Spruce Hill May Fair has been canceled, so University City Garden Club will hold their annual plant sale on Sunday, May 14, 12-4 p.m. at the gates of the Woodlands Cemetery (40th & Woodland Ave.). Many herb, vegetable and flower choices will be available for sale.

This youngster found a friend Saturday at the Spruce Hill Community Association‘s May Fair in Clark Park. The petting zoo, which included a llama (maybe an alpaca), a large selection of goats and some peculiar poultry-like creatures, was a big hit.

The School District of Philadelphia is once again in fiscal straits and next year’s budget could see the worst cuts yet. More nurses, security guards, librarians, assistant principals, guidance counselors, aides, music and arts teachers, secretaries and even books and school supplies from every school in the city could go if the city doesn’t make up a $300 million shortfall. It’s already being called the “doomsday budget.”

A principal at a West Philly elementary school told parents recently that the proposed cuts are by far the worst she has seen in her 21 years. Students from city high schools are planning a rally today at the District headquarters. Members of the teachers’ union, which has been asked for concessions to help avoid the cuts, are scheduled to do “informational picketing” at every public school in the city tomorrow.

District officials are requesting $60 million from the city, which City Council members are so far reluctant to provide, and $120 million from the state, which also doesn’t seem too interested.

Home and school association parents from around the city are asking residents to get involved.

If interested, here are some things you can do to help:

• Contact your City Council member and members at large. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, head of the education committee, is available at 215-686-3418/3419 and jannie.blackwell@phila.gov.

• Contact your state legislators. The local legislators are likely to be very sympathetic, so another person to talk to is state Rep. Paul Clymer, the Bucks County Republican who heads the House Education Committee. His district office can be reached at 215-257-0279. His e-mail is: pclymer@pahousegop.com. Here is his Facebook page.

• Stop by the table at Saturday’s May Fair in Clark Park (43rd & Chester) and sign a local petition.

• Join an existing state campaign for funding by signing the petition here.

– Mike Lyons

If you live in the area between Market Street and Woodland Avenue and between 38th and 46th Streets (see map here) read on. For a limited time, the Spruce Hill Community Association is offering new members the first year of membership for free, no strings attached. Upon request from SHCA we are publishing their official statement regarding the membership drive:

SHCA is dedicated to serving the community, and we want you to get involved with us. We work on issues that matter – education, zoning, clean-ups, neighborhood plans, public safety. We put on great events like the annual May Fair and the Halloween Parade. And our communications keep members in the loop about community news and events.

To apply, please email Richard Guffanti at RichGuffanti@yahoo.com with your name, address, and phone number(s).

For more information about SHCA and what it does, visit the Spruce Hill Community Association website.

The firm behind the proposed residential housing project at 43rd and Baltimore will soon begin to seek community input, including the launch of a forum-like website, according to a letter from the chair of the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee.

We first reported on the 92-unit residential complex proposed for the vacant lot at the corner of 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue, across from Clark Park, a month ago. Since publishing the story, a lively discussion on what this development would mean for West Philly took off, with a number of residents emailing concerns to Barry Grossbach, chair of the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee. Grossbach recently addressed those questions in a statement released by the Spruce Hill Community Association.

“Here is what we know. The property owners sought, and were given, a ‘conditional’ zoning permit subject to design committee approval by City Planning,” writes Grossbach. “The site, currently zoned Rm1 under the new code, does not require any parking as part of any multifamily development. This is particularly important to understand given the emails insisting that Spruce Hill not allow this lack of parking to stand. The plans submitted by the owners meet the requirements of the code under Rm1 zoning, and lamenting the lack of parking will not address those concerns in a meaningful way. A ‘conditional’ permit is good for one year, and the clock does not start ticking on any time schedule until the owners seek to change ‘conditional’ to ‘permanent.’”

According to Grossbach’s statement, before seeking that change, the property owner, Clarkmore LP, controlled by Thylan Associates, has enlisted the help of U3 Ventures, a local real estate advisory and development firm, to engage the community in fostering alternative design plans. The process, writes Grossbach, will include a series of insightful roundtables with residents, and the creation of 4224Baltimore.com (which is not yet up and running), a website dedicated to the project news and information. The plan is for the website to feature an online discussion forum moderated by “Spruce Hill community members” where residents can express qualms about issues ranging from “building size to parking concerns,” according to Grossbach’s letter. The development team will not edit the forum’s content, but will participate in the discussion.

The development group will also have a table at the Spruce Hill Community Association May Fair on May 11.

“Many of us in Spruce Hill have looked at 43rd and Baltimore with a mixture of apprehension and hope over these ‘vacant’ years—expecting that something would surface as a development scheme and praying silently that we would not only survive it but applaud it,” writes Grossbach. “We have a unique opportunity here…We have the chance to think big and bold and, hopefully, find that sweet spot in shaping development for a site that both community members and property owners applaud without reservation.”

– Annamarya Scaccia

While Clark Park “B” (43rd & Chester) is hosting the annual May Fair tomorrow (May 12), there will also be a couple of happenings in the “A” section of the park (44th & Baltimore), in addition to the weekly Farmer’s Market.

Friends of Clark Park need help to keep the park beautiful and invite community members from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to participate in the park clean-up as Love Your Park Week kicks off tomorrow. Join your fellow Clark Park supporters and help them rake, mulch, water, weed, and generally tidy up the park. For more information and to RSVP, email: lisa@lisamcdonaldhanes.com

At 4 p.m. don’t miss a rare event – local Girl Scout troop #92373 will be releasing 18,000 ladybugs and 10 lbs of earthworms to benefit the ecological health of Clark Park and West Philly. Earthworms aerate soil, creating increased water absorption and air circulation, and ladybugs feed on aphids and other soft bodied insects that feed on plants. This is the Girl Scout troop’s main community service project for the spring.