City Council Waits a Whopping Three Months Before Messing With New Zoning Code


After 50 years of waiting, 4 years of study, and 2 millions of dollars, Philadelphia unveiled in August a revamped zoning code that quickened developers’ hearts throughout the Delaware Valley. Which means one thing: City Council has to get busy re-exerting control over it. A new bill backed by Council President Darrell Clarke that increases parking-space requirements is of particular concern to proponents of the code’s virginity:

“This does not bode well,” said Harris Steinberg, executive director of nonprofit design group PennPraxis. “Council had their fingers in the old zoning code so deep that nothing could get done, and that’s one of the reasons why we had to have a new code.”

Even the city’s Planning Commission is piling on: “Thank goodness everyone’s taking the time to really let the new zoning code sink in,” reads a recent post on the commission’s blog. “Except unfortunately that isn’t the case. No, that’s not what’s happening at all.” [NewsWorks]