Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council Meeting - October 15, 2025

The Radnor Township Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) met on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 6:00 PM in the Radnorshire Room. Members discussed EAC membership, fall environmental programming, municipal energy and electrification updates, native plant and stream-sampling initiatives, a proposed gas leaf blower phaseout, grass height regulations, the Aronimink Golf Club PGA broadcast center clearing, recycling and waste management, and the 2025 budget. No formal votes were taken; minutes approval was deferred for lack of quorum.

Call to Order and Minutes

• The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM.
• Sven and Bess reviewed the September 17, 2025 meeting minutes and indicated approval, but official approval was deferred to the next meeting because the council lacked a quorum.

EAC Membership

• The chair reported that two EAC members had resigned in the past five months, with two people considering membership and one person actively applying. The council could reach a full seven members by the end of the year.
• Bess contacted Radnor High School science teachers about an EAC student representative; that effort is in progress.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No public comment was offered at the start of the meeting.
• Diana Pope, of Windermere Avenue in Wayne, recommended the League of Women Voters Delaware County Environmental Clearinghouse website and its monthly newsletter as an outreach channel, noting that the contact is Jodine Mayberry. She also mentioned Patch as a place where EAC talks had been posted.
• Pope asked whether apartment dwellers were eligible for EAC plant giveaways; the council said yes, as long as the recipient is a Radnor resident.
• She raised concerns about apartment residents disposing of items such as a vacuum cleaner, TV monitor, and microwave in regular trash, saying this is a chronic problem in apartment complexes. A commissioner who identified herself as Pope's ward commissioner offered to prepare information for apartment residents about recycling events.

Announcements and Community Events

• Recloth Earth textile and household item donation bins are now available at Radnor Memorial Park, St. David's Episcopal Church, and Whole Foods Market in Wayne.
• Skunk Hollow Community Garden has openings for Radnor Township residents.
• Little Tykes Costume Hike with Hiking Hound Adventures is scheduled for October 19 at 6:00 PM.
• Fishing line and netting recycling reminders were shared, with recycle stations located at Saw Mill Park near the fishing stream.
• Delaware County Household Hazardous Waste Collection was held October 11 at Upper Chichester Municipal Building; registration was through delcohhw.eventbrite.com.
• Radnor Conservancy Treefest, a fall tree giveaway and fundraiser, will be Sunday, October 26, from 12:00 to 3:00 PM at the Willows Mansion. The EAC was invited to host a table.
• Radnor Conservancy will present 'The Dormant Garden' on Wednesday, November 5, at the Creutzberg Center Welcome Garden, 260 Gulph Creek Road.
• Villanova University's Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship will host a Local Roots Seminar on Monday, November 3.
• Recycling Day, accepting anything with a plug plus paper shredding, is Saturday, October 25, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 130-150 Radnor Chester Road, Wayne.
• A Shredding and Drug Takeback Event will be held Saturday, November 8, from 9:00 AM to noon at Main Line Health Newtown Square.
• An Owl Encounter and Night Hike at the Willows is scheduled for Friday, November 14, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, with a rain date of November 29.
• The WeConserve EAC Fall Gathering is set for Saturday, November 15, at Penn State Great Valley in Malvern.

Municipal Energy Conservation and Electrification

• No new EAC update was provided on EV charging stations, 2026 electric vehicle purchases, roof and solar panel projects, LED projects, or building benchmarking.
• Ricky Foster of the Township Public Works Department reported that the township purchased electric lawn equipment, including seven cordless blowers, two extended hedge trimmers, three chainsaws, two cordless pole pruners, two cordless lawn mowers, twenty batteries, and five high-speed chargers. The equipment is reportedly performing as expected.

Public Education and Outreach

• The next EAC lecture will be Thursday, November 13, at 6:00 PM with Mike Weilbacher presenting 'Our Fungal Future: How Mushrooms Will Save the World.' It will be held at the Township Building and live-streamed on Zoom.
• A virtual presentation, 'Wild Turkey Conservation in PA,' is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, at 7:00 PM through Jenkins Arboretum and Gardens.
• 'Salt-A Winter Water Conundrum' will be presented by Kate Hutelmyer, Water Resources Planner at the Chester County Water Resources Authority, on Thursday, December 18, at 7:00 PM, sponsored by Jenkins Arboretum and Trout Unlimited.
• Dan said he planned to contact Molly Gallagher about promoting EAC events in 'Around Town,' which he said may reach roughly a thousand households or more.
• Bess reported that the fall 2025 edition of the Radnor News included two EAC submissions: one on gas-powered leaf blowers and electric alternatives, and one on 'Leave the Leaves.'
• An attempt to publish in Suburban Life was unsuccessful; the magazine said it had no space in the fall edition. A public commenter suggested the League of Women Voters clearinghouse and Main Line School Night as additional outreach venues.

