court and ask them t to remove ther jursdcton from any fur- ther actvty related to Deshong Park., Develop a scenaro that accomplshes the followng: preserves the museum for cultural actvtes; provdes a use that wll generate ncome that could be used to support mantenance and operaton of the museum; and, provdes a tax return to the cty for general servces. 4. ndoor Facltes ssues The Carter Van Dyke study dentfed the lack of ndoor recreatonal facltes as a major defcency of the cty s park and recreatonal system. There s only one ndoor swmmng pool that has been avalable for resdents to use year round. Ths pool s located n the j YWCA and has certan lmtatons for everyday use. n the past year, the Chester Boys and Grls Clubs have added a second outdoor pool opportunty, and the cty Department of Parks and Recreaton has ntated a program to provde a thrd opportunty n the former East End YMCA buldng. Move theaters, bowlng alleys and skatng rnks are several ndoor actvtes that ctzens have frequently dentfed as needed facltes. The cty has purchased the former East End YMCA and s n the process of rehabltatng ths buldng, but the process has -- been slow and the buldng s frequently vandalzed. - - =.- J, :-, J f! - c -! _.
Opportuntes 0 The cty currently owns several vacant buldngs that could be utlzed for communty actvtes orented to ether senor ctzens or youth. The former YMCA buldng s an excellent structure that could be rehabltated to help meet the needs of ndoor facltes. t currently has an area that was desgned for roller skatng. The cty should ncorporate plannng for ndoor actvtes wth local churches and other communty organzatons. Potental Strateges Complete the rehabltaton of the former YMCA'and utlze the buldng to help meet the need for ndoor actvtes. The cty should contact the Dept. of Communty Affars for the purpose of dentfyng ther fundng cycle and the types of programs these agences sponsor. The cty should also seek to dentfy other state and federal programs that provde grants and techncal assstance for recreaton. Create communty task forces to help dentfy specfc needs n varous areas so resources can be used to ther full potental. Consder developng recreatonal programs that could be ncorporated wth school facltes churches and the YWCA. As part of ts overall economc development actvtes, the cty should nvestgate the potental for brngng a move theater and a bowlng alley back nto the cty. 5. Commodore Barry Brdge Delaware Rver Access - Publc Boat Launch The cty of Chester owns the only publc boat launch n Delaware County. The park has a small area for cty resdents to vst the waterfront to fsh or watch shps pass by, but the major purpose of the park, by vrtue of ts boat launch and large parkng area, s to accommodate ndvduals wth watercraft. Ths park should therefore be consdered regonal because of ts drawng power from not only out of the cty but the county and state as well. ssues The major ssue wth ths park s how t can be utlzed to ts full potental by not only accommodatng out of cty vstors but cty resdents as well. Ths park attracts many vstors from outsde of the cty. Opportuntes To mprove adjacent lands wth uses that would complement the boat launch actvtes. To ncrease the sze of the park by purchasng adjacent land from PECO Energy and extendng the length of waterfront for publc use. (See Fgure CF-2) To mprove the access from 9th Street to Front Street (va Flower Street) thus creatng better access to the waterfront propertes. To make the park a regonal faclty and thereby encouragng new nvestment n the area and promotng a new mage for the Chester Waterfront. 7
Potental Strateges Apply for funds from the CZM program for the purpose of dong a feasblty study on ncreasng the sze of the faclty and desgnatng t as a regonal park. Enter nto negotaton wth PECO Energy for the purpose of purchasng a porton of ther property Meet wth and gan support from both county and state offcals for desgnatng, marketng and supportng the Commodore Barry Brdge Delaware Rver Access as a regonal recreatonal faclty. dentfy state and federal fundng sources for mprovng access to the faclty. mprove access and sgnage to the park to enhance park usage. dentfy and evaluate potental waterfront related commercal uses that should be consdered for locaton n or near the park. 6. Recreatonal Faclty Upgrade and Mantenance ssues Many cty recreatonal facltes are n need of rehabltaton. Ths ssue was clearly stated at the communty meetngs held as part of ths plannng process. Resources avalable for rehabltaton are lmted. The type and level of use of a recreatonal faclty drectly affects the need for rehabltaton or upgrade of a faclty. Opportuntes The cty s- recreatonal facltes are an excellent resource base for provdng qualty recreatonal opportuntes to the resdents of Chester... Wth mproved mantenance, Chester s recreatonal facltes can.better serve the populaton of the cty. Potental Strateges The cty should engage n a process of prortzng the rehabltaton of ts parks and playgrounds. Ths process may requre outsde techncal assstance. Based on a prortzaton -schedule, the cty should dentfy and target resources to the top prorty tems. The recreatonal strateges dentfed above have focused on several key recreatonal facltes n the cty. n concert wth the other recreatonal stes n the cty, these targeted strateges are desgned to result n a balanced and geographcally well dstrbuted set of recreatonal facltes for the cty of Chester. C. Lbrary Servces The J. Lews Crozer Lbrary s the only publc lbrary n the cty of Chester. t s located on the far east sde of the cty and s open only 50 hours a week wth no evenng hours. n comparson, the next closest lbrary located n Rdley Townshp, s open 66.5 hours a week and s open durng the evenngs. These hours not only accommodate school chldren but also those who work durng the day who can only vst the lbrary n the evenngs or on weekends. J! 8
