The Radnor Gazette · Vol. I, No. 12

5 Things to Watch This Week

Radnor school board lifts millage to 16.33; average bill up $389. The board adopted a $130 million 2026-27 budget Tuesday on a 3.36% tax increase, the larger half of your property-tax obligation set for the year.
Your Delaware County tax bill is due Monday at face value. After June 1 the bill rolls into a 10% penalty period through year-end; about 65% of residents are not on mortgage escrow.
Public opposition surfaces at 118-120 N. Wayne for the first time. A Fairview Drive resident spoke against the Restaurant Row rebuild at the May 11 BoC public-comment period, per the just-released minutes.
Planning Commission opens a "Nonconforming Uses" rewrite Monday. Chapter 280 amendment plus the Wayne Business Overlay back on Old Business: the regulatory backbone of the next decade of Lancaster Avenue.
King of Prussia Road closes Mondays through fall for PECO gas-main work. Lane closures 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Upper Gulph to Berwind, with a second project on Radnor Valley Drive already in progress through September.

By Gazette Staff · Sunday, May 31, 2026

The Radnor Township Board of School Directors at its May 26 business meeting adopted a $130 million spending plan for 2026-27 that lifts the real-estate millage from 15.7965 to roughly 16.33, a 3.36% increase that sits just under the state's 3.5% Act 1 index. Director of Business Administration Brian Pawling presented the figures before the vote, per Main Line Media News's May 29 rundown and the Delco Times's same-day account.

What it means for a Radnor homeowner. A home assessed at $500,000 will pay $8,163 in school tax, up $265 from last year. The average assessed home at $734,038 jumps from $11,595 to $11,948, an increase of $389. A $1 million property climbs from $15,797 to $16,326, up $530. Local taxes generate $108.8 million (83.7%) of the district's revenue; state aid contributes $20.4 million and federal sources $831,571. Radnor's 5,108 qualified homestead and farmstead properties will see a $500.18 reduction funded by state gambling revenue.

Bills will be dated July 1, with a 2% discount through August 31 and a 10% penalty between November 1 and February 15. Regular education instruction accounts for $47 million (36.12%) of the budget; special education runs $20.6 million (15.86%). Pawling told the board the district has already locked in next year's natural-gas pricing through a Delaware County Intermediate Unit consortium, insulating operations from recent regional gas-price spikes. The meeting was livestreamed on the RTSD-TV YouTube channel; roll-call vote tallies had not been posted to BoardDocs at press time.

Sources: Main Line Media News (May 29, 2026); Delco Times (May 29, 2026); RTSD-TV livestream of the May 26 Business Meeting.

County property-tax bills are due Monday at face value. After June 1, the bill rolls into a 10% penalty period through year-end. See Township Action, below

School Budget: The Essentials

Total budget: $130 million.
New millage: About 16.33, up from 15.7965 (a 3.36% increase, just under the 3.5% Act 1 cap).
$500K home: $8,163, up $265.
Average home ($734K): $11,948, up $389.
$1M home: $16,326, up $530.
Homestead reduction: $500.18 for 5,108 qualified properties.
Bills dated: July 1. Discount through Aug. 31; 10% penalty Nov. 1 to Feb. 15.

County Tax: The Essentials

Rate: 4.609 mills, a roughly 19% revenue increase over 2025.
Typical cost: About $185 more per household.
Face-value deadline: Monday, June 1.
After June 1: 10% penalty through Dec. 31.
Pay or check: Delco Treasurer, current tax year.

2026 Priorities Watch

VFMA land: No change. Nothing on the next BoC agenda (June 8).
118-120 N. Wayne "Restaurant Row": First public opposition logged at May 11 BoC. See Top Story.
Vision for Wayne: UPDATED. Parking survey live; overlay back on Planning Commission Monday.
Nonconforming uses (Ch. 280): Amendment opens Planning Commission June 1.
Pay-by-plate parking: No change.
Leaf-blower ban: No change. Not on the May 20 EAC summary.
Stormwater (3 projects): No change. All in design phase.
Radnor Trail east extension: No change. Still in design.
Ithan Elementary rebuild: On schedule. April 28 groundbreaking; opening 2028-29.

