There will be a community meeting on March 13th at 7pm at the SCEE Meeting Center to discuss the new Transfer Station on Umbria Street.

Sanitation Department officials will be there to explain the project, answer questions, and hear community feedback. This is the follow-up to an earlier community meeting on Jan 13st, 2024.

The following questions were sent by the community to the Streets department. We hope to get responses at the event:

Questions for the Streets Department Regarding the New Northwest Transfer Station

Facts

• Can you confirm the following facts shared about the Transfer Station?

• The old facility is being decommissioned, but the structure will remain?
• The facility is being expanded from 400 tons of trash to 400 tons of trash and 200 tons of recycling per day
• 18 tractor trailers service the facility per day currently, and that number will increase when recycling is incorporated? Approximate number expected daily?
• There will be no incineration in the new facility? Where is the incineration taking place?

Design

• How tall will the new building be?
• How far off of the road will the new facility be? Why can’t it be moved further back into the property?

Timeline

• When was the project conceived and initiated?

• Did the city notify any neighbors about this prior to awarding the contract?

• Can you share the exact steps that were taken to notify the neighborhood, who was notified, what the contents of the notifications were, and when they were sent?

• Will anything be done while the hold is in place? Currently there is a ton of loose soil and businesses across the street have complained about an odor coming from the soil.

Traffic

• What traffic studies have been done? Has there been a traffic impact assessment? Can you please provide them?

• What effects will the new entrance have on local businesses?

• Will there be additional traffic on Shawmont Ave?

• Is it possible to reevaluate the request for a stop sign or other traffic calming devices by The Glen apartments? Also from Lemonte St to Minerva St

• The Community is strongly urging those in charge to reconsider the move of the entrances and exits to the Umbria side of the site and urge you to re-evaluate plans to keep them on the Domino side to minimize the devastating impact on the already congested Umbria Street traffic and the businesses that have been in existence there for generations.  There is very little to impact on Domino Lane at that point.
• What precautions have been put in place for bicyclists as this is a highly used bike route
• Where are the cars that currently use Umbria Street for parking supposed to park?

Environment

• The soil there is known in the neighborhood to be contaminated, was the soil tested before being disturbed? What safeties are in place for the neighborhood and storm drains? Please provide all results of testing performed for community review.

• In the presentation it was stated that you will use rain gardens and include an impermeable liner to help with water runoff

• How deep is this (Basin? Pond? etc)?
• Will the water within this be tested?

• What is the input and opinion of the Department of Health, Air Pollution Control Board, and the Board of Health as to moving the new/modernized operation even closer to a concentrated area of citizens?

• What organization will be monitoring and posting the daily air quality number? Can an air monitoring station be added on the site prior to any further construction? We can't compare before and after air quality if it is done during construction or after.

• Was there any consideration given to the wildlife that obviously frequent the area?

• What will happen with the "pits" if that building is being decommissioned? Will they be permanently sealed or attended to avoid children from getting close or falling in? The community would like a permanent and secure option versus a fence that a teenager can cut easily

• In the letter sent to the Art Commission in 2021, It was mentioned that you intentionally maintained existing trees along both frontages and will be planting additional trees along the perimeter. Why are all trees currently being removed from the site? Will even more trees be replaced as the project comes to an end?

• What will be done for rodent control?

• Do you have an Earth-moving plan?

• Will you commit to cleaning the trash that is constantly on the site between Domino Road and the facility?

• For years in the 50's and 60’s, the Sanitation Department dumped incinerator ash around the neighborhood. Was the site for the proposed development used in this way, in whole or in part,  and if so what measures are being taken to mitigate exposure to and disposal of this highly toxic material?

• Can some significant portion of the site be set aside for re-planting using native trees and shrubs and flowers?

• In the meeting, it was mentioned that radioactive loads are parked in the containment area and checked until the isotope decays. Is it possible to follow DEP procedures to identify the isotope and get an exemption to transport it off-site?
• What is being done to mitigate runoff from the bare earth now that all the vegetation has been removed?

Permits and Variances 

• What variances, permits, or other approvals have been requested for this project?

• The work appears to violate the Steeps Slopes Protection in CHAPTER 14-700. DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS of the Philadelphia Code adopted in 2013. Was a variance or exception issued for the property, and if not, why?

• How was the City’s own Zoning/Variance process avoided in getting approval for this project?  The regulations require a denial, Community notification and meeting, RCO involvement and opinion to be submitted, and a zoning hearing known to the public that can be attended. The RCO was not notified, the near and abutting neighbors that did receive notices were given vague, site will be improved notice, with no suggestion of plans for the erection of a new facility and no notice of the ingress/egress changes proposed.  There was no notification of any work posted. Neighbors learned of this when trees and earth were being moved. How can we expect developers to adhere to the zoning code if city agencies don’t?

Functionality

• Why can’t the old entrance on Domino Lane continue to be used for trucks entering and exiting the transfer station?

• Plans show a top loaded transfer station. Just to confirm, will there be any incineration or burning?

• The DEP permit appears to show the existing facility being shut down. Will there be two transfer stations or just one?

• Why is a new facility being built in a different location, instead of using the previous location?

• The parking on Umbria looks like it is being removed, where are the cars that usually park there supposed to park?

• What is the cost estimate to update the current facility? What is the cost of this project?

• Can public drop off be moved to the abandoned portion of the site that is being decommissioned so as to use it instead of just abandoning it and not make any improvements.  Then the land where the public drop off is could be cleaned up and improved. We would like to push to make use of the old sanitation site – either by abandoning these new plans and using the existing site or by moving the drop-off location to the old site.  It’s a disgrace that contaminated soil is being exposed, again, after so much effort was made to encapsulate it the last time.  It’ll be years before we’ll be able to assess the damage this project will cause.
• With the expansion of the facility will you take on more communities?