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Lower Merion School District Start Times Information
Penn Valley Civic would like to thank LMSD for seriously considering changing start times in the fall of 2023 to foster a healthier learning experience for our children. Additional thanks to Penn Valley residents who have advocated on this important issue for many years now. Visit the Healthy Start Times website for more information.
New times proposed for next year:
Middle School 8 AM
High School 8:40 AM
Elementary school at 9:20 AM
Please complete the survey by LMSD:
https://hanover-research.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8uZikmmzZ2hbwiy
There are also opportunities for in-person or virtual feedback.
In-Person Listen & Learn Sessions for Families:
Registration for the virtual and in-person Listen & Learn Sessions is required. Register here.
Tuesday, February 28, from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in the DAO Board Room (located at 301 E. Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore)
Saturday, March 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the DAO Board Room (located at 301 E. Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore)
Monday, March 6, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the DAO Board Room (located at 301 E. Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore)
Virtual Listen & Learn Sessions for Families:
Thursday, February 23, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Wednesday, March 1, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 2, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 3, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m
Monday, March 6, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, March 7, from 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 8, from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 10, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Registration for the virtual and in-person Listen & Learn Sessions is required. Register here.
PVCA Statement on additional billboards in Lower Merion Township - 4 January 2023
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Revisions to the code regulating land development - your input needed (Posted 11 Oct 2021)
Please be aware that the Township is making revisions to our subdivision and land development code. Consider reading the draft here and making comments to pennvalleycivic@gmail.com. We will collect comments and pass them on to the Federation of Civics in discussion with Township Building and Planning. Policies in this code determine significant rules around land development.———
PROPOSAL TO CUT 482+ MATURE TREES IN VILLANOVA - 1800 Montgomery Avenue and 1835 County Line Road (Scroll down to see photos)
Please read this draft letter from the Federation of Civics and provide your feedback by email to pennvalleycivic@gmail.com. With agreement, we will vote to make the letter a resolution on April 12. If you are not a Penn Valley resident, please consider giving feedback to your civic association and your commissioner. Mature trees are community assets, and it’s important that protect them across our Township.
Also, consider this petition by Climate Action Lower Merion.
Important dates:
April 15 - 8:30am Lower Merion School District Facilities Meeting
On April 19th at 7pm by Zoom, the Lower Merion Township Planning Commission (PC) will be reviewing the proposal for fields on these sites. The PC is a group of township residents who advise the Board of Commissioners on land use. They are supposed to uphold our Comprehensive Plan and review development proposals. Individuals wishing to provide comments via Zoom during this meeting should contact Holly Colello, Planning Technician, at (610) 645-6271 or hcolello@lowermerion.org before 12:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting.
The public may also participate by providing comment on agenda items in the following ways: By postal mail addressed to Planning Commission, 75 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, PA 19003 or by calling 610-645-6271. Comments will be accepted until 12:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.
April 28 - Special Board of Commissioners meeting concerning the proposal for playing fields
A mature forest is proposed for cutting to create grass fields and roads. Mature tulip trees, maples, oaks, beeches, hickories and more…Can our trees be viewed as assets instead of liabilities for the benefit of all?
A great-horned owl sits perched in the top of one of the majestic trees at 1835 County Line Road - valuable local habitat for this large bird of prey.
According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, great-horned owls declined throughout their range by about 33% between 1966 and 2015.
A savannah of mature open grown oaks and other trees is slated for removal if our community can’t find a more appropriate site to develop for field space. Oaks are our most valuable wildlife trees. Can we afford to lose any more habitat?
This oak has likely been growing for hundreds of years - a gift from previous generations. Are we sure we’ve explored all options for alternative field space to save our remaining tree canopy? This tree and others are irreplaceable.
This overlay shows plans to remove 482+ mature trees to create playing fields. Every “x” represents a tree slated for removal. Can we afford deforestation at a time when our trees provide the natural stormwater management we otherwise desperately need? Would our children agree with our vision for them at such high long-term cost to the environment?
CENSUS 2020
Have you filled out the 2020 Census for your household? It's never been easier! As of April 1, 49.3% of Lower Merion residents have filled out their 2020 census. Fill it out in minutes at www.2020census.gov, by phone at 844-330-2020 or use the paper form sent to your home a few weeks ago.
Census results shape the future of communities, as census data informs how billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed for health clinics, school lunch programs, disaster recovery initiatives, and other critical programs and services for the next 10 years.
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False fire alarms in Lower Merion - We need your help!
ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FALSE ALARMS
ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FOREST FIRES. That was the slogan many of us recall from Smokey the Bear in a campaign designed to alert us that our carelessness was a hazard to our natural forests. Now, a no less significant slogan is required to protect our neighborhoods and preserve our volunteer fire service. ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FALSE ALARMS. The statistics are – you will excuse me – alarming, and the ramifications severe. Out of the approximate 2000 alarms signaled to the Lower Merion Fire Department (LMFD) in the past year approximately 50% were false. This is a long standing problem which MUST be corrected and we are the only ones who can do so.
The LMFD is made up of six separate Fire Companies, namely, Gladwyne, Belmont Hills, Union, Penn Wynne, Bryn Mawr and Merion/Ardmore. Narberth is not technically part of the LMFD, but works in conjunction with the Township fire service. Each station has two full-time career firefighters, but the backbone of each station and the department as a whole are our volunteers. These are remarkable members of our community who give of their time and literally are willing to risk their own safety for our protection. Just to become certified as a Firefighter level#1, approximately 180 hours of training is required. Each time that fire bell rings, we rely upon these volunteers to respond.
The actual numbers for 2017 were, out of a total of 2,394 incidents called into out fire department, 1,133 false alarm. That is 47%. In 2016, the percentage was almost identical in that out of 2,542 calls, 1207 were false. Each time the alarms ring, our system signals the firefighters to respond. This requires our volunteers to leave their jobs, their families and at all hours of the day or night. Sometimes, after being dispatched, the false nature of the alarm is recognized and the firetrucks are recalled. At that point, however the damage is done. The wear and tear on the equipment is one thing, but the strain and drain on the firefighters is another.
It is difficult to recruit and then retain volunteer firefighters. This is not a problem unique to Lower Merion, but systemic through-out the nation. To help with that process recruitment and retention, we were able to obtain a state grant to assist in educational scholarships and recently passed an Ordinance which provides qualified residential firefighters a real estate tax break. These efforts, however, are too easily set-off by taxing the firefighters with false alarms. At some point, human nature is bound to influence even these remarkable individuals and the need to show-up for nothing may cause the fearful no-show. This reality and the fact that we can actually stop the problem cries out for action.
In 2017, the Township passed an Ordinance which is designed to describe requirements for installation of fire alarms, their maintenance and set fines for false alarms. The State, however, precludes us from implementing fines against home owners until there are 3 false alarms within a 12 month period. Accordingly, our Ordnance focuses upon the number 1 culprit, namely contractors who neglect to disconnect alarms and secondly alarm companies which need implement proper procedures for installation, maintenance and call backs upon signals. Notwithstanding that Ordinance and fines which have been imposed, the drop in false alarms has been merely a drop in the preverbal fire bucket.
We must do better and we are the only ones who can prevent false alarms. The fact is that it is easy to curtail this problem. Simple tasks such as: (1) have you alarm checked by the alarm company; (2) make sure there is a proper call-back system in case the alarm goes off; and, (3) make sure any contractors disconnect the system (and notify the Fire Department it is offline) before work is done at you home would help. These 3 items alone would decrease the false alarms by 50% - if not more. There is no excuse for not taking these measures. Fact remains: ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT FALSE ALRAMS and we need your help.
If you want to learn more or need help in preventing your own system from setting off a false alarm, please do not hesitate to contact the LMFD.
Daniel S. Bernheim
President, Lower Merion Board of Commissioners
Chair, Lower Merion Fire Committee
Institutional zoning - Lower Merion Township
Do you have an interest in the boundaries of the institutions near your home? Join important public meetings about this issue on Feb. 28 and March 1, 2018. This is part of the Township's re-zoning process.
The Building & Planning meeting will be held on February 28 at 6pm in the 2nd Floor Board Room in the Township Administration Building, 75 E Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA.
The workshop to discuss institutional uses will be on Thursday, March 1st from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the NoBA workspace at 210 Bala Avenue, Bala Cynwyd, PA. Open to the public.
See this link for the Institutional Section of the Townships's recent Comprehensive Plan. It provides a detailed overview of institutional land uses in the Township, identifies benefits and issues associated with institutional land uses and also provides recommendations to guide zoning efforts regarding institutions.
Please find the overview for the upcoming DPZ (zoning consultant to the Township) visit on 2/28 and 3/1 below. The March 1 workshop is a staff/DPZ follow up meeting to review the outcomes from the Feb 28th meeting and establish the next steps in the process. The workshop is a daytime public meeting to allow the public to better understand how the outcomes from the prior evening meeting are reviewed and discussed. There will be an opportunity for public comment and questions at the public workshop. Please feel free to share this information with your neighbors.
See the full agenda for these meetings here.
Teens and Later School Start Times
Click here to listen to a recent WHYY story on teens, sleep and later start times. Penn Valley parent, Amy Norr is featured.
Visit the Start School Later, Lower Merion PA Facebook Page for more information.