Phila. takes a step toward updating its zoning
December 7, 2006
Philadelphia's Eisenhower-era development blueprint came in for a beating at City Hall yesterday as developers, urban planners and civic activists described it as an obsolete, quirky and cumbersome system that stifles growth and allows for little to no big-picture planning.
Fixing the development code would likely take years, but a City Council committee took a first step yesterday, giving initial approval to a bundle of legislation that could eventually lead to an entirely new zoning map.
No city of comparable size has held onto its zoning code for as long as Philadelphia. Drafted in 1960, the map is so ill-suited to today's developments that as many as 70 percent of all building projects require special waivers, witnesses said at a City Council hearing yesterday.
Getting those waivers - variances, which are granted by the Zoning Board of Adjustment - can seem to some developers like an arbitrary or even overtly political process.
"It creates an impression that Philadelphia is not a place where decisions are made fairly and expeditiously," said Gary Hack, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design and former chairman of the city's Planning Commission.
"I speak to people every day, suburban developers in this region, who say, 'Look, I just don't have the stomach to work in Philadelphia,' " Hack said.
But while the zoning code's flaws have been obvious to builders for decades, fixing the code became a priority for city leaders only after the onset of the recent Center City construction boom. The ad-hoc erection of towers, the pending arrival of casinos, the sometimes bitter battles between developers and neighborhood groups - all have helped generate the "political will" necessary to fix the zoning code, said Councilman Frank DiCicco, who proposed the legislation with Councilman Jim Kenney.
"There's a major rediscovery of urban living," testified Sam Sherman, a developer. "That demand is going to continue to grow, and we as a city need to prepare for that growth."
The bills addressing zoning reform appear to have the backing of both the Street administration and a solid majority of Council members. Once approved by City Hall, the call for reform would be considered by the electorate during May's primary election.
Voters would be asked to amend the City Charter, creating a new 29-member Zoning Code Commission. It would comprise three city officials, two Council members, representatives from four local chambers of commerce, five mayoral appointees, five Council-president appointees, and a "community leader" from each of the city's 10 Council districts who would be appointed by their respective district Council members. The Zoning Code Commission would be chaired by the executive director of the Planning Commission.
The commission's job would be to "conduct a comprehensive analysis" of the code, and suggest reforms. Those reforms would have to be approved by the Planning Commission, which has ultimate authority over zoning ordinances.
Companion legislation that would change the composition of the Planning Commission and the Zoning Board of Adjustment by mandating that members of those bodies possess specific technical expertise could also make it onto the May ballot.
"I really think we need a fresh approach to how we do development and planning and zoning in the city, and I think it's clear that's what the public would like us to do," said Kenney, who predicted voters would overwhelmingly approve zoning reform if the question makes it onto the May ballot.