ZCC adjusts Civic Design Review timeline

FixItPhilly Coalition/BIA Government Affairs

ZCC Work Plan Committee chair Peter Kelsen and executive director Eva Gladstein attended the coalition’s monthly meeting to address concerns about the draft zoning code’s proposed Civic Design Review (CDR). Peter Kelsen reiterated that CDR is advisory only and explained that development thresholds that trigger CDR are set intentionally high. A sample timeline was distributed to illustrate how CDR would play out for a by-right project. Review and reporting time is now limited to 60 days for two meetings and the ZCC is talking about introducing a two-stage permitting process.

Peter Kelsen explained each step of the timeline, starting when an applicant submits a proposal to L&I. L&I staff will determine if CDR is required based on development thresholds outlined in the zoning code and notify the applicant. Once the application is turned over to the CDR committee, a maximum of 60 days is allowed to conduct and document two meetings. If the process is not concluded within 60 days, the project is deemed acceptable. At 60 days in any case, the applicant can go to L&I and get a permit whether or not the proposal is changed in response to CDR review, as long as the application is complete. Overall, CDR may add another 20 days to the process; more if applying for an accelerated review at L&I. (Click here to view the timeline.)

In order to give applicants the level of certainty needed to move forward, the ZCC is considering offering a preliminary permit for by-right projects that would confirm compliance with uses, dimensions, FAR bonuses, TODs, open space and natural resource requirements, subdivision regulations, and amount of parking. The preliminary permit would be issued before CDR begins. After the 60 day process for CDR, final permit would be issued based on compliance with form and design controls and standards for parking design, connectivity, landscaping, fencing, lighting, and signs.

Mr. Kelsen noted that very little by-right development gets a permit in less than a month and most applications currently go to the ZBA, which adds another six to eight weeks. In his experience with large projects, even by-right proposals take 90 days from pre-application to permit in pocket. Eva Gladstein added that for larger projects that need ZBA or City Council approval, CDR would take the place of the first information only meeting at PCPC.

While coalition members were initially concerned about CDR expanding the approval timeline overall, some consider the new form and design standards in the code a more significant change. Craig Schelter of the Development Workshop described the new controls. “These are ideal standards which are now codified,” he said. “If you don’t meet them – no final permit.” Mr. Schelter believes a more workable model would address such design issues at a meeting of experts where the standards the city wants to uphold serve as guidelines for the discussion.  In response, Peter Kelsen explained that the form and design controls are still an open issue at the ZCC, but stressed that it is necessary to make CDR meaningful to communities, especially since more projects will be by-right under the new zoning code. “We cannot create a process that is so abbreviated that the community is not meaningfully engaged,” he said.