Zoning does matter!

Zoning affects your property, your community and our City. And a zoning code should be fair, sensible and smart. Philadelphia’s current zoning code is out-of-date and out-of-touch with the needs of our City and our neighborhoods.

In the May 2007 Primary, the citizens spoke loud and clear. Nearly 80% of the voters approved Ballot Question #6 which called for the creation of a Zoning Code Commission to reform and modernize Philadelphia’s Zoning Code.

ZoningMatters.org will follow the progress of the Zoning Code Commission as members are appointed and they begin their work. The site will provide information on zoning and urban planning issues and trends. It will help keep the public informed and involved as Philadelphia begins this exciting and important opportunity to design a new vision for the growth of our city and the preservation of our neighborhoods.

Request for Qualifications for On-Call Planning Services to Support Work of the Zoning Code Commission

Posting Period for Opportunity:
April 22, 2008 to May 23, 2008

MANDATORY Pre-submission Meeting:
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 1:00 PM
1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor Planning Commission Meeting Room

Deadline for Written (e-mailed) Questions About the RFQ:
Thursday, May 8, 2008, 5:00 PM

Qualifications Packages Due:
Friday, May 23, 2008, 5:00 PM
and must be submitted online.

Further Information:
http://www.phila.gov/contracts

Date	Event
May 14, 2008	Zoning Code Commission Regular Session 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor, Room 18029 8-9:30am
May 28, 2008	Zoning Code Commission Informational Session 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor, Room 18029
Jun 11, 2008	Zoning Code Commission Regular Meeting 1515 Arch Street, 18th Floor, Room 18029 8-9:30am
Jun 25, 2008	Zoning Code Commission Regular Meeting - TENTATIVE 1515 Arch Street, One Parkway Building, Room 18029 8-9:30am

Feature:

"How do you imagine Philadelphia's neighborhoods, skyline, parks and business districts in 2035?"

That's the question ImaginePhiladelphia: Laying the Foundation, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission's new initiative is working to discover. Throughout December and January, eight public meetings were held in different sections of Philadelphia in order to lay the foundation for Philadelphia's first comprehensive plan in over 40 years.

These meetings continue the work that began in 2007 when a series of roundtable discussions occurred and addressed topics ranging from economic development to preservation and mobility. The roundtable discussions, combined with citywide community input, will serve to:

1) Inform the creation of The Philadelphia City Planning Commission's policy papers. These policy papers will be a necessary component in formulating a comprehensive plan for Philadelphia

2) Inform the work work of the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission

Citywide planning has been part of Philadelphia's history since William Penn's street grid, and has remained a crucial aspect of Philadelphia's present and future. The development of an updated comprehensive plan will allow Philadelphia to progress, grow and prosper, and compete both nationally and internationally with peer cities.

A comprehensive plan is a long-range framework for the growth or change of a city, specifically focused on citywide issues. Some of the citywide issues that a comprehensive plan considers include transportation, public facilities, housing, open space, historic preservation, and land use (such as residential, industrial, or commercial). Comprehensive plans usually consist of many of the same essential components: a goals statement, analysis of existing conditions, current problems and opportunities for change, alternative solutions to present day issues, and recommendations for the future including implementation and updating of the plan.

Philadelphia's last comprehensive plan was released in 1960 and has been vigorously updated through the creation of many area and neighborhood-specific plans since then.

ImaginePhiladelphia: Laying the Foundation will continue the effort to engage and protect the public interest at large, working to maintain and enhance the quality of every citizen's life.

Please visit http://www.imaginephiladelphia.org/ for up-to-date meeting information.