Council closes hearings on draft zoning code; on track for vote in 2011
Committee of the Whole Council
City Council President and Committee Chair Anna Verna closed public hearings on the draft zoning code today, moving the process required by the Charter Amendment forward and making adoption in this calendar year a strong possibility. Additional testimony was provided by the administration and community and industry representatives. Most testifiers supported the zoning overhaul and spoke favorably of the work of the ZCC, but drew Council’s attention to detailed concerns they still want addressed. At-large Councilman James Kenney urged final action this term. “I know district councilmembers have a more intense relationship with the zoning code,” he said, “but we will never come up with a document that can address all the different needs that arise. The way to go now is to make any changes Council recommends this session and take a leap of faith.”
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger and Executive Director of the Zoning Code Commission Eva Gladstein provided preliminary responses to changes to the May 2011 draft code proposed by City Council members. The document contains responses prepared by the ZCC’s Work Plan Committee, which will present its recommendations to the full commission for official action. (Click here to view the recommendations.) Councilman Bill Green said the ZCC had made significant progress toward eliminating issues that may prevent the code from being adopted this year. “I think we can get 99.5% there,” he said, but asked Mr. Greenberger to go on the record about what will happen if there are one or two outstanding items. “For example,” Green said, “we don’t expect much development in parks right now, so maybe we can deal with that issue later.” Greenberger was quick to reply. “We will try and resolve that .5% in the next 20 to 30 days,” he said, “if not, we will put it aside.” The implication is that some final issues will be discussed and resolved later, so that they do not stall progress on the whole code.
After about an hour and a half of testimony addressing a range of issues – modernization of the Historical Commission, rules for registered community organizations, parking regulations, spacing requirements for regulated uses, and more – Council President Verna thanked participants for their interest and closed the hearings. According to the Charter Amendment, City Council now has 30 days to make written recommendations to the ZCC.
Zoning Watch 2011 Archives
ZCC
- 12/15/2011 City Council gives Philadelphia a new zoning code (Current)
- 12/07/2011 Committee sends zoning code bills to Council for final vote (Current)
- 11/17/2011 Bill to replace current zoning code is introduced into Council (Current)
- 11/15/2011 PCPC recommends approval of zoning bill 110766 with conditions (Current)
- 11/09/2011 ZCC votes unanimously to send Final Report to City Council (Current)
- 10/26/2011 ZCC reviews code recommendations from Council; homes in on final issues (Current)
- 10/20/2011 Zoning reform gets one step closer as City Council passes resolution of code recommendations (Current)
- 10/12/2011 ZCC discusses Council recommendations to date; awaits formal resolution of requested changes (Current)
- 09/27/2011 Council closes hearings on draft zoning code; on track for vote in 2011 (Current)
- 09/21/2011 Zoning forum addresses how to resolve final issues and prepare the code for adoption this year (Current)
- 09/14/2011 Hearing on draft code draws crowd (Current)
- 09/08/2011 Councilmembers Share Concerns with ZCC at Briefing (CurrentCurrent)
- 07/19/2011 Next Great City Coalition Launches E-Petition to Pass Updated Zoning Code (Current)
- 07/15/2011 Fact sheets highlight why zoning reform is so important (Current)
- 07/08/2011 ZCC offers property research service (Current)
- 06/15/2011 City Council commences hearings on zoning code (Current)
- 06/08/2011 ZCC waits for Committee hearings to begin; work continues on sign controls and tools to aid public understanding (CurrentCurrent)
- 05/11/2011 ZCC VOTES YES! Draft code moves to City Council, but threat remains (CurrentCurrent)
- 05/09/2011 10 MORE YEARS TO ZONING REFORM? (Current)
- 05/03/2011 Final X-Change focuses on parking (CurrentCurrentCurrent)
- 04/27/2011 Stakeholders weigh in on development standards and how to encourage good design (CurrentCurrentCurrent)
- 04/19/2011 Stakeholders discuss new dimensional standards (CurrentCurrent)
- 04/13/2011 Vote to send draft code to City Council May 11 (Current)
- 04/05/2011 Stakeholders focus on new use categories (CurrentCurrent)
- 03/23/2011 ZCC “Stakeholder X-Changes” underway (CurrentCurrent)
- 03/17/2011 At-large Council candidates support new zoning code (CurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrentCurrent)
- 03/16/2011 ZCC “Stakeholder X-Change” draws crowd (CurrentCurrent)
- 03/02/2011 ZCC delays sending zoning code to City Council for 10 weeks (CurrentCurrentCurrent)
- 02/28/2011 ZCC explains how decisions about the new code were made (CurrentCurrentCurrent)
- 02/22/2011 Vote scheduled for March 2 (current)
- 02/18/2011 Special meeting lets ZCC explain how decisions about the new code were made (current)
- 02/15/2011 ZCC adds two public meetings to schedule (CurrentCurrent)
- 02/09/2011 ZCC delays vote on new zoning code; some question whether code is ready for City Council (Current)
- 02/03/2011 City Council voices concerns about new zoning code (Current)
- 02/03/2011 Updated “Referral Draft” is released (Current)
- 01/26/2011 February 9 vote on draft zoning code questioned as revisions continue to be made (current)
- 01/26/2011 Building Industry Association comments on December 2010 draft zoning code (current)
- 01/26/2011 February 9 vote on draft zoning code questioned as revisions continue to be made (CurrentCurrent)
- 01/26/2011 Building Industry Association comments on December 2010 draft zoning code (CurrentCurrent)
ZBA
General Zoning
- 03/02/2011 Zoning Basics (CurrentCurrent)
Zoning Maps
- 03/02/2011 Philadelphia Zoning Maps (CurrentCurrent)