Director Building and Planning
Lower Merion Township
Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Christopher Leswing is the Director of Building and Planning for Lower Merion Township. Lower Merion Township is an inner ring, 'Main LIne' suburb on the border of Philadelphia with a population of approximatley 65,000.
Mr. Leswing has a Masters Degree in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University. He has been directing the Township's Planning efforts since 2004. Between 2006 and 2012 Mr. Leswing led a multi-municipal effort to repurpose the former Pennsylvania Railroad Cynwyd Line into a linear park/multi-use trail that serves as animportnat link in the region's trail network. The keystone of the Cynwyd Trail was the conversion of the iconic Manayunk Bridge spanning the Schuylkill River between Lower Merion Township and the City of Philadlephia into a trail connection public gathering space.
Under Mr. Leswing's leadership the Lower Merion Planning Department has rewitten the Towsnhip's Comprehensive Plan (2016) and adopted a form based Zoning Code (2020). Both projects were recognized for ther excellence by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association.
When not attending an evening meeting Mr. Leswing attends numerous live concerts. During daylight non working hours Mr. Leswing can be seen either volunteering in his favorite park or riding his bike.
Saturday, April 1, 2023
11:45 AM – 5:00 PM CDT