Open Safety Threads

Delmont Village Apartments vandalism: Overnight May 27-28. Police seek footage.
Cumberland Place firearm theft: No update since May 11 alert.
Lesley Road three-alarm fire: No cause ruling reported.
Cruiser-civilian crash (May 7): No charges yet.

Township Action · Development & Real Estate

Delco County Tax Due Face-Value Monday; 10% Penalty Starts Tuesday

Top Story · Rank 2

Delaware County's 2026 property-tax bill reaches its face-value deadline at the close of business Monday, June 1, per the Treasurer's current-tax-year page. After June 1, unpaid bills jump to a 10% penalty through December 31. The county's adopted 2026 budget set the rate at 4.609 mills, a roughly 19% revenue increase over 2025 that averages about $185 more per household.

Roughly 35% of bills are paid through mortgage escrow; the other 65% are direct mail-in, putting a real Monday deadline in front of Radnor homeowners not on autopay. Treasurer James P. Hackett's Self Tax Collection office runs 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays at 201 W. Front Street in Media. Payments can be made in person, online, or by mail. As the Gazette has noted since Vol. I, No. 10, the operative event for residents this week is the deadline, not a fresh envelope.

Sources: Delaware County Treasurer; Delaware County Budget Management.

118-120 N. Wayne Plan Draws First Public Opposition at BoC

Top Story · Rank 3

The Wayne Avenue redevelopment plan is now generating organized pushback. According to the approved minutes of the May 11 Board of Commissioners meeting (adopted May 18), a Fairview Drive resident spoke against the 118-120 N. Wayne Avenue land-development project during public comment, the first formal objection on the record.

The plan, which would demolish two century-old buildings (including the 118 North bar) to make way for a three-story mixed-use building, received unanimous Planning Commission preliminary approval at the May 4 meeting and now heads toward final Board of Commissioners consideration after variances are resolved. A year-plus of construction disruption on the most concentrated stretch of restaurants in Wayne is expected once approvals close.

Sources: Radnor BoC May 18 agenda packet (May 11 minutes); SAVVY Main Line (May 3); Radnor Patch (May 12).

Downtown Wayne Parking Survey Opens

Radnor Township on May 27 opened a public parking survey to feed the Vision for Wayne master plan. The avisionforwayne.com counter shows 167 responses logged so far, a thin sample for a plan that will shape parking, mobility and land use across downtown for a decade.

Planning Commission Takes Up "Nonconforming Uses" Monday

The June 1 Planning Commission agenda opens discussion of a Chapter 280 amendment governing nonconforming uses, with the staff draft dated December 3, 2025. The rules are quietly load-bearing in a built-out township: they govern what owners of older commercial parcels (think 118-120 N. Wayne, the Brandywine Hotel parcel, much of Restaurant Row) can rebuild without triggering full variance review. The Wayne Business Overlay District Master Plan also returns to Old Business the same night.

King of Prussia Road Closures Begin June 1

King of Prussia Road will close from Upper Gulph Road to Berwind Road starting Monday, June 1, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., the township announced May 29. PECO contractor Miller Bros. is installing a gas main to Vetterlein Lane under a PennDOT road permit. A separate PECO project on Radnor Valley Drive kicked off Tuesday, May 26, and runs through September, with crews then mobilizing to Godfrey Road. Property-access contact: Will Morris, 610-832-1000.

Martini & Roz Replaces Testa Rossa in Old Bertucci's

Fearless Restaurants, owner of the White Dog Cafe, has scrapped its earlier plan to bring a second Testa Rossa to 523 W. Lancaster Avenue and will instead open Martini & Roz, an upscale Italian concept with more than 300 seats and two open kitchens. Chef Merick Devine leads the menu; the group targets a late-summer or early-fall 2026 opening in the long-vacant former Bertucci's space.

