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Kensington's hottest address? New homes to rise across from scene of scrapyard fire
Three months after a Kensington scrapyard erupted into a massive, four-alarm fire that inspired Elmo and enraged neighbors, a developer has won city approvals to build new homes across the street…
Philly maps 10-year course toward building, preserving 100,000 housing units
Detailing the strategies Philadelphia hopes to employ to create or preserve 100,000 units of housing in the next 10 years, the city’s new housing plan dropped on Wednesday. The plan received…
Philly developers say numbers don’t ‘pencil’ out on city’s latest affordable housing scheme
Ori Feibush may be one of the more controversial developers in Philadelphia, but few would argue about the one-time City Council candidate’s ability to get projects done in the city. Now…
A master plan for Society Hill proposes new design guidelines -- and downzoning
The Society Hill Civic Association has presented a new master plan to the city’s Planning Commission, a proposal encompassing both an innovative way to manage the open space that laces throughout…
Small post-fire rooming-house reforms advance in City Council
Since the rooming-house fire that killed four people in March, Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections has been pushing for legislative reforms to change how the city regulates group living facilities.…
New development controls proposed for a hidden gem of the Northwest
New limits on development are in the works for a leafy Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood best known for its proximity to the sprawling park with which it shares a name. The Wissahickon…
A mysterious zoning bill hints at a high-rise future for one of University City's last large undeveloped parcels
When drivers exit University City, headed to the Schuylkill Expressway, they breeze past a ghostly Mid-century Modern motel building at 600 University Avenue. Marooned at the edge of the University of…
City Council brokers compromise with developers on new construction tax and incentives for affordable housing
Philadelphia City Council announced on Wednesday — the 50th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act — an ambitious package of affordable housing bills, including a new tax on construction. The legislation…
L&I commissioner: Boarding houses aren’t going away. Philly neighborhoods need to make room for them
Philadelphia’s Licenses & Inspections Commissioner David Perri thinks that the city’s zoning code is “inadvertently” encouraging property owners to illegally carve dwellings into multi-unit boarding houses. The regulations skirted by such…
Mapping affordable housing, crime or development in your Philadelphia neighborhood? Two new tools have you covered.
By Ken Steif I was recently asked to join my neighborhood Registered Community Organization (RCO) – the Spruce Hill Community Association in West Philly. At my first meeting, a University of Pennsylvania…
Darrell Clarke: I’ll 'entertain' Temple's stadium proposal if and when the community supports it
For the past couple months, protests against Temple University’s proposed 35,000-seat stadium have dominated the public comment period customary at every meeting of the City Council. Project opponents have called, repeatedly,…
City mulls new license to booze that would keep Philly bars open until 4 a.m.
Should Philadelphia’s bars stay open until 4:00 a.m.? Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown thinks so, as long as tax dollars from those late night drinks go to the School District of Philadelphia.…
Why does Philadelphia love downzoning so much?
Following the Planning Commission’s approval two weeks ago, a raft of zoning remapping bills sailed through a breezy City Council hearing on Tuesday. There were no questions from the arrayed councilmembers…
Clarke Park: Council President wants builders to make more space for cars
In the last City Council session before summer recess, City Council President Darrell Clarke introduced a bill that might reopen the battle over parking in Philadelphia. The proposed legislation would double…
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…