Most resdents lvng on the East Sde of the cty vst the lbrary n Rdley Townshp rather than travel across the cty to J. Lews Crozer's buldng located on West 7th Street. There are several reasons for ths. Frst, most of the vstors gong to Rdley's lbrary are from Plannng Dstrct One. The access to Rdley va MacDade Boulevard s more drect and qucker than travelng to the West sde. n addton, many of those vstors are only avalable to vst the lbrary durng the evenng hours when the Chester faclty s closed. The. most pressng problems facng the J. Lews Crozer Lbrary are lack of space and how to better serve the resdents on the East sde. ssues. - e Currently the lbrary contans 6800 square feet and ths s shared wth another organzaton. Sharng of space lmts the use of reference materals for students or others dong research on specal projects. Resdents on the East sde of the cty travel outsde of cty boundares for lbrary servce, whch reduces funds from the state for lbrary assstance. Fndng a new locaton for the Reach Program so the area that they are occupyng can be avalable for access to the reference lbrary or addtonal space for vstors to read and work at tables. Opportuntes There s an opportunty to mprove the lbrary servces n the cty of Chester by removng the space and servce hour lmtatons of the exstng J.Lews Crozer Lbrary faclty and by expandng the geo- graphc servce area. The school dstrct, YWCA and varous communty centers are agences the lbrary could work wth n delverng a readng servce for all-resdents of the cty. Potental Strateges Relocate the Reach Program nto a buldng that s centrally located and owned by the cty or a cty-related agency. Ths acton would allow the lbrary to utlze the entre buldng for lbrary servces. Work wth the YWCA to provde them wth necessary techncal assstance n developng a readng room. ntate a study to determne the feasblty of provdng a moble lbrary. Provde addtonal funds so the exstng lbrary can ncrease ts servce to the publc by hrng more staff and extendng hours of operaton. Develop a long range captal fundng and mprovement schedule focusng on development of a branch lbrary on the East Sde, a moble book unt, and expanson of the exstng West End faclty. D. Polce Protecton As stated earler n ths document, the emphass of ths plan s on the physcal aspects of the cty. n the context of polce protecton then, ths plan wll focus on the physcal aspects of polce protecton and wll not address other aspects of polce operatons. Over the past three years, the Chester Polce Department has responded to an 9
average of over 50,000 servce calls per year. To respond effectvely to ths volume of servce need, the Department requres a physcal faclty capable of effectvely supportng a modem, technologcally sophstcated polce department. n February of 990, the cty completed a Space Programmng Study for a Proposed Polce Headquarters Buldng. Ths work was prepared by Moeckel Carbonell Assocates nc., an archtectural frm from Wlmngton, Delaware. ommendaton n favor of any of the four stes. They do, however, suggest that the 4th an Madson ste s too removed from the center of the cty. They also suggest the 9th and Madson ste s too small for the requred need. ssues The cty needs to determne whch locaton for the new polce headquarters wll best serve the needs of the cty and the polce department. - Ths report ndcated that the Department s current faclty s mposng sgnfcant neffcency and hazard on polce operatons that are destned to grow worse as the demand for polce servces grows. Based on ther analyss of the needs of the Chester Polce Department, the consultants establshed buldng and ste area requrements for a new faclty. Accordng?to ther analyss, a new faclty should nclude 30,000 square feet of space on two floors and parkng for 20 vehcles. The mnmum ste area recommended for such a faclty was 67,000 square feet or approxmately an acre and a half. The study went on to dentfy four possble locatons for a new polce headquarters (See Fgure CF-3). These stes ncluded:. Southeast comer of 7th and Penn Sts. 2. Southwest comer of 9th and Madson Sts. 3. Northwest comer of Madson and 4th Sts. 4. Deshong Memoral Park The consultants do not make a specffc rec- 20 Part of the best locaton analyss relates to the costs and other aspects of the potental stes. Whle the Deshong Park ste offers a locaton for a polce headquarters based on ts central locaton and vsblty, selecton of ths ste would negatvely affect the arboretum and the downtown green space that t represents. t s also lkely that selecton of ths ste would generate sgnfcant ctzen opposton. Opportuntes A new polce headquarters buldng wll allow for more effcent provson of polce servces to the resdents of Chester. 9 A new polce headquarters buldng wll provde the polce department wth a new mage of ncreased professonalsm that wll help them wth all of ther other actvtes. Selecton of the 7th and Penn ste would serve to anchor the western edge of the central busness dstrct and would make strong use of a ste that mght otherwse reman unused for the foreseeable future. r - LJ & c 2
