What Towns do you think Philadelphia Should Annex? (DuBois, Montgomery: sales, car insurance)

[thedirtypirate]

None, there's no point anymore.


However, there is a caveat. The point of annexation was often to consolidate strength and economic power and provide greater services, etc. At some point that became a bad bargain. However, now that decades have passed and some areas have begun to decline a bit, the inner ring suburbs need to realize their fate is explicitly tied to the city and they need the city to do well to thrive themselves.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Actually, you do need a sign, for the stretch of Lancaster Avenue from 63d Street to City Avenue runs through the middle of Overbrook Farms, which looks for all the world like an extension of the community across City Line from it.

The communities that border Southwest Philadelphia below Upper Darby do blend very well with their neighbors, though. The line on Lancaster is starker — but you cross it before you leave Philadelphia (or after you enter it coming in from the 'burbs).

Yeah, it would probably make more sense for Wynnewood to annex Overbrook Farms. LOL.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by NewtownBucks

Yeah, it would probably make more sense for Wynnewood to annex Overbrook Farms. LOL.

The funny thing is, the neighborhoods on the Philadelphia side of City Line Avenue — Wynnefield Heights, Wynnefield, Overbrook Farms, Overbrook Park — are all in about as good a shape as their Lower Merion neighbors are, and with the exception of Overbrook Park, which resembles neighborhoods in the Far Northeast, they also look like their LMT counterparts.

[NYtoNJtoPA]

Originally Posted by selhars

Part of neighboring Delaware County aren't the only borders where you can't tell the difference.

Leaving NE Philly into Bucks County the difference isn't clear without a sign either.

Definitely agree with this. And it is not just Bensalem either. Somerton is adjacent to Lower Southampton Twp (Feasterville-Trevose) and is just as quiet and leafy. The only way to tell the difference is the street signs which are blue in Lower Southampton vs the green trapezoid typical of Philly.

[gwillyfromphilly]

I would just annex all of Montgomery and Delaware County and become one single city. Philadelphia would have a population of over 3 million people in a land area of just over 800 square miles(about the size of Jacksonville, FL). It would instantly become the 3rd largest city in the US and maybe even the wealthiest city in the country.

The demographics would certainly change as Philly would be one of the whitest large cities in the country. I also see Philly politicians putting in a strong effort to relocate jobs from the former Delaware/Montgomery counties to the city core. Having a single police department, fire department, and other city services will save a lot of money as all of these individual town services would disappear. All that extra money could be used to seriously address the poverty at the city core as the city now has a much larger tax base generated from the all the suburbs in Delco and Montco. Philadelphia would never be the same again.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by gwillyfromphilly

I would just annex all of Montgomery and Delaware County and become one single city. Philadelphia would have a population of over 3 million people in a land area of just over 800 square miles(about the size of Jacksonville, FL). It would instantly become the 3rd largest city in the US and maybe even the wealthiest city in the country.

The demographics would certainly change as Philly would be one of the whitest large cities in the country. I also see Philly politicians putting in a strong effort to relocate jobs from the former Delaware/Montgomery counties to the city core. Having a single police department, fire department, and other city services will save a lot of money as all of these individual town services would disappear. All that extra money could be used to seriously address the poverty at the city core as the city now has a much larger tax base generated from the all the suburbs in Delco and Montco. Philadelphia would never be the same again.

Watch the folks in Montgomery County (which was split off from Philadelphia County in 1777 or thereabouts) go postal when this is proposed.

Annexing all of Delco would do much to balance out city politics, for at the local level, there are many communities in the county that remain pretty Republican. And given that Delco's income distribution skews downward relative to Montgomery’s, it might make a better fit overall.

But see above. They'd probably squawk in Delco also.

[Tweb66]

Yeah, interesting thought exercise but its entirely pie in the sky. Though with Chester basically about to be dissolved, lets make a clean sweep to the Delaware River. Thats Tinicum, Ridley Park, Eddystone, Chester, Trainer and Marcus Hook. Other than Ridley Park, I am sure the rest of Delco won't miss them, adding roughly 65,000 to Philadelphia.



Somewhat off topic, I had no idea Lehigh and Northampton was ever a "thing", but apparently it was.


https://www.mcall.com/1998/12/23/pla...-for-the-area/


If the name "Jane Baker" rings any bells, its because she infamously ran over her secret, lesbian lover with her car.

[VTinPhilly]

I have two questions for those interested in this topic.

Under the Consolidation Act of 1854, the City of Philadelphia consolidated with the County of Philadelphia with the result that the city's borders became coterminous with the county's borders. City and county offices were merged in 1952 thus today the county has no governmental structure by law but it still exists as an entity within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is subject to state laws concerning counties.

So my questions are these:

1) Since Philadelphia legally exists as a county as well as a city, is it even possible for Philadelphia to legally annex land from an adjacent county? (I assume it is illegal in PA for a county to annex land from another county).

2) Is it legal in Pennsylvania for two or more counties to consolidate and become one county?

If the answer to these questions is "NO" then it seems to me that Philadelphia can never expand beyond is present 134.4 square miles.

[NYtoNJtoPA]

Originally Posted by VTinPhilly

I have two questions for those interested in this topic.

Under the Consolidation Act of 1854, the City of Philadelphia consolidated with the County of Philadelphia with the result that the city's borders became coterminous with the county's borders. City and county offices were merged in 1952 thus today the county has no governmental structure by law but it still exists as an entity within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is subject to state laws concerning counties.

So my questions are these:

1) Since Philadelphia legally exists as a county as well as a city, is it even possible for Philadelphia to legally annex land from an adjacent county? (I assume it is illegal in PA for a county to annex land from another county).

2) Is it legal in Pennsylvania for two or more counties to consolidate and become one county?

If the answer to these questions is "NO" then it seems to me that Philadelphia can never expand beyond is present 134.4 square miles.

Good point. I don't know what sort of law is in place in that regard, but coming from NJ I remember a time when several well-to-do towns in Essex County - Millburn, Livingston, Roseland etc - wanted to secede from the county and become part of adjacent counties in North Jersey because of Newark - the county seat - taxing the living hell out of them. Ultimately nothing ever happened and "county secession" has never happened in history. But I do think secession or annexing happens more on a municipal level than a county level. In this case, I don't know which has more power.

End of the day, I think we're all whining about something that will never happen.

[gwillyfromphilly]

Originally Posted by VTinPhilly

1) Since Philadelphia legally exists as a county as well as a city, is it even possible for Philadelphia to legally annex land from an adjacent county? (I assume it is illegal in PA for a county to annex land from another county).

Of course it can do it. Once the town or city is annexed, it will become part of the city and county of Philadephia. What you need to understand is that Philly still has all the governmental rights just like any other city in the state.

2) Is it legal in Pennsylvania for two or more counties to consolidate and become one county?

Pennsylvania like many other states have a long history of combining different counties to become one county