While often seen as intractable bureaucracy, zoning matters. And it isn't just city officials who think so. When the issue of creating a more accessible zoning code went to a vote in 2008, it received nearly unanimous support. Since you can't build so much as a doghouse in Philadelphia without examining the zoning code, the Zoning Code Commission created a list of criteria that even the least savvy builder could sift through, holding numerous public meetings and taking suggestions online for how to make things clearer. Now, with the plan entering its final draft stage, the ZCC is making one final call for suggestions, notes and edits before the code goes before the City Council in December.
"We have changed the structure so it is much more apparent what is located where, including maps and charts and graphic illustrations throughout the code," says Zoning Code Commission Executive Director Eva Gladstein. "We have heard from so many citizens. We heard from concerned parents worrying about daycare standards. We have heard from a number of architects who felt that the original design standards were too prescriptive. There are so many examples."
Over the last two years, the Zoning Code Commission has attempted to explain the importance of zoning with
ZoningMatters.org, the online home of the new zoning code where citizens have been making suggestions and helping shape the new code. The ZCC will continue to accept suggestions through November 12 with the hopes of having a new code in place before the first of the year.
"Our zoning code last had a comprehensive update in the early 1960's so the world has changed drastically since that time," says Gladstein. "What kind of uses could be next to you or down the street? Where can you put a pizza shop or a theater? Where can offices or manufacturing be located? It affects your front yard, your backyard and where you live and work."
Source: Eva Gladstein, Zoning Code Commission
Writer: John Steele
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