Winter 2020-2021 Edition

Christmas Tree Pickup

Christmas tree pick up dates are scheduled for January 6th and February 3rd. Please make sure to have your tree curbside by 6 AM and remove all decorations, (including tinsel). Residents may also place trees out with trash as your bulk item for the week.

Yard Waste Pickup

Yard waste pickup resumes on Saturday March 6th*. Please have yard waste bagged in paper bags and curbside by 6AM on pickup date to ensure pickup. *Date revised from original publication date.

2020 Comprehensive Plan Update Approved

The Uwchlan Township Board of Supervisors held a public hearing for the 2020 update to the Uwchlan Township Comprehensive Plan on November 11th. The plan as well as the Township Official Map update were approved. Click here for more information.

2021 Budget Approved

At their December 14th meeting, the Uwchlan Township Board of Supervisors approved the 2021 budget. A copy of the 2021 budget can be found online on the Township website by Clicking Here.

Another Successful Year for the Uwchlan Police Departments Toys for Tots Collection

The Uwchlan Township Police Department would like to say another huge thank you to everyone who donated to the Toys-For-Tots campaign this year. In addition to all of the residents who contributed individually, the Police Department also received many toys from the Williamsburg community, after they held their annual neighborhood campaign through their homeowners association.

In addition, the Uwchlan Police Department donated $2,940.00 to “Blue Beards For Charity” this year, and we received an additional $100.00 donation from a resident of Uwchlan Township. UTPD was one of 18 participating departments this year and more than $50,000.00 was raised by those participating. The funds were given to Unite for Her, The Sambuco Children’s Education Fund, A Child’s Light and the Chester County Crime Victims Center.

Updates from the Governor's Office

On December 10th, Governor Wolf and Health Secretary Levine issued new mitigation efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the Holiday Season. These new measures include restrictions on inside dining, indoor/outdoor gatherings and additional restrictions on schools, sports and other uses.The new, limited-time mitigation orders take effect at 12:01 a.m. on December 12, and remain in effect until 8 a.m. on January 4, 2021. Click Here for the full break out of new mitigation efforts and the supporting information behind these measures.

Gov. Wolf Limited-Time Mitigation Order
Sec. Levine Limited-Time Mitigation Order

In-Person Dining and Alcohol Sales

All in-person indoor dining at businesses in the retail food services industry, including, but not limited to, bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, distilleries, social clubs, and private catered events is prohibited. Outdoor dining, take-out food service, and take-out alcohol sales are permitted and may continue, subject to any limitations or restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania law, or this or any other Order issued by the Sec. of Health or by the governor.

Indoor Gatherings and Events

Indoor gatherings and events of more than 10 persons are prohibited. Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and other places of congregate worship are specifically excluded from the limitations set forth above during religious services, these institutions are strongly encouraged to find alternative methods for worship, as in person gatherings pose a significant risk to participants at this time.

Outdoor Gatherings and Events

Outdoor gatherings and events of more than 50 persons are prohibited.

Capacity Limits for Businesses

All in-person businesses serving the public may only operate at up to 50% of the maximum capacity stated on the applicable certificate of occupancy, except as limited by existing orders to a smaller capacity limit.

Gyms and Fitness Facilities

Indoor operations at gyms and fitness facilities are prohibited. Outdoor facilities and outdoor classes can continue, but all participants must wear face coverings in accordance with the Sec. of Health’s Updated Order Requiring Universal Face Coverings, including any subsequent amendments, and practice physical distancing requirements.

Entertainment Industry

All in-person businesses in the entertainment industry serving the public within a building or indoor defined area, including, but not limited to, theaters, concert venues, museums, movie theaters, arcades, casinos, bowling alleys, private clubs, and all other similar entertainment, recreational or social facilities, are prohibited from operation.The CDC puts movie theaters and other indoor settings on its list of higher-risk activities for contracting COVID-19.

In-Person Extracurricular School Activities

Voluntary activities sponsored or approved by a school entity’s governing body or administration are suspended, but these extracurricular activities may be held virtually. This includes, but is not limited to, attendance at or participation in activities such musical ensembles, school plays, student council, clubs, and school dances.

K-12 School Sports and Youth Sports

All sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural, and intramural sports are paused.The Pennsylvania Principals Association is recommending a delay to the start of the winter sports season.

Professional and Collegiate Sports

Professional or collegiate sports activities may continue in accordance with guidance from the CDC and the Department of Health. Spectators may not attend such sports activities in person.