ANEU Kitchens: Wayne Groundbreaking, Mid-June Ardmore Open

ANEU Kitchens founder Meridith Coyle held a May 5 groundbreaking for a 20,000-square-foot food-and-wellness destination at Eagle Yards Corporate Center, including a provisions market, 10,000-square-foot production kitchen and a "Center for Conscious Living." Construction runs through summer for a fall opening. A mid-June ANEU outpost inside Ardmore Farmers Market is confirmed; the Paoli flagship goes grab-and-go.

Zoning Hearing Board May 21: Video Posted

The Zoning Hearing Board met May 21 with three appeals on the docket; video is on the township YouTube channel, and materials are on the Agendas and Minutes page. Written decisions on the continued EV-charging variance request at 215 W. Lancaster Avenue had not been posted as of publication. The next ZHB session is June 18 at 7 p.m. in the Radnorshire Room.

Delaware County Round-Up

The Delaware County Digest (May 22) features a $5.6 million kitchen renovation at Fair Acres and the opening of a neighborhood hospital in Aston. Earlier in May, the county named Gary Vinnacombe Director of Emergency Services. No Radnor-specific county actions hit the wire this week.

Schools (RTSD) · Safety Beat

Budget Adopted Tuesday: See Top Stories

The Radnor Township Board of School Directors adopted its 2026-27 budget at the May 26 Business Meeting, lifting the millage to roughly 16.33. Full detail in Top Stories.

Coming Up at RTSD

Per the RTSD board page, three committee meetings land Tuesday, June 2 at the RTSD Administration Building, 135 S. Wayne Avenue: Curriculum at 5 p.m., Policy at 7 p.m., and Facilities Committee at 7:30 p.m. The Facilities slate is expected to carry forward the Wayne Elementary roof and SiteLogic energy-audit items from April. The next Business Meeting is Tuesday, June 9 at 7 p.m. at the Radnor Township Municipal Building, 301 Iven Avenue.

RTSD Policy Watch

AI / cyberbullying: Adopted April 21, 2026. The board explicitly banned "nonconsensual use of generative AI" to create sexualized images, per the Philadelphia Inquirer; now referenced in the RHS Student Handbook as Board Policy #815. AI in academic integrity: Not adopted as a stand-alone policy; covered under the existing Academic Honor Code. Technology / Acceptable Use: In force; no May 2026 revision. Ithan Elementary rebuild: Construction began April 6; groundbreaking April 28; opening 2028-29.

RTSD Board of School Directors

Per the district board page: President Liz Duffy; Vice President Susan Stern; Sarah Dunn, Esq., Clare Girton, Jannie Lau, Thomas Le, Lon Rosenblum, Lydia T. Solomon, and DJ Thornton. Superintendent: Dr. Kenneth Batchelor (non-voting).

RTSD-TV: One Meeting, Limited Transcript Access

The May 26 Business Meeting livestream is the only RTSD-TV upload in the seven-day window. Manual English subtitles could not be retrieved this week (the publishing pipeline's transcript fetch was blocked by an anti-bot challenge); the budget coverage in Top Stories relies on independent reporting from Main Line Media News and the Delco Times. Roll-call vote tallies will be posted to BoardDocs when minutes are approved. The most recent committee meeting available is the April 14 Facilities Committee.

Overnight Vehicle Vandalism at Delmont Village

Several vehicles parked at the Delmont Village Apartments at 421 Morris Road were vandalized overnight between May 27 and May 28, per a Radnor Township Police alert posted May 28. The department asks anyone with surveillance footage along the Morris Road corridor to call the tip line. The bulletin follows a separate May 25 advisory about a suspicious male caught on a Ring camera in the 1200 block of Countyline Road, the second property-area incident in the Garrett Hill / St. David's area within a week.

