Land Use & Zoning Archives

There may be no project moving more slowly than the development of the Philadelphia’s second casino. In August 2013, we posted about the six proposals that developers submitted to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, but the process had been underway for some time. After much deliberation, the board made its decision in November 2014, naming Live! Hotel & Casino the winner.

So you want to open a restaurant in Philadelphia. You have a clear idea of what the restaurant will be about, of what diners will experience from the moment they walk in the door. You have the perfect location picked out: an old row home in an up-and-coming neighborhood. You plan to turn the parlor into a bar that will transport your customers back to the era of sidecars and gimlets. You will use the upper floors for dining and events. It’s perfect.

We’ve all seen those signs that say “No Trespassing.” In many areas across the nation, these signs are put up by landowners who don’t look to favorably on violators who trespass on their property. In some cases, even mistakenly placing a foot on someone else’s property can spark disputes that may end in litigation.

We have all seen the cute photos of “tiny houses.” Sometimes they look like playhouses and sometimes they look like a place where you could go to bed, to the bathroom and watch a tiny TV in the living room all at the same time.

We are continuing our discussion of the difference between a Neighborhood Conservation Overlay and an historic district. Both are zoning tools used by Philadelphia officials and communities to preserve the unique character of specific neighborhoods, but they are different in some important ways. In our last post, we left off with a brief explanation about the NCO application and monitoring processes. The responsibilities fall to the City Council.

Philadelphia neighborhood groups achieved amazing results in the recent Knight Cities Challenge. Knight Foundation asked community organizations in 26 cities to submit proposals for community-based projects that would encourage “talent, opportunity and engagement” in the city and its future. Philadelphia snagged seven of the 32 grants, more than any of the 12 cities that made the final cut.

You have the idea for a new restaurant, recreational facility, condominium or office. You have even found the perfect piece of property. Standing in front of the for sale sign, you can imagine exactly how the building will look. You can picture the color of the brick, the direction the entrance will face and even how the landscaping will look.

Philadelphia University has developed their 30 Year Master Plan for expanding in the community. Their expansion includes dormitories, a parking garage and a sledding hill. Despite the university completing several internal studies for their expansion, they are facing criticism from the community over their design plans.

There are times when recognition is a mixed blessing. Every city wants to be named the “most livable” or “most family-friendly” city, for example, but no city is marketing itself and lobbying hard to be recognized as the “most expensive for seniors” or, as Philadelphians may well fear, “most derelict, dilapidated and decaying inner city.”

The Holiday Inn Fort Washington sits on seven acres of land in Montgomery County. The hotel offers guests the choice of 230 rooms and access to an in-house restaurant. The building was developed in 1975 with the best amenities of the time. Now, forty years later, the doors have closed and 61 employees were laid off.