Proper Placement of Mailboxes

Uwchlan Township takes every precaution to avoid damaging mailboxes during snow removal operations. Below are mailbox placement guidelines to help reduce the chance your mailbox is damaged this winter:

Mailboxes should be located 2’ from the edge of the pavement to provide adequate clearance at an non-curbed roadway.

The mailbox face should be located 8” behind the curb face at a curbed roadway.

Mailboxes should be installed on the side of your driveway away from approaching traffic. This will lessen the likelihood of a plow strike, and minimize the shoveling needed to clear the area around the mailbox.

Basketball Nets/Goals

If you have a portable basketball hoop on a public street, please remove it from the ROW during the winter season, as they can interfear with snow plowing operations. Basketball nets/goals should not be in the street ever, for any reason.

When the snow starts to fall, please remember to....

Remove vehicles from the roadway until the road is cleared. Vehicles parked on the roadways during winter events may be ticketed and towed.

Wait until the roadway is cleared before shoveling your driveway, sidewalk and mailbox area. If you must clear these areas sooner. Please know Township trucks will likely throw snow back onto your property when plowing the road.

Do not shovel snow into the roadway. Pushing snow from your driveway or sidewalk into the roadway creates a safety hazard and could cause an accident.

Prepare your vehicle for winter driving. If you are too nervous about driving on snow and ice, don’t drive!

Winter Operations

Once snow begins to fall, trucks are out to plow and salt the roadways, following specific routes that clear emergency routes and high priority roads first. For safety reasons, cul-de-sacs and other secondary roads are not plowed until all emergency routes and high priority roads are passable. Our Public Works team will always do their very best to keep roadways as clear as possible, as quickly as possible, but we need your help.

Parking is prohibited on any township street during a snowstorm and until the street has been plowed for the full width. This is required by law, and violators may have their vehicles towed and be subject to a fine. This is critical on narrow streets and cul-de-sacs where maneuverability of the large plow trucks is essential.

Place trash cans and recycling containers curbside, not in the street, for any reason! Our trucks plow curb-to-curb, and your receptacles will be hit if in the street. The township will not replace them.

Do not clear the end of your driveway until the road has been plowed from curb-to-curb. This will save you time and frustration! If your street has not been plowed curb-to-curb, it will be. Please give us time to do our jobs. It is not our intention to annoy you! Do not shovel or plow the snow from your driveway into the street. This can cause accidents, and it is illegal to do so. Any snow you put into the street will only end up back in your or your neighbor’s yard.

Winter Weather Driving Tips from the Uwchlan Township Police Department

With the cold temperatures upon us, please take due care when driving in winter weather conditions. Below you will find some suggestions for both maintaining your vehicles in the cold weather, and for driving with poor road conditions.

1. Service your vehicle to prepare for the extreme weather conditions. Make sure that all belts, hoses and the battery are in good condition, and all fluids are capable of handling the cold temperatures (e.g., antifreeze, washer fluid). Be sure to check tire pressure, as this will drop with the cold temperatures.

2. Prepare a box of supplies to be left in your vehicle during the winter months to be used in the event of an emergency. Consider items such as a small shovel, ice scraper, abrasive materiel such as kitty litter, jumper cables, a flashlight, flares, and blankets. A few non-perishable food items may also be helpful if you need to take a long trip.

3. Before driving your vehicle on snow or ice, be sure to read your owner's manual to learn about the driving characteristics of your vehicle in those elements. Consider driving your vehicle on lightly traveled roadways or in a large empty parking lot when driving your vehicle in snow or ice conditions for the first time.

4. When driving in inclement weather stay alert, slow down and maintain a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you. If you are driving a vehicle with all wheel or four-wheel drive, you will have better traction; however, your vehicle will have the same stopping characteristics as any other vehicle on the roadway.

PADOT Winter Weather Driving Tips

A well-maintained vehicle could be the difference between avoiding a crash or skidding off the road. Motorists should regularly check to ensure that:

Fluid levels are full.
Your wipers don’t streak.
Your heater and defroster are working properly.
Your vehicle’s radio is working so you can receive weather and traffic reports.
All lights are working.
Tires are properly inflated and have sufficient tread depth.

Additionally, if you live in an area prone to heavy snow, you may want to use dedicated snow tires or carry a set of tire chains. You should also have a mechanic check the brakes, battery, hoses, and belts.