Otherwise, a Quiet Beat

No new headline crashes, fires, hazmat events or arrests involving Radnor, Wayne or St. David's appeared on Patch's crime and safety feed, FOX 29, NBC10 or the Delco Times for the May 25 to May 31 window. The May 7 cruiser crash on Lancaster Avenue and the May 13 fire that destroyed a Villanova mansion remain the most recent significant incidents on the books.

Community, Environment & Notices

Memorial Day Parade Marched in the Rain

The annual Radnor Memorial Day Parade stepped off at 9:45 a.m. Monday from the Radnor Financial Center and proceeded west along Lancaster Avenue, culminating in the wreath-laying ceremony at Runnymede and South Wayne Avenues. The parade went forward despite steady rain; Radnor Police's Facebook recap credited the Radnor High School band, color guard and veterans' contingents for the turnout. NBC10's regional roundup included Radnor among the day's notable local commemorations.

Great American Backyard Campout Returned

Radnor Parks and Recreation hosted the 12th Annual Great American Backyard Campout on Saturday, May 30, with an 8 p.m. campfire and overnight family camping. Part of a long-running National Wildlife Federation initiative.

Hunt Races Saved: New Foundation Committee for 2027

After Brandywine Conservancy stepped away from operating the Radnor Hunt Races following 45 years of stewardship (the partnership began in 1980), SAVVY Main Line reports that a newly formed Radnor Hunt Races Committee under the Radnor Hunt Foundation will run the 96th edition in 2027, with lifelong equestrian Janice Murdoch leading the committee. Race proceeds will benefit Willistown Conservation Trust, replacing Brandywine in that role. Two new companion events are planned, and there is discussion of reviving the Wildflower Ball. Sign up for updates at radnorhuntraces.com.

Chanticleer: June Slate Confirmed

Chanticleer's 2026 program lineup now shows confirmed June dates: "Inside the Garden: Creative Conversations" with Tim Erdmann (June 10, 5:30 p.m.), "Once Upon a Garden Storytime" (June 13), the 27th Annual Chanticleer Lecture on The Gravel Garden (June 14), "Staking Methods for the Garden" (June 24), and the four-hour Artist Residency workshop (June 27). Parking for today is sold out before 3 p.m.; walk-ins are welcome after 3 p.m. with no reservation.

Wayne Music Festival Confirmed for June 13

The Wayne Business Association confirmed the 11th annual Wayne Music Festival for Saturday, June 13, on North Wayne Avenue from 1 to 10 p.m., a free WXPN-sponsored block party. The current lineup includes Cracker, Billy Allen and the Pollies, Surfing for Daisy, Muskrat Flats and a New Orleans brass act. The WBA also has Wine'd Through Wayne: Summer Vacation on Thursday, June 4 (6:15 to 9 p.m.).

Stormwater, Trails: No Net Movement

The township's Strategic Projects page shows no status changes this week to the South Wayne Drainage feasibility study, the North Wayne / Gulph Creek flood-plain creation project, the West Wayne Preserve stormwater project, or the South Wayne Municipal Parking Lot project. The Radnor TAP Trail eastern extension remains in design.

SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale: No Near-Term Changes

No new Paoli/Thorndale schedule changes are posted for June 2026 on SEPTA's PAO page. The next phased bus-network rollout is scheduled for August 2026 and does not include routes serving Radnor or Wayne in Phase 1; local changes are scheduled for the February 2027 phase.

Notices to Residents

County tax bill due Monday, June 1. Pay at face value before the 10% penalty period begins June 2.
Library: Summer Reading sign-ups begin June 10.
July 4 fireworks return to Radnor High School on July 2; America 250 community celebration July 4 at 6 p.m.
Hazardous-waste collection reminder still applies.
Wayne Plein Air Exhibition on view at the Wayne Art Center through June 20.

