St. Lawrence Borough

St. Lawrence Borough is the municipal government serving the borough of Saint Lawrence in south-central Berks County, Pennsylvania. The Borough office is located at 135 N. Prospect Street, Reading, PA 19606, and can be reached at 610-779-1430. Incorporated on April 23, 1927, Saint Lawrence covers approximately 0.897 square miles and recorded a population of 1,892 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Children living in the borough attend schools in the Exeter Township School District.

As a borough government, St. Lawrence handles the full range of day-to-day municipal functions: refuse and recycling collection, street maintenance and snow removal, sanitary sewer and stormwater management, parks and recreation, building and zoning permits, rental registration, tax collection, and public records access. The Borough also coordinates police, fire, and ambulance coverage through regional and neighboring providers rather than maintaining its own departments.

Governance and Public Meetings

Borough Council is the legislative body for Saint Lawrence and meets on the second Thursday of every month at 7:30 PM at the municipal building on N. Prospect Street. Meetings are streamed on YouTube, which allows residents who cannot attend in person to follow discussions, votes, and public comment. The Borough publishes agendas, meeting minutes, treasurer's reports, cash flow reports, annual budgets, tax millage rates, ordinances, and resolutions for public review.

Two appointed bodies support Council on land use matters: the Planning Commission, which reviews subdivision and land development proposals and advises on long-range planning, and the Zoning Hearing Board, which hears requests for variances, special exceptions, and appeals of zoning determinations.

Residents can sign up for notifications through the Savvy Citizen app, which the Borough uses to send alerts about collection schedule changes, snow emergencies, meeting reminders, and other time-sensitive announcements.

Trash, Recycling, and Yard Waste

Curbside trash is collected weekly, with the collection day moving to Wednesdays in 2026. Each household may set out up to three 32 gallon lidded containers plus one bulk item per week. Acceptable bulk items include a sofa, a single wrapped mattress or box spring, or one piece of furniture. Some routes begin as early as 6 AM, including Perkiomen Avenue, Saint Lawrence Avenue, Prospect Street, Bingaman Street, and Oley Turnpike Road, so residents on those streets are advised to place containers out the night before or early in the morning.

Single stream recycling is also collected weekly at the curb. There are no quantity limits and no sorting is required, though cardboard must be flattened and materials should be placed in a lidded container by 6 AM. Free recycling stickers are available at Borough hall, and the office will arrange delivery of stickers to residents who are unable to stop in.

Yard waste is collected weekly on Mondays, weather permitting, but pickup is by request only. Residents must call 610-779-1430 by 8:30 AM on the collection day and provide their address along with the number of bags or bundles. Yard waste must be in paper bags or reusable totes weighing no more than 25 pounds; plastic bags are not accepted. Branches must be cut to 4 feet or less, tied with non-plastic twine, and limited to three bundles.

During January and February, Christmas trees are collected on yard waste days. All lights, garland, tinsel, and ornaments must be removed before the tree is set out, or it will be left at the curb.

Streets, Snow, and Stormwater

Borough crews maintain and plow local streets. State roads, including Perkiomen Avenue, St. Lawrence Avenue, and Oley Turnpike Road, are the responsibility of PennDOT. When a snow emergency is declared, vehicles must be removed from designated snow emergency routes or they may be towed. Under state law and Borough ordinance, property owners are required to clear sidewalks within 24 hours after snowfall ends.

The Borough operates a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Compliance work covers the six minimum control measures: public education and outreach, public participation and involvement, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, post-construction stormwater management, and pollution prevention and good housekeeping at municipal operations. The Borough also manages sanitary sewer service for properties within its boundaries.

Permits, Codes, and Rental Registration

Uniform Construction Code (UCC) building permits are required before constructing, enlarging, moving, demolishing, or altering residential and commercial structures. Permit categories include building, plumbing and mechanical, and electrical work. Common projects requiring permits are solar panel installations, swimming pools, roofing, siding, interior renovations, and decks higher than 30 inches.

Zoning permits are issued separately for residential and commercial properties and are needed for changes in use, expansions and additions, swimming pools (including temporary blow-up pools), fences, and sheds. Forestry zoning permits are also available.

Landlords must register annually, listing both themselves and each rental unit, and every residential and commercial tenant unit must be registered. Owner authorization of agent forms are available for property owners who use a management company or representative. Door-to-door sales and solicitation are regulated under Ordinance 411, which requires a peddling permit application and payment of the published fee.

Property maintenance and nuisance complaints are processed through a written form, which must be submitted in person at the Borough Office or emailed to the Borough contact listed on the complaint form. A fillable PDF version is available for download. The written submission is required before any resolution process can begin.

Parks and the Summer Playground Program

The Borough playground at 3500 Jacksonwald Avenue is open to the public daily from 7 AM to 9 PM and includes courts, a concession stand, and a pavilion. Facilities are used at the visitor's own risk, and dogs and other domestic animals are not permitted on the property at any time.

Each summer, the Borough runs a staffed at-will playground program at the Jacksonwald Avenue site. The 2025 season runs from June 8 to August 7 on a split schedule of 9 AM to noon and 6 PM to 9 PM. The program is open to children ages 7 and older; younger children must be accompanied by an adult or a sitter age 16 or over. Playground leaders are certified in First Aid and CPR, and a completed registration form must be on file for each participant.

Taxes and Public Records

Real estate taxes are collected by elected Tax Collector Susan D. Eggert. A 0.5 mil Emergency Medical Services tax was instituted in 2024 and appears on the combined County and Borough tax bill. Residents seeking municipal documents can file a request under Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law through the Borough office.

Public Safety

Police protection is provided by Central Berks Regional Police, with a non-emergency number of 610-655-4911. Fire protection comes from the Exeter Township Fire Department and Mount Penn Fire Company. Basic and advanced life support ambulance service is provided by Lower Alsace Volunteer Ambulance, with all legal residents of the borough holding premium membership status.