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Environmental council says Smithfield ordinances largely enable green stormwater infrastructure; offers code examples
Summary
A Pennsylvania Environmental Council review found Smithfield Township’s codes already include green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) definitions and volume-control language and recommended clearer, more specific ordinance language for parking islands, sidewalks, and residential non-engineering options plus outreach toolkits.
Paul Ret, senior program manager for watersheds with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, told the Smithfield Township Board that the council’s review of local codes shows the township is generally positioned to enable green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), but could benefit from clearer, more implementable ordinance language.
Ret said the township already includes definitions for low-impact development and GSI and encourages use of GSI in its stormwater volume-control provisions. The council’s assessment used a 12-question checklist across zoning, subdivision and stormwater regulations and identified opportunities to add specific language for parking-lot islands, street tree trenches, sidewalk bump-outs in denser zones and a homeowner ‘non‑engineering’ toolkit for projects under typical impervious-area cutoffs.
Ret provided a report and appendix with sample ordinance language and said the Environmental Advisory Council could play a role in resident outreach and promotion of rain gardens and rain barrels. Board members expressed support for pursuing ordinance language adjustments and for educational programs to encourage resident-level GSI measures.
"We are a nonprofit group...we do have a Philadelphia office," Ret said, summarizing the council’s statewide work and the local ordinance review. He encouraged the township to review the recommendations and consider targeted code edits and outreach to make GSI options clearer and easier to use.
What’s next: staff and the EAC will review the report and consider whether to pursue ordinance amendments and outreach measures; Ret offered to follow up on implementation steps and example code.
