13th Legislative District
My name is Tiffany Bell, and I live in West Nottingham Township in Chester County. I’ve lived in this area for 51 years. Currently, I serve on the West Nottingham Township Board of Supervisors, but I am submitting this comment in my personal capacity. I appreciate the opportunity to offer these remarks to the commission. I live in the 13th Legislative District, which is based in Southwestern Chester County. For the past 30 years, the greater Oxford area has been part of a State House District that includes all of Oxford School District, most of neighboring Avon Grove School District, and most of neighboring Octorara School District. I am advocating that this community of interest has been well-served with this arrangement, and that it should continue in a similar manner into the future. PA PEOPLE’S HOUSE MAP UNNECESSARILY DIVIDES THE OXFORD COMMUNITY The “PA People’s House Map” proposed by Fair Districts PA unnecessarily divides the Oxford community. The municipalities making up greater Oxford community are unified in many ways. To list just a few: Oxford Area School District - West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Upper Oxford, Lower Oxford, Elk Oxford Area Sewer Authority – West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Lower Oxford Oxford Area Recreation Authority – West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Lower Oxford, Elk Oxford Regional Emergency Management (OXREM) - West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Upper Oxford, Lower Oxford, Elk Union Fire Company Service Area - West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Upper Oxford, Lower Oxford, Elk Oxford Area Civic Association - West Nottingham, East Nottingham, Oxford, Upper Oxford, Lower Oxford, Elk The proposed “PA People’s House Map” cuts the Oxford area in half. Upper Oxford, Lower Oxford, and Lincoln University, a historically black university and one of Oxford area’s largest employers, are all placed into the proposed 119th district – a Lancaster County based district that stretches all the way across Lancaster county to the York county line – nearly an hour’s drive away. Meanwhile, the rest of the Oxford area (Oxford Borough, East Nottingham, West Nottingham, and Elk Townships) are placed into the proposed 148th district, which stretches eastward towards Kennett Square, unnecessarily dividing the Kennett Consolidated School District into multiple House districts. The greater Oxford community should be represented by a single State Representative who is able to represent the entire, unified Oxford community. Placing part of the Oxford community into a largely southern Lancaster-based district is not appropriate, has no historical precedent, and makes both newly-created “halves” of the Oxford area weaker. PA PEOPLE’S HOUSE MAP DIVIDES HISTORICAL COMMUNITIES OF INTEREST The greater Oxford Area shares a great deal in common with the adjoining Octorara School District, and the adjoining Avon Grove School District. Oxford and Octorara have a common agricultural heritage. Dairy herds, crop farming, and livestock operations have been a part of both areas since colonial times. The agricultural heritage of this area is important not just to our past, but our future – most of the municipalities in Octorara, Oxford, and Avon Grove have instituted open space programs to preserve farmland. These programs have been very successful. Oxford and Avon Grove also share a great deal in community interest. Jennersville Hospital, in Penn Township in the Avon Grove area, provides primary care and Emergency Services to the greater Oxford community. Oxford’s major employers, Herr Foods, Lincoln University, and Flowers Foods, have major crossover with the Avon Grove area. US Route 1 (also known as the Route 1 bypass) has connected these communities for 50 years, and in a sense these communities have “grown up together” after the construction of the bypass in the early 1970s. These communities have shared common representation in the Pennsylvania House for at least 30 years. During that time, three different state representatives from both political parties have served the district. The “PA People’s House Map” divides these communities for no good reason. It also adds in part of the great Kennett Square community (New Garden Township.) A NOTE ABOUT LANCASTER COUNTY AND CHESTER COUNTY The 13th Legislative District is primarily based in Southwestern Chester County, but it also includes two municipalities in Lancaster County – Christiana and Sadsbury Township. If the commission is going to include any part of Lancaster County in a district based in Chester County, this is the appropriate area. This little corner of Lancaster County has long-standing ties to their Chester County neighbors. These communities were tied together back in the 1800’s, when the railroad came through and connected these towns (Atglen and Christiana) in successive stops. This, along with the Gap-Newport Pike (Route 41) which followed later, united these communities in a meaningful way Sadsbury Township and Christiana Borough are the two Lancaster municipalities in the Octorara School District, which is mostly in Chester County. Christiana’s sewer treatment processing plant is located in Atglen. The municipalities share fire service. Even old Bell Telephone recognized the unique bond between these communities, awarding Christiana and Sadsbury a Chester County area code, when the rest of Lancaster County was assigned the “717” area code. SUMMARY The commission should reject the divisive approach taken by the “PA People’s House Map.” The commission should 1) Keep the Oxford community whole, and 2) Keep the greater Oxford, Octorara, and Avon Grove communities whole – as they have been for over thirty years. Finally, if a part of Lancaster County is to be added to a Chester County district, it should be Christiana Borough and Sadsbury Township. Thank you for the opportunity to offer these thoughts for your consideration.