What do a proposed development in your neighborhood, a plan for the creation
of a new public park, and an addition to your house have in common? They are all dependent on your city's zoning
code. And a zoning code should be fair,
sensible and smart. Philadelphia's
current zoning code is out-of-date and out-of-touch with the needs of our City
and our neighborhoods.
In the May 2007 Primary, the citizens spoke loud and clear. Nearly 80% of
the voters approved Ballot Question #6 which called for the creation of a
Zoning Code Commission to reform and modernize Philadelphia's Zoning Code.
ZoningMatters.org follows the progress of the Zoning Code
Commission as its members work to produce an improved code for the City. The site provides information on issues and
trends in zoning and draws connections to the larger context of urban planning
in Philadelphia.
It is designed to keep the public informed and involved as Philadelphia begins
this exciting and important opportunity to design a new vision for the growth
of our City and the preservation of our neighborhoods.
The New Philadelphia Zoning Code: Best Practices Report was presented for the Zoning Code Commission's consideration at its June 10, 2009 meeting by the consultant team of Clarion Associates, Duncan Associates, and partners. The report describes possible best practices on several zoning issues that Philadelphia will have to address as it rewrites its code. A full discussion of this material is planned for the Commission's July meeting.
Center City Zoning: Lessons from Other Cities was presented to the Zoning Code Commission at its May 13, 2009 meeting by Mr Michael V. Dyett, FAICP, of Dyett & Bhatia Urban and Regional Planners. The presentation summarized the state of zoning regulations in Philadelphia's downtown, compared it with best practices in peer cities, and offered suggestions on how Philadelphia could use those precedents to meet its planning goals through more effective Center City zoning.
The Interim Report: Assessment of Existing Code was presented to the Zoning Code Commission at its March 11, 2009 meeting by its consultant team of Clarion Associates, Duncan Associates and partners. This is an interim document that is helping to shape the next phases of the ZCC's work, including research on best practices and zoning models, followed by a report consisting of recommendations for the code rewrite.
The Executive Summary: Assessment of Existing Code offers a concise overview of the full 120-page Interim Report: Assessment of Existing Code. The Summary covers the goals of zoning code reform and the consultants' evaluation of the City's code, as well as the results of professional code-user interviews, Councilmanic District public workshops, and the ZoningMatters online web survey.
Comments on these documents are welcome and will be used to help guide the upcoming work of the ZCC. Comments may be submitted to zoning.commission@phila.gov.
We have made the entire Interim Report file available here (1.8MB), or you can choose to view and or download it by section from the Zoning Code Commission Meetings, Minutes and Handouts section, March 11 2009 meeting handouts.
Your input is important to the Zoning Code Reform process!
The Zoning Code Commission is committed to including all Philadelphians in modernizing, updating, and improving the City's Zoning Code. We need your opinion on a variety of Zoning Code issues -- what works, what doesn't , and how it can be made easier to understand and use.
The survey should only take 5 minutes to complete. Click on the link below to begin. Thank you for sharing your opinions with us.
