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Amending Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, entitled Zoning and Planning, by amending certain definitions relating to signs; creating an “Arena Area” within the “/CTR, Center City Overlay District” overlay; and making related changes, including a master plan requirement and changes to accessory sign controls; all in connection with zoning rules for a proposed arena in Center City; and approving a master plan for the Arena Area; all under certain terms and conditions.
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THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Title 14 of The Philadelphia Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
TITLE 14. ZONING AND PLANNING
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CHAPTER 14-200. DEFINITIONS
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§ 14-203. Definitions.
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(25.1) Arena.
An enclosed building or structure that can accommodate at least 10,000 spectators that is designed or intended for an assembly and entertainment use, including spectator sports and entertainment events.
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(283) Sign, Freestanding.
Any sign that is supported by a structure of one or more frames, poles or other support structures permanently erected in or upon the ground. Freestanding [signs] signs, also known as Ground Signs in Title 11 of this Code, include venue signs, monument signs, pylon signs, pole signs, and other permanently affixed signs.
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(283.1) Sign, Venue.
A freestanding sign, including a series of two or more names or addresses of businesses or destinations at a specific building, facility or venue, within a common cabinet or face area. A venue sign may also include information pertaining to the building, facility or venue, including static Naming Rights Signage, advertisements for events and services, maps, site plans or diagrams.
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(284.3) Sign, Naming Rights.
Signage limited to the name or logo identity of the named sponsor or sponsors of a building.
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(293.1) Sign, Roof Logo.
A flat, horizontal sign on the roof or solar panels of a building that is limited to the name or logo identity of one or more sports team, the named sponsor or sponsors of a building, or both, and is intended to be viewed from above and not visible from street level.
