This Just In: Zoning reform | Lenfest Plaza opening | Preservation projects | I-95 traffic | Chelten Plaza

This week on PlanPhilly: more zoning, art and architecture, I-95 traffic study, and the continuing saga of Chelten Plaza.

Jared Brey will have coverage of today’s City Council hearing on zoning reform. Will throngs of people continue to testify? Will City Council vote to send the proposed code back to the Zoning Code Commission today? Will testimony last longer than 7 hours? The suspense is killing. Also stay tuned for Jared’s story on the differing perspectives of community groups and developers on the proposed zoning code.

Have you seen Philadelphia’s newest Claes Oldenburg artwork next to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts? It’s a giant paintbrush leaning over North Broad Street from PAFA’s new public space, Lenfest Plaza. JoAnn Greco reviews the plaza in advance of its official opening this weekend. JoAnn is also at today’s Philadelphia Historical Commission Architectural Committee meeting, which has a packed agenda, including possible approvals for Philly Fringe/Live Arts work to the old High Pressure Fire Service Building, and repairs to the Crescent Boat Club on Boathouse Row.

Is fall traffic-study season? Kellie Patrick Gates will have a piece on a new I-95 traffic study.

Last week, Amy Z. Quinn explained why the Neighborhood Commercial Overlay for Germantown Avenue matters in as the fate of retail development at Chelten Plaza is determined: It limits the concentration of “general/variety” stores.  This week, she’s continuing to follow the story of Chelten Plaza. Expect to hear more after an appela before the Zoning Board of Adjustment over a Dollar Tree slated for Chelten Plaza, which opponents say was left out of the original plaza permit because it would violate the overlay. Oh yeah, and this overlay is among those disappearing in the proposed zoning code.

This Just In is where Eyes on the Street previews what’s on tap over on PlanPhilly this week.

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