Businesses keep residents from bearing the full brunt of
school taxes, according to Dominc A. Pileggi, a Chadds Ford businessman and
chairman of the Concord Township Board of Supervisors.

Pileggi owns and manages Olde Ridge Village at Route 202 and Ridge Road. He told members of the Chadds Ford Business Association that the 80
percent to 20 percent breakdown of residents to businesses in Concord works
well. Chadds Ford Township is 95 percent residential, according to the township
Web site.

“We have more nonresidential assessment. It’s basic math
101. If you have more people paying real estate taxes that don’t put a burden
on schools or they don’t put a burden on the road systems as far as us having
to plow their streets, that’s better for the township government,” he said in
an interview after the CFBA meeting.

Pileggi was talking about shopping centers such as the Shops
at Brinton Lake and the Concordville Town Center that maintain their own
parking lots and interior roadways.

“It’s a boon to us. They also pay for the fire department
and they pay for open space because that’s all part of our real estate taxes,”
he added. “So, yes, there is a benefit to a municipality to having a
nonresidential tax base.”

He cited Upper Merion Township where the King of Prussia
Mall is located saying the assessment from the mall pays the township’s bills.

During the CFBA meeting, several members of the association
expressed concerns about a perceived poor business climate in Chadds Ford.
Pileggi, being a supervisor in Concord but a businessperson in Chadds Ford had
to respond wearing two hats.

He agrees that Chadds Ford’s sign ordinances are too
restrictive, even with the temporary extra sign ordinance passed by the
supervisors last year.

“I have the utmost respect for their elected officials and
their appointed boards and commissions,” Pileggi said. “I just think, putting
my business hat on, that some of their ordinances and regulations are difficult
for the small businessman to handle.”

Pileggi said that the stores in Olde Ridge are limited to
one sign of no more than 20 square feet, but Concord’s sign ordinances are
based on the size of a store front.

As an example, Pileggi said, a store in Concord with 45 feet
of frontage would be allowed signage of up to 45 square feet. The size of any
one sign is limited, but more than one sign would be permitted without a
business owner needing to get a variance.

Pileggi is a firm believer that it’s small businesses that
create most of the jobs.

“What could be better than to help the small businessman,
the moms and the pops,” he asked.

He said signage is crucial, especially for businesses along
Route 202.

“The sign is what gets you exposure,” he said. “Businesses
choose to be on Route 202 because they want to be seen.”

Pileggi said he’s had such conversations with Chadds Ford
supervisors before and those talks have been amicable. He also believes the
ideas should be revisited and thinks Chadds Ford officials would agree to
further discussion.

Concord was 4,000 people in 1995, but Pileggi thinks the
recent census will likely show about 18,000 residents. He attributes the growth
to the township sewer system and the Garnet Valley School District. Pileggi
also said the proximity to Philadelphia and Wilmington is also a benefit.

“We’re in an area where people want to be,” he said.