New zoning commission
is a success...so far

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

So far, so good, for Philadelphia’s new Zoning Code Commission.
The group conducted its first meeting on Aug. 3 and mapped out several steps necessary to revamp the city’s 75-year-old zoning code for the first time in 40 years.
The group’s charge is perhaps a bit contradictory. It needs to modernize a manual that still includes sections on horse stables while protecting areas of the city that haven’t much changed.
It needs to streamline the zoning process while remembering the unique characteristics of each neighborhood. It must consider an easier procedure for builders while also keeping neighborhood groups, ever wary of overdevelopment, in the loop.
The 31-member commission includes a mix of politicians, community members, lawyers and developers. Each member of City Council appointed members and Mayor John Street has five slots to fill. As the Times went to press, he had not made his appointments.
City Councilman Brian O’Neill (R-10th dist.) is one of three Council members on the commission. He appointed Michael Leithead, senior deputy executive director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority.
Though the inaugural gathering didn’t include all members, O’Neill, who earlier in the commission’s inception expressed concerns that it would be developer-driven, saw productivity.
One pitch for the new code included designating areas of stability, like the Northeast, and areas of change, like Center City. O’Neill believes the commission will begin pinpointing those areas when it next meets Sept. 12. He also expects the commission to begin engaging the community once it gets further into the process.
"Stable areas of the city would be the areas of little change," he said.
Also helpful to the commission were presentations by University of Pennsylvania city planning professor Jonathan Barnett on the successful rebuilding of zoning codes in other cities. It’s possible that those lessons will continue throughout the commission’s existence, O’Neill said.
While encouraged by a solid first meeting, O’Neill said the commission has already concluded that the code cannot be reworked in the allotted 10-month timetable. In addition to the fact that cities like Chicago took years to redo their codes and are still in the process of implementing them, the length of the commission overlaps two administrations, meaning that some of its members could change should Council members lose elections or other appointees be replaced.
"It’s going to be a much longer process than the legislation indicated," O’Neill said.
Democrat Michael Nutter and Republican Al Taubenberger are facing off in the Nov. 6 election; the winner will be sworn in as Street’s successor in January.
Other members of City Council who serve the Northeast are encouraged by the commission.
Councilwoman Joan Krajewski (D-6th dist.) appointed Peter F. Kelsen, a partner in the Institutional Real Estate Practice Group at Blank Rome. His practice is heavily geared toward zoning and land use law.
Councilman Daniel Savage (D-7th dist.) appointed Anne Papageorge, who serves as vice president of facilities and real estate services at the University of Pennsylvania. Before coming to Philadelphia, Papageorge worked as a commissioner for the New York City Department of Design and Construction, where she oversaw disaster recovery after the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center.
Savage supports the zoning code’s overhaul and thinks the commission will consider both the needs of developers and of residents.
"I think it’ll be a balance," he said. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com