Coming Up

Date	Event	Details
Mon., June 1	Delco property-tax face-value deadline	Pay at face value before 10% penalty period opens June 2. Delco Treasurer.
Mon., June 1	King of Prussia Road lane closures begin	9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Upper Gulph Rd to Berwind Rd, for PECO gas-main install. Contractor contact 610-832-1000.
Mon., June 1	Planning Commission, 7 p.m.	Ch. 280 Nonconforming Uses amendment; Wayne Business Overlay back on Old Business. Radnorshire Room.
Tue., June 2	RTSD Committee Night	Curriculum 5 p.m.; Policy 7 p.m.; Facilities 7:30 p.m. RTSD Admin, 135 S. Wayne Ave.
Wed., June 3	Historical & Architectural Review Board	6:30 p.m., Radnorshire Room.
Thu., June 4	Wine'd Through Wayne: Summer Vacation	6:15 to 9 p.m., downtown Wayne. waynebusiness.com.
Mon., June 8	Board of Commissioners	6:30 p.m., Radnorshire Room.
Tue., June 9	RTSD School Board Business Meeting	7 p.m., 301 Iven Ave.
Wed., June 10	Library Summer Reading sign-ups open	Radnor Memorial Library. Runs through Aug. 16.
Wed., June 10	Inside the Garden w/ Tim Erdmann	5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Chanticleer.
Sat., June 13	Wayne Music Festival	1 to 10 p.m., N. Wayne Ave. Free. waynemusicfestival.com.
Sun., June 14	27th Annual Chanticleer Lecture: The Gravel Garden	Chanticleer Garden.
Tue., June 16	Board of Health	5:30 p.m., Radnorshire Room.
Thu., June 18	Zoning Hearing Board	7 p.m., Radnorshire Room.
Thu., June 18	WBA June Member Meeting	5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Women's Resource Center.
Through June 20	Wayne Plein Air Exhibition (18th annual)	Wayne Art Center, 413 Maplewood Ave.
Thu., July 2	Township Independence Day Fireworks	Radnor High School.
Sat., July 4	America 250 Community Celebration	6 p.m., Radnor High School. Entertainment plus fireworks.

Worth Your Time Elsewhere

PA Capital-Star: Shapiro pitches sustainability, transparency requirements for data center developers (May 27). Shapiro's Responsible Infrastructure Development plan would tie state tax breaks to grid impact and water use, a fight that lands directly on PECO ratepayers in Radnor as the AI build-out drives up Mid-Atlantic electricity prices.
WHYY: "Yes in God's backyard": Upper Merion church transforms vacant building into affordable housing (May 29). A close-to-home test of the "YIGBY" conversion model that Radnor's faith communities and zoning officials are watching as the township weighs how to add housing supply without changing single-family character.
NJ Spotlight News: What to watch for as Sherrill, lawmakers negotiate NJ budget deal (May 26). Gov. Sherrill's first budget fight sets the regional baseline on transit subsidies and school aid that PA legislators will be measured against when Harrisburg starts its own June negotiations affecting RTSD's state funding line.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Mayor Parker wanted a 20-year tax abatement to spark development. Why hasn't it happened? (May 30). The Philly school-funding fight over property-tax abatements is the same trade-off Radnor commissioners face every time a Lancaster Avenue redevelopment seeks tax relief, and the outcome shapes regional precedent for how districts protect their tax base.
SAVVY Main Line: ANEU Kitchens expands to Ardmore and bets big on Wayne (May 19). Caroline O'Halloran's deep look at the biggest Wayne food-and-wellness expansion in years, and what it signals about the post-Louella build-out of Lancaster Avenue.

· · · · ·

Hot Take · Editorial

Two Property-Tax Bills, One Week, One Conversation

This is the rare week the math is right in front of us. On Monday, Delaware County's 19% property-tax increase reaches its face-value deadline. On Tuesday night, the Radnor Township School Board adopted the larger half of the bill, lifting district millage from 15.7965 to roughly 16.33 in a 3.36% increase that just clears the state's Act 1 ceiling. The combined effect on the average Radnor homeowner is concrete and trackable: about $185 more from the county and $389 more from the schools, or roughly $574 a year added to a tax obligation that already pushes past $20,000 on the average assessed home in town.