Native Plants, Water Quality, and Sustainable Landscapes

• Dan and Bess participated in a Darby Creek Valley Association salt snapshot study, expanding stream sampling to 22 locations in Radnor Township to build a regional salt pollution database.
• The EAC has new native plant and sustainable landscape tips covering Beech Leaf Disease, the Mosquito Bucket Challenge, 'Leave the Leaves,' fall planting, the 3-3-3 mulching rule, and the 'Invasive Eleven.' Sven and Bess were asked to prepare descriptions for township social media.
• No requests were received for the Eco-Friendly Yard Award program this fall.
• The EAC community survey was delayed to spring to avoid conflicting with a potential gas leaf blower survey.
• Dan created about 120 seed packets of five native species, gave roughly 50 percent to the Radnor Memorial Library seed bank, and included planting directions. Carol is following up on a second $500 contribution to the library seed bank.
• Bess met with a health teacher at Radnor Elementary School to plan native plantings, possibly including a sensory garden, in the spring. A $250 donation was arranged to supplement $2,500 donated to the Radnor Educational Foundation, with Roberta Winters serving as a Radnor Educational Foundation Advisor.
• Rain garden maintenance in the township has been postponed to spring because of other township project priorities.
• Fenimore Pond algae overgrowth returned after earlier skimming. Parks and Recreation Director Tammy Cohen wants to remove underwater sediment and improve water flow; a $700,000 grant application for the Fenimore Park upgrade could leave funds for pond work.

Gas Leaf Blower Phaseout

• Dan attended the Lower Merion Sustainability Committee meeting on October 8, the first public meeting on Lower Merion's proposed seasonal gas leaf blower ban. Individual residents strongly supported the proposal, while several landscaping contractors expressed concern that a ban would harm their businesses.
• Dan said he has drafted a similar seasonal ban proposal for Radnor Township, patterned partly on Maplewood, New Jersey's May 1 to October 1 seasonal ban. The draft is under review by Kathy Agnew, and comments from EAC colleagues are due by October 31.
• The proposal would be coordinated with Lower Merion and shared with Lower Merion Sustainability Officer Paloma Villa when ready.

Grass Height Ordinance

• Sven reported that a neighbor was told to mow a pasture or meadow because plants exceeded the 12-inch maximum in the property maintenance code.
• Laura Lucer suggested considering the WeConserve model naturalized landscape ordinance, which would balance weed ordinances with ecologically beneficial landscapes.
• Sven said he did not favor adopting that ordinance because its detail could complicate adherence and enforcement. He had already sent an ordinance proposal to Dan, and discussion was deferred to the next meeting.
• A question was raised about tall grass attracting mice near houses; the model ordinance is understood to include a manicured buffer zone around naturalized areas.

Aronimink Golf Club PGA Broadcast Center

• Clear-cutting of 9 acres at Aronimink Golf Club for a temporary PGA broadcast center has been completed.
• A temporary parking lot with drainage collection basins is being constructed, and the broadcast center is expected to be ready in spring 2026 for a PGA tournament.
• Dan expressed concern about the risk of heavy rainfall before the water retention measures are completed, because there are homes and streams downhill from the cleared area.

Recycling and Waste Management

• Dan reported, based on information from Ricky Foster, that Radnor trash is taken to the Broomall transfer station and then to the Chester Resource Recovery Facility, formerly Covanta. Dan said he believed it is the largest incinerator in the country. Ash from the incinerator is sent to the Rolling Hills landfill in Berks County.
• Dan noted that the Chester facility generates electricity but that the Chester community has raised ongoing concerns about air pollution and has pushed for better safeguards and scrubbers.
• Sven discussed Delaware County's zero waste plan, saying zero waste is difficult to achieve and is more of a vision than a reality. He said the target should be waste reduction and cited the township's plastic bag ban as a first step.
• Sven recommended that the township talk with new fast-food or takeout businesses about waste reduction, noting increased litter from Chick-fil-A and Wawa cups in the township.

Budget

• The EAC's 2025 approved budget was $7,246.50. Current expenses were reported as $5,421.50, leaving a current balance of $1,825.00.
• Pending 2025 expenses totaled $1,396.15, including $156.15 for native perennial seeds, $250 for 10 STEELS books for the township's five school district libraries, $200 for the Mike Weilbacher fungi lecture honorarium, a $500 second contribution to the Radnor Memorial Library seed library, a $90 registration fee for the WeConserve EAC Fall Gathering, and $200 for a future Mike Weilbacher bee talk. This would leave approximately $429 remaining.
• The EAC voted in August to submit a budget request of $15,000 to the Board of Commissioners for 2026, which is more than double the 2025 budget. The request is awaiting review; one commissioner asked Dan to resend the proposal.
• About 225 households received perennials in the plant giveaway. Dan said the council does not follow up with all recipients; roughly 100 of 750 privately donated parking-lot plants survived, and additional bulbs were planted. A follow-up survey of giveaway recipients was suggested.

Key Outcomes

• Official approval of the September 17, 2025 minutes was deferred to the next meeting due to lack of quorum.
• The EAC's $15,000 budget request for 2026 remains pending before the Board of Commissioners; the proposal is to be resent.
• The EAC community survey will be delayed until spring to avoid overlap with the gas leaf blower survey.
• Comments on the draft gas leaf blower phaseout ordinance are due October 31, with further coordination with Lower Merion planned.
• Sven and Bess will prepare native plant and sustainable landscape tips for township social media.
• Sven's grass height ordinance proposal will be discussed at the next EAC meeting.
• Dan will contact Molly Gallagher about EAC event promotion and will copy a colleague.
• The commissioner offered to work with apartment residents to distribute recycling event information.