Source: PADOT

Historical Treasure: The Edith P. Moore Schoolhouse

Did you know that in the early 20^th century half of America’s children were educated in the country’s 200,000 one room schoolhouses, and that one of those schoolhouses exists in our township? The Edith P. Moore Schoolhouse was built in 1859 and was used to educate children for one hundred years. Education was important in the village of Lionville and two more schools were built in the same year as this one. They replaced two schools that were lost to the village when the township was split into Uwchlan Township and Upper Uwchlan Township. In 1975 the township supervisors established the Uwchlan Township Historical Commission, and its members were given the task of restoring the schoolhouse located at 9 North Village Avenue, Lionville.

Lizzie Thomas was the school’s first teacher. Forty students attended the opening day of school, and by the end of the first school year there were 59 girls and 43 boys enrolled. Edith Moore was hired to teach at the school in 1929 and served as teacher until 1956. Typical of one who handled several grades in one small classroom, Miss Moore was a strict disciplinarian and earned the respect of the entire community. She was known for not only teaching the basic curriculum, but enriching her students with art, music and physical education. In addition to being the only teacher, she acted as principal, counselor and custodian. Following retirement after 27 years, she spent nine years as the Uwchlan Township secretary. Soon afterward the township renamed the schoolhouse in her honor.

Visitors stopping at the schoolhouse will see the hand water pump installed in 1947 and a recently restored outhouse that was used by the children. Inside the building are a slate chalkboard (c. 1880), an iron pot-bellied stove, school desks and books from the teaching era. Artifacts include a globe and map charts, old diplomas, a cabinet of glass-covered science specimen drawers that could be removed for study, and many other teaching aids used during the one hundred year instruction.

During the current COVID restrictions, the schoolhouse is closed. When we reopen next year, the historical commission will resume its open houses on the first Sunday of the month, April-November, from 2-4 PM. The Uwchlan Township Historical Commission will look forward to your visits and welcoming you to take a step back into the education and history of yesteryear.

How Long Does It Take For Trash To Decompose?

by Jackie Pickering

Given all the talk of “Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse”, it is very eye opening to realize how long it takes for everyday items to decompose. The answer of course varies depending on the type of materials, and the environment/elements the items are exposed to in the process. Naturally derived materials (paper towels, cardboard, natural fibers, food waste, wood products) decompose at a much faster rate (a few weeks) than man made materials (plastic, rubber, metal, glass, synthetic materials) that take many years to break down. Items exposed to natural elements (sun, rain, snow, etc.) decompose much faster than items buried in a landfill. It should also be noted that when a landfill is not clogged with items such as paper, newspapers, food waste that are easily and successfully recycled, it will help to speed up the decomposition of other items.

Standard Decomposition Timelines

The other problem with plastic is that during decomposition, chemicals leach into the soil and groundwater. Indeed, even in the development and recycling of plastic, chemical toxins are released. Hopefully knowing how long it takes for items (especially plastic items) to decompose will inspire the community to recycle responsibly (i.e., items always rinsed out, no caps or lids, and no plastic bags). Better yet, it will hopefully inspire people to look for green alternatives such as paper bags, paper/metal straws and reusable green packaging and containers.

Resources: Environmental Protection Agency, National Resources Defense Council, Zero Waste Packaging, Our World in Data, Ocean Crusaders, U.S. National Parks Services

A new project in the Township is using plants and soils to protect local waterways from stormwater runoff. This past fall, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) took the lead on creating a 9,000 square foot rain garden at the Exton Medical Arts building along Route 100 in Lionville to keep stormwater pollution out of Pine Creek. The creek, which begins near the intersection of Route 100 and Route 113, is a native trout stream and a tributary of the Pickering Creek, a drinking water source for more than a half-million people in Chester and Montgomery counties.Through the use of water-loving plants and special soils, rain gardens like this one prevent contaminants like gasoline, oil, dirt, animal waste, and other pollutants from entering local waterways.

“This has been such a fantastic project, and we can’t wait to see the impact it’ll have on this stretch of Pine Creek,” said Kate Hutelmyer, PDE’s Collaborative Programs Manager. “It can be challenging to restore streams in a commercialized area like this, but with the incredible support we’ve received from the landowners, Uwchlan Township, and our funders, we can start to change the water quality narrative here.”

Uwchlan Township provided significant in-kind services in support of this project and, along with the enthusiasm of property co-owners Scott and Brett Furman, helped take this project from concept to reality. Additionally, the project was made possible through generous grant funding from the William Penn Foundation, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and by Exelon Corp. and Aqua Pennsylvania through the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund and Delaware River Basin Commission. To learn more about rain gardens and PDE's work, visit www.delawareestuary.org.