The school district vote deserves the longer look. A 3.36% increase landing just under the 3.5% Act 1 cap is not, in itself, a story of fiscal recklessness. It is a story of a district threading a familiar needle: cyber-charter reimbursement obligations rising faster than enrollment, special-education costs growing as a fixed share of the budget, capital commitments to the Ithan rebuild already booked, and a state-aid line that contributes 15.7% of revenue but cannot move fast enough to take pressure off local mills. Director of Business Administration Brian Pawling announced the district had locked in next year's natural-gas pricing through a Delaware County Intermediate Unit consortium, a move intended to stabilize fuel costs against the regional spikes of the past two heating seasons.

The harder question is structural, and it is the one Harrisburg keeps not answering. As long as Pennsylvania funds public education predominantly through local property taxes, a district like Radnor will adopt a 3.36% increase in a year with no controversial new programs, and the residents who feel it most will be the long-tenured homeowners whose assessments have crept up while their cash flow has not. PA Capital-Star's reporting on the Shapiro data-center proposal and the perennial fight over cyber-charter reimbursement are two of the few near-term levers that could relieve that pressure without leaning harder on local mills. Neither is moving fast.

For Radnor specifically, there is a near-term move that is fully within local control. The Vision for Wayne overlay returns to the Planning Commission Monday, and the Chapter 280 nonconforming-uses amendment opens the same night. Both shape the tax base by determining what gets built and rebuilt along Lancaster Avenue and North Wayne. A larger, more productive commercial corridor is exactly the kind of structural change that, over a decade, modestly reduces the share of district revenue that has to come from residential property taxes. Residents who care about the school tax line at the bottom of next year's bill should care about what the Planning Commission votes Monday night, even though the two events look unrelated.

Pay the county bill by Monday. Read the school district's 2026-27 budget for what it tells you about Pennsylvania's funding formula. Then come Monday at 7 p.m., the Vision for Wayne overlay is the long-game move; that is where the next decade of the tax base gets shaped.

If You Can Do One Thing This Week

Pay your Delaware County tax bill at face value by close of business Monday, June 1. The 10% penalty period opens Tuesday. The Treasurer's office is at 201 W. Front Street in Media, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or pay online at delcopa.gov/treasurer/currenttaxyear. If you are not on mortgage escrow, this is the deadline that matters.

· · ·

The Radnor Gazette · A digest for residents of Wayne, St. David's, and Radnor Township.

Research conducted May 31, 2026, covering the news window of May 25 to 31, 2026. Sources this week include Main Line Media News (mainlinemedianews.com), the Delco Times (delcotimes.com), RTSD-TV (youtube.com), the Radnor Township School District (rtsd.org), Radnor Granicus (radnor.granicus.com), Radnor Township (radnor.com), Radnor Patch (patch.com/pennsylvania/radnor), SAVVY Main Line (savvymainline.com), the Philadelphia Inquirer (inquirer.com), Main Line Today (mainlinetoday.com), WhatNow Philadelphia (whatnow.com), Delco Today (delco.today), the Delaware County Treasurer (delcopa.gov), Delaware County government (delcopa.gov), Chanticleer Garden (chanticleergarden.org), the Wayne Business Association (waynebusiness.com), Wayne Music Festival (waynemusicfestival.com), NBC Philadelphia (nbcphiladelphia.com), Radnor Memorial Day (radnormemorialday.org), Citizen Portal AI (citizenportal.ai), PA Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com), WHYY (whyy.org), NJ Spotlight News (njspotlightnews.org), and SEPTA (septa.org). News items are sourced as noted inline. Corrections welcome.

Fin