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Parking Authority plan to put billboards on neighborhood parking lots contested
The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) wants to make a little extra cash by selling advertising space in a handful of its parking lots and garages. Community activists, who don’t want billboards…
Council still reworking rules for community orgs in development process
Friday’s Rules Committee hearing centered on two bills related to Registered Community Organizations (RCOs), neighborhood groups that are deeply embedded in Philadelphia’s development process. RCOs are geographically-specific organizations, created as part…
Francisville downzoning objections come to Council too late
The public comment period near the end of each City Council session is rarely a forum for reasoned criticisms of pending legislation. If a critic enjoys the clout or the know-how,…
Tacony sex-positive community center will proceed without zoning relief
On Wednesday the sex-positive community center proposed for the Tacony Music Hall was slated to go before the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA). Instead it asked for a continuance, pushing the…
Scrap yard fight in Kensington won't end with rezoning
On Monday night, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) gave the members of Somerset Neighbors for Better Living (SNBL) some good news regarding the future of three scrap yards located north…
August 1: Speeding up Amtrak on the cheap | 100 years of zoning | Dumpster pool
Alon Levy offers some cheaper alternatives to some of the budget-busting proposals in Amtrak's NEC Futures plan. One idea: fixing Frankford Junction to cut travel times between New York and…
Learning from 'Zoned American'
2016 marks the 100th anniversary of New York City’s zoning code, the first time such a comprehensive policy was implemented in America. Over the course of the 1920s, the trend swept…
O'Neill bill would codify councilmanic prerogative in subdivision process
A new bill from 10th District Councilman Brian O’Neill could write councilmanic prerogative into the city’s routine planning procedures first time, by shifting power over property subdivisions that the city charter…
May 4: Debating the constitutionality of Philly's wage tax | Wolf wants Uber fine lowered | Downzoning Mantua
Michael S. Knoll and Ruth Mason argue in the Penn Law Review that, as currently constructed, the Philadelphia wage tax is unconstitutional and vulnerable to challenge. They propose tax reforms that…
April 19th: Wolf issuing state open data policy | Reading's 'complete streets' policy | Walking Philly's perimeter
Governor Tom Wolf will sign an executive order establishing an open data policy in Pennsylvania for the first time. The Commonwealth already has a Right to Know law, which is different…
Finnigan's Wake redevelopment deal back from the dead
Tim Finnegan was a hod carrier with a weakness for strong spirits. One morning, after drinking some whiskey before work, he fell off a ladder and died. At his wake, his…
March 15: Alterra's Broad and Washington plans | Voluntary street sweeping | Deregulating garage businesses
Mayor Jim Kenney is doubling down on the idea of bringing back street sweeping services, but only for neighborhoods who accept alternate-side parking. It's still unclear what the administration will…
March 14: Black churches become luxury housing | Trinities fit the tiny-house trend | ZBA chair is Doc's doc
“Luxury residential development has become a popular use for the structures that once nurtured souls of Black folk in a historic Black community,” write Sheila Simmons and Damon Williams in the…
How to unscrew-up neighborhood zoning in two easy steps
After three years under a new zoning code there are some kinks worth ironing out. Here Community Contributor Matt Ruben, President of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association, identifies two fixes that…
December 28: Lew Blum, auto reaper | Mt. Holly energy farm | Liberty Title Building conversion
Inga Saffron has the lowdown on Lew Blum, whose name you'll know if you've ever parked a car in Philadelphia. Blum is in fact not a bogeyman conjured by the…
December 2: Transit-oriented development opportunity on Broad | National Products reno update | Navy Yard housing
The former KFC building at Broad and Bainbridge has been listed for $5.3 million, reports OCF Realty's Naked Philly. The parcel is zoned CMX-3 so only a mid-rise building is…
November 24: Longest bus route splits Sunday | Zoning and Inequality | Old City Marriott | 40th St. Trolley
Bus route 23, which runs from the bottom of South Philly to the crest of Chestnut Hill, will be split as of this Sunday, Philadelphia Magazine reports. The route is…
Council approves density bonuses for green roofs, pumps brakes on student-housing ban
City Council’s Committee on Rules voted on Monday to approve a bill that would allow developers to build extra apartment units in certain zoning districts if they install qualifying green roofs…
Commission approves new zoning maps for Chinatown North, west Market Street, Roxborough
The area surrounding the Reading Viaduct, which is slowly being converted into an elevated park, is preparing for an influx of development interest. On Tuesday, the Planning Commission recommended approval of…
Council adopts zoning changes allowing more density in Center City
City Council voted on Thursday to approve a bill that allows slightly taller and denser buildings at key corner properties in Center City. The bill has been in the works for…
