Chester council approves air monitors, GoGov app grant and land-development approval; hears vacant-building safety plan

Chester City Council on Feb. 12 approved a series of resolutions including a license for five air-monitoring stations by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, acceptance of a Delaware County gaming-revenue grant to pay the first year of a municipal GoGov mobile app subscription, and final land-development approval for a six-story self-storage building at 1020 Morton Avenue after a legal review showed the prior delinquent owner no longer held equitable interest in the property. The council also heard a presentation from the fire commissioner on a vacant-building placard system and an update on neighborhood blight surveys.

The resolutions and votes followed presentations and public comment during the regularly scheduled city council meeting. The vote on the self-storage project drew the most discussion from council members, who said they would have preferred a different use but were told by the city solicitor and planning director that the city was legally constrained from denying the application because ownership had transferred and the applicant met zoning and land-development requirements.

The DEP air-monitoring resolution instructs the city to enter license agreements permitting the Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Protection to install, operate and remove air-monitoring stations, at DEP expense, at five intersections selected in Chester. Council members and staff described the move as a source of “real data” the city can use to understand local pollution levels. The resolution cites the Air Pollution Control Act and related DEP authority.

The council accepted a $13,860 grant from the Delaware County Interactive Gaming Revenue Authority to cover the first year of a GoGov subscription for a branded Chester mobile app and citizen request management (CRM) system. Vince Rangione, vice chair of the authority, said the board “take[s] very seriously our responsibility to reinvest this money in communities of most need” and that the application from Mayor Rootes was “right up that alley.” Andrew Nelson, treasurer of the authority, said the authority would “continue to make sure we get those dollars back to the communities where they’re needed the most.” The GoGov agreement is contingent on final review by the city solicitor and, if the pilot is kept, would be considered for inclusion in next year’s city budget.

On land use, the council…