Click the back button to return to the About Menu.

SHCA Committees

Board Members | Contact

Communications

Leslie Medley publishes the minutes. Rich Guffanti (RichGuffanti@yahoo.com) maintains the association’s website & email communications.

Education, Schools & Youth

Chair: Eric Santoro at eric.scott.santoro@gmail The mission of the Spruce Hill Community Association Education Committee is to support the public education of the children and youth of Spruce Hill. The education committee promotes and supports academic achievement, recreational, and cultural activities that enrich the lives of those it serves. Additionally, the committee is dedicated to addressing the unique needs of the families of Spruce Hill area schools. Goals for every year are evolving and flexible based on current community needs. Objectives for 2013-2014 include:
  • Advocate for the best public school education possible for Spruce Hill families
  • Develop a mechanism for eliciting community input in to the PAS School Advisory Council through the SHCA community representative on the SAC
  • Keep the neighborhood aware of issues affecting public schools including helping to publicize efforts of other organizations
  • Serve as an advocate for public education and the evolving needs of schools.
  • Support extracurricular activities that augment the public school curriculum (e.g., arts programs and after-school programs that provide informal education opportunities and/or tutoring).

Safety

Chair: Edward Halligan, edwardhalligan@aol.com We are working toward a safer neighborhood by strengthening relationships with the Philadelphia Police Department, University City District Safety Ambassadors, security forces at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, plus local Town Watch organizations.

Zoning

Chair: Barry Grossbach, b.grossbach@gmail.com Spruce Hill’s zoning committee provides a forum for community response to pending requests for changes in zoning classifications on existing structures, and to impact new developments that require zoning variances for land use and/or density. The committee approves guidelines that establish precedents for the committee to follow in addressing specific kinds of cases. Zoning represents an indispensable tool for community control over development within its neighborhood boundaries. The members include:
  • Jack Barrett (LowsJack@comcast.net)
  • Bob Behr (bobbehr@hotmail.com)
  • Julie Bush (Julie19139@gmail.com)
  • Andy Cole (andrew.cole.philadelphia@gmail.com)
  • Natalie Dohrmann (dohrmann@sas.upenn.edu)
  • Brett Feldman(bfeldman@klehr.com)
  • Justin Kaplan (Kaplan.JS@gmail.com)
  • Richard King (richardkingaia@gmail.com)
  • Fran Opher (FranOpher@gmail.com)
  • Craig Santoro (craigsantoro@gmail.com)
  • Matt Wysong (mattwysong@gmail.com)
Our primary goal is the retention of single-family housing in Spruce Hill, and the conversion of existing multi-family housing to owner-occupancy. Given that so much of Spruce Hill’s population is composed of renters and transients, the emphasis on retaining and expanding a home-owning base is critical for the neighborhood’s advancement and progress and stability. See the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee Membership Criteria & Procedures; the Zoning Committee Process and Procedures, and Community Vision & Placemaking Principles