In the year 2026, I did not anticipate that conservation and care for the environment would be such a partisan issue, especially following weeks of record breaking temperatures and as wildfire smoke envelops our region.
On Monday, July 6th, Spring City Borough Council passed the ordinance establishing an environmental advisory council by a 5-1 vote. Only Council President Donald Shaner voted against. In such a highly partisan political climate, it’s quite impressive to pass anything with such a wide margin.
A few days after that meeting, Spring-Ford Press published an op-ed that seems to suggest that our local government should do nothing but be frozen in amber, that developers (such as data center developers) should have the right to build whatever they want, wherever they want, and that any and all environmental concerns from regular residents should be ignored. I reject these notions. Our government should be concerned about the health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens. Local government should lead by example and be an active participant in shaping the environment of our borough.
Where Did this Environmental Advisory Council Suddenly Come From?
The idea for an EAC did not come out of nowhere; I discussed it at length during my speech before the borough council at the March 16th special meeting to appoint a new borough councilor. I expressed my desire for establishing a street tree program, beautifying our community and downtown, setting up pollinator gardens, and mitigating stormwater runoff.
The EAC was brought up for discussion and debate at the June borough council meeting. We received extensive public comment, with many public speakers in favor of establishing the EAC. We unanimously decided to draft an ordinance for the July meeting to be voted on.
EACs can be established through a local ordinance drafted by borough council. This power is derived from Act 148 of the Pennsylvania Municipal Code created by the PA General Assembly, an act created in 1973. Act 148 was created just two years after the Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA) was added to the Pennsylvania Constitution. This amendment was ratified by Pennsylvania voters in 1971 by a margin of 4 to 1. The amendment reads, “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment…”
The ERA came about after decades of deforestation and scarring of the natural landscape by coal mining, leading to nearly 80 percent of voters ratifying the amendment in 1971. Today we are seeing a resurgence of environmental activism and references to the ERA related to our region being targeted by hyperscale AI data centers such as the proposal at the former Pennhurst State School. As such, 150 municipalities across Pennsylvania and nearly 30 municipalities in Chester County already have an established EAC. Now, Spring City will join them in that pursuit.
What Are the “Powers” of an EAC?
Environmental advisory councils are only advisory. To advise means to give someone a recommendation on what should be done. To that point, there is no legislative authority and there is no enforcement mechanism. An environmental advisory council can simply provide recommendations to our borough council on specific environmental related ordinances, such as providing carve outs for native plants in our tall grass ordinance.
Under Act 148, the powers granted to an EAC are to identify environmental problems and recommend plans and programs to the appropriate agencies for the promotion and conservation of the natural resources and for the protection and improvement of the quality of the environment within its territorial limits.
As pointed out in the original op-ed, Act 148 also allows an EAC to keep an index of all open spaces, both public and private. The original op-ed also claimed that I would advocate for the borough to make a competitive bid for open space. This statement is true. If somehow a large parcel of land opened up in our small borough, the borough should make a competitive bid for it because who doesn’t want more parks and open spaces for the community? Especially as the borough currently sits on a largely-unused cash reserve that is millions of dollars in excess of what financial experts recommend keeping unspent, which could be put to use to make improvements to our community. We are stewards of people’s tax dollars, and hoarding those tax dollars is just as bad as over-spending.
An EAC can also promote community environmental programs, such as native and pollinator friendly yards. These would be voluntary programs, where if certain criteria were met, including a certain number of native plants, a water source (like a birdbath), and cover for local wildlife, a resident could receive a sign designating their yard a native and pollinator friendly yard. What a nefarious plot!
Additional EAC programs include the street tree program and corresponding volunteer tree tender program. While our borough has some trees located on our Main Street, the rest of the borough has a tree canopy well below the national average. This qualifies our borough for many programs to receive free trees, such as through the PA Interfaith Power & Light program to increase tree equity. These street trees would only be planted in locations requested by borough residents. We would work with local arborists to identify ideal species of small trees to plant along the harsh conditions of the road and to minimize sidewalk disturbance. These trees would provide crucial shade and cool sidewalk temperatures by upwards of 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Ultimately, these street trees would also slow down traffic as they grow, provide stormwater mitigation, provide windbreaks, and even increase property values — who doesn’t want to live on a pretty tree-lined street instead of a barren, concrete street?
What Don’t EACs Do?
An EAC is not designed to make land use and other regulatory decisions. They may only advise on regulatory matters and comment on whether or not a proposed project fits within the character of a borough, or whether it may violate already existing environmental ordinances. EACs do not take the place of a parks and recreation committee, nor do they take the place of a planning commission, but they can and should work in conjunction with them. An EAC is not an independent environmental advisory group.
Addressing the “Elephant in the Room” and the Need For More Voices in Local Government
Under our ordinance, the committee must have three individuals to start convening. The meetings are open to the public, as required by the PA Sunshine Act. The ordinance defines the EAC as “no less than three members and no more than seven voting members.” My intention is to quickly expand the EAC to five members, with the eventual goal of expanding up to the maximum of seven members. If you are interested in joining, please reach out to me at my email address of DHutchinson@springcitypa.gov.
The concern I’ve heard is that the EAC is composed of two council members and one resident. Many of the current committees under borough council in Spring City are composed of two borough councilors alongside some community members — including our emergency services and police committee, and our parks and recreation committee. Our finance and ordinance (F&O) committee, which has historically held an immense amount of influence over borough operations and council business, is composed of just two partisan borough councilors.
For the EAC, it was intentional to appoint the borough councilors to the shortest terms, with Councilwoman Sara Woll serving a one-year term and myself serving a two-year term. Sarah Grady, a community member, was appointed to a three-year term. The reality of these committees is that we need more voices involved in local government. We need working class people involved and engaged. As a democratic socialist, I firmly believe that working class people should run our government. More voices in our government are needed now more than ever, so while recent borough council meetings at times have been contentious, I personally have been thrilled with the standing-room only crowds.
All that to say, yes, ideas can be brought to a committee by either a committee member or the general public. From there, these ideas will be debated extensively, oftentimes across multiple committee meetings. That recommendation then may be voted for or against by the committee, and from there it can be brought to borough council to either be approved or denied. That isn’t some scary, nefarious plot for government overreach; that's how democracy works. This is how local government functions.
Transparency, Accountability, and What Is To Be Done?
If there is one lesson we can take away from the debate surrounding the EAC, it is that residents want to be more involved in local government. That is both a great thing, and their right. So whether you support the EAC or oppose it, people are asking for more transparency and they are paying attention. The challenge now is ensuring our borough government is both accessible to working class people and more transparent.
Back in May, during my borough council comments, I called for the need to upload all committee meeting minutes to the borough website, and there have been some improvements in that area. I would argue we need to go a step further. In the year 2026, there is absolutely no reason why we cannot have meeting participation via Zoom. We should also be uploading all of the supporting documents along with the meeting agendas so members of the public can review the details of the agenda items that are going to be discussed. As I said during my appointment speech in March, we need to meet people where they are. We need to get more people engaged in the political process because not everyone can make a Monday night meeting. Some people work nights, some people have children. I understand that.
As one borough councilor of seven, I am calling on people to reach out to the other borough councilors and insist on a Zoom virtual option and the upload of agenda packets along with agendas. We can revamp how we do public comments, whether that be by allowing people to individually comment on every order of business on the agenda, or by adding a general comments section to the end of the meeting. The people have a right to be heard and have a right to respond to council debate that occurs during the meeting itself.
As we say within the Democratic Socialists of America, a better world is possible — and a better Spring City is possible. I hope you’ll join me on this endeavor.
