Queen Lane water plant is slated for rebuilding; East Falls group wants a promise ‘it won’t look like a prison’

Major changes are coming to Philadelphia’s water system facilities, and East Falls residents want a say in how reconstruction of the Queen Lane Water Treatment Plant will affect neighborhoods around the plant.

The Queen Lane plant, which provides drinking water from the Schuylkill, is due to be demolished and rebuilt.

But the East Falls Community Council is asking city officials for guarantees — in a binding agreement — that residents will have some say on fencing, lighting, ground maintenance, and how parking lots are designed, with landscaping that acts as a buffer.

The plant, built in 1895, is bordered by Queen Lane, Henry Avenue, Fox Street and the Roosevelt Boulevard.

Complicating matters is the Philadelphia Water Department’s request to change the facility’s zoning from residential to a “special use — civic” zoning.

“We want clean water. We want updated infrastructure,” said Hilary Langer, an architect who is chair of the East Falls council’s zoning committee.

“We agreed to this zoning change, but we understand that if we are going to sign away any reviewable rights, we would not be [looking out for our neighbors].”

To that end, the East Falls community group is hosting a “happy hour,” from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Wissahickon Brewing Co., at 3705 Schoolhouse Lane.

The organization is seeking community support for a binding agreement on how the perimeter of the rebuilt plant will affect residents.

“Meet your neighbors, raise a glass & have fun! Help preserve our quality of life before, during and after the decades-long demolition and reconstruction of the Queen Lane Water Treatment Plant,” the announcement on the East Falls council’s website says.

Brian Rademaekers, a spokesman for the water department said, “It’s imperative that we correct the residential zoning to reflect to a use that reflects the reality of what it has always been used for.”

Residents on Queen Lane across from the plant now look at an attractive black, aluminum fence that mimics the look of wrought iron. Behind it, there is a low stone wall that hugs a gently sloped berm of grass.

In January, city and state officials announced that Philadelphia is getting about $25 million in federal money to help pay for water infrastructure projects in Port Richmond, Germantown, and East Falls.

The water department asked City Council to change the Queen Lane plant’s zoning before the new federal funding was announced, Langer said. It had updated its 25-year water revitalization plan in 2022.

But removing the “residential” zoning means East Falls neighbors would no longer be able to review reconstruction plans.

“They want to change the zoning from residential to civic, which means they will not have to come back to the neighbors for anything,” said Frances Bourne, a longtime East Falls resident.

“We are not against them upgrading the water system,” Bourne said. “This is a very old plant, and most of the water system needs to be brought into the 21st century and prepared for the 22nd century.

“We are only concerned about the buffer zones, where their facility borders the residential neighborhoods. We don’t want the wall to go away, and we don’t want it to look like a prison .”

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More than 10 years ago, theDepartment of Homeland Security ordered Philadelphia to upgrade security at its water treatment plants, including Queen Lane.

Because of the residential zoning, the Water Department could not make changes without notifying neighbors.

“They were proposing a chain-link fence and these hideous orange lights that would have lit up my living room,” said Paul Elia, who lives across the street from the plant.

Elia, who is an architect, and other members of the East Falls Community Council negotiated with the city about the plans.

Now, instead of a chain-link fence with razor wire at the top, the black fencing along West Queen Lane offers a more pleasing view. And the lighting does not shine into Elia’s home.

“At the end of the project, they [city water department officials] were very pleased and happy with the collaboration between the neighbors and the water department,” Elia said. “They said we created a much better project than the would have had without the neighbors’ input.”

» READ MORE: Where Philly’s drinking water comes from

New plans call for the water department to dig 100 feet underneath the Schuylkill River to connect the Queen Lane plant to the Belmont Water Treatment Plant in West Philadelphia. This connection will provide a back-up in case there is a problem at either of the plants and to provide drinking water as each plant is rebuilt.

Last year, a chemical spill into the Delaware River led the city to issue warnings about drinking tap water.

But although Queen Lane residents were able to get concessions and attractive fencing 10 years ago, Langer said the water plant has not always been a good neighbor to people living across other streets around the 90-acre plant.

“Just look at the cyclone fencing, the over-grown weeds on other sides of the plant,” Langer said of the view from Roosevelt Boulevard. “Look at the dumpsters.” Without a binding agreement, “they will be able to do whatever they want and we will have no say.”

Paul Boni, a lawyer representing the community council, said the East Falls neighbors asked Councilmember Curtis Jones and Water Department Commissioner Randy E. Hayman to plan for the new facility as if they lived in the neighborhood.

“All we want is for you to build this facility as if you lived across the street,” Boni said.

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At one point, officials appeared to agree to putting the East Falls group’s requests about fencing, lighting and landscaping in a “community benefits agreement,” Boni said.

The neighbors thought they were getting a binding agreement, but the city backed off and only agreed to a non-binding memorandum of understanding.

In an interview Monday, CouncilmemberJones said because the project won’t start for at least 10 years, the city is hesitant about putting promises in a binding agreement. It’s also worried about lawsuits in the future, he said.

Officials are working on amendments to a new zoning bill that would not permit bus terminals , bus stations or adult day care centers, that are normally allowed in an industrial, or civic zoning, the councilman added. Those amendments will try to incorporate the residents’ demands.

“What we’ve asked them to do is to take 10 points that are non-controversial that goes into the zoning law as amendments, so there is no ambiguity 10 years later,” Jones said.

The East Falls neighbors say they are voicing these concerns for the neighbors around the entire facility.

There is chain-linked fencing, topped by barbed wire on the Roosevelt Boulevard side. And the grounds are not maintained, with weeds, trash, and container barrels, Frances Bourne said.

“We are not just concerned about the side that faces us, we’re concerned about the sides that face Henry Avenue, between Queen Lane and the Boulevard and that faces Abbotsford Homes [a low-income housing project.]” she said.

And Langer said an East Falls agreement could be a template for other neighborhood groups to follow for reconstruction at other water plants in the city.

City officials told residents that planning won’t begin until 2030 or 2031, Boni said. And construction may not start until 2040.

A memorandum of understanding has been drafted that clearly states that it is not binding, he said.

“When you get to 2040, and someone [in city government] is actually building the new plant,” Boni asked, “are they going to remember that someone in 2024 said, ‘Trust Me’? ”