Land Use & Zoning Archives

Zoning laws exist to regulate land use in a way that is efficient and uniform. However, in reality, these laws often seek to preserve the look and feel of a community by restricting the types of new developments that can be built in the area. Therefore, it is imperative those considering constructing a new building or initiating the use a piece of land understand local zoning laws and how they may affect their plans, or trouble may arise.

Not so long ago, if an individual wished to purchase either a home or a piece of commercial real estate, he or she was compelled to do research in local newspapers, through word-of-mouth and/or by simply roaming through interesting neighborhoods and peeking around to see which properties might be available. Now that so much real estate data is available online, many individuals now choose to conduct the vast majority of their research through resources available on the Internet.

We saw an article recently about a women’s prison in Manhattan, just a block or two away from the Hudson River. During Superstorm Sandy, the river swelled and flooded the buildings. There was enough damage to keep the prison from reopening. It is now up for sale.

We are talking about Maple Beach, a very small neighborhood of Bristol Township in Bucks County, and its residents’ concerns over a levee. The levee was constructed by a chemical company 80 years ago, and the company, now Dow Chemical Co., maintained its federal certification until recently. Dow has decided to let the certification lapse, and the residents of Maple Beach are not happy about that.

Maple Beach is a small community in Bucks County, a part of Bristol Township nestled against the Delaware River. One resident says his neighborhood is “heaven.” It is safe to say that his neighbors feel the same way. That is why they are determined to save their houses — all four of them.

We are finishing up our discussion of the dispute simmering between the East Kensington Neighbors Association, Kensington Hospital and the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment. The hospital is planning to move its methadone clinic down the road to an abandoned building. Before the project could move forward, the hospital needed to run a couple of things past the board.

The East Kensington Neighbors Association strongly objects to Kensington Hospital’s plan to open a methadone clinic in an abandoned building at the corner of Front and Diamond streets. The neighborhood group has taken its argument to Philadelphia’s Zoning Board of Adjustment; the board had granted the project a variance, and EKNA says the board should not have granted the hospital’s request.

In our last post, we talked about a neighborhood group’s objections to a group home opening in their area. Today, we have a similar story about a neighborhood that is wary of a hospital’s plans for an abandoned building.

It looks as if Lumberton Township in Burlington County — across the river from Philadelphia — has a “not in my back yard” issue to sort out over the next few months. A faith-based nonprofit group, Citizens Serving the Homeless Inc., recently announced its intention to open a 300-bed facility for the homeless on a site that was most recently home to a private school.

Philadelphia may have two new editions to its skyline if the City Planning Commission grants their rezoning requests. The two projects would create the tallest residential and the tallest commercial towers in the city, so it is likely that the commission will pay special attention to the requests.