!. Potental Strateges The cty should make a fn'al decson on the locaton of a new polce headquarters buldng as the frst step n movng the process forward. Based on all of the elements consdered n ths plan, the 7th and Penn ste seems to be the best of the four stes revewed by Moeckel Carbonell Assocates nc. As a second step, the cty should solct bds for the necessary archtectural and engneerng work that would be requred to bd the constructon of the new faclty. Ths actvty should be undertaken wth actve nvolvement of the polce department and approprate cty offcals. A specal task force of key cty offcals and fnancal advsors should be establshed to dentfy possble fnancal mechansms that could be used to fnance constructon of the new headquarters buldng. E. Fre Protecton The two fre statons handle approxmately 800 fre alarms each year. Out of the 800 alarms approxmately 600 are false and requre no fre fghtng acton. Although the cty frefghters handle most of the alarms, they seek assstance approxmately sx (6) tmes a year from frefghters located n adjacent muncpaltes. They nclude Brookhaven, Parksde, Upland, Eddystone, Garden Cty and Lennox Park Fre Company. The Chester Fre Company has been very aggressve n workng to prevent fres. Ths s done through code enforcement and educatonal programs. The major cause of fres n the cty are electrcal problems and accdents (.e. cookng, smokng, etc.). ssues Accdental fres through careless smokng and kds playng wth matches account for the majorty of fres n resdental areas. Another major cause of fres are code volatons. These fres develop and become hazardous to lfe and property through faulty electrcal systems and non-operatve fre alarms. Brngng total personnel as close to natonal standards as possble wthn the cty's fscal constrants should be consdered as a means of enhancng the fre protecton efforts of the fre department. Opportuntes An opportunty exsts for the fre department to contnue ts educatonal program n the schools and n the neghborhoods regardng fre safety and preventon. The fre department should contnue to utlze communty groups to help educate resdents regardng fre preventon. Potental Strateges The fre department should contnue to work closely wth the cty code enforcement process to correct exstng code volatons and to prevent any future volatons. Contnue to schedule presentatons at the local schools to nform students on the proper use of fre extngushers and the danger of smokng n bed or n close proxmty to nflammable materals. 2
Contnue to dssemnate fre preventon and safety brochures to communty organzatons and neghborhood groups. F. Educatonal Facltes Opportuntes Surplus property s costly to the school dstrct. The property dentfed as surplus should be evaluated for reuse optons and properly dsposed. As mentoned earler, the School Dstrct and others are n the process of developng plans to address the problems and opportuntes assocated wth educatng the cty s youth. Ths secton of the Comprehensve Plan wll, therefore, focus on ssues related to school dstrct property as t fts n wth the fabrc of the communty. n partcular, the ssue of maxmum use of all physcal resources, and proper dsposton of unneeded facltes, s a key concern. An example of ths approach s dual use of facltes. Snce the school dstrct s a separate poltcal entty, the cty government has no drect nfluence over ts decsons on faclty use. However, cty councl and the school dstrct should seek to cooperate wth each other n dentfyng areas of jont use of school facltes for recreatonal, communty meetng and other purposes. ssues There s an opportunty to ncorporate school and cty recreatonal areas for communty use. Ths could also create surplus propertes for both the school dstrct and cty government. f ths s the case, then excess property could be returned to tax ratable status and both the cty and school dstrct could beneft from tax revenues. Potental Strateges Develop an nventory and dentfy the use and functon of all school dstrct owned propertes. Areas.. that are not ncorporated nto the dstrct long range plan should be consdered as surplus and dsposed of n the most benefcal manner. Propertes wth uses that are scattered n areas that are more sutable for other types of uses, especally tax ratables, should be consdered for relocaton and consoldated n areas more sutable for nsttutonal use. j Many school owned propertes and buldngs are scattered throughout the cty. These propertes should be mantaned n a manner that mnmzes land use conflct n the communty. dentfy propertes that can be jontly used by the school dstrct and cty government. Develop a program to share mantenance and mprovement costs. The cty currently has an abundance of open space and recreatonal land for cty resdents use. The school dstrct also has ball felds and gymnasums that could be jontly used by cty resdents and school students. Jont use may help elmnate the need for any excess capacty. GOALS & OBJECTVES As was dscussed above, the varous communty servces, such as trash collecton, fre and polce protecton and recreaton servces that the cty delvers to ts taxpayers, represents the cty s effort to mprove the qualty of lfe for ts nhabtants. Based 22
(! j. t \ PROPOSED POLCE BULDNG STES Fgure CF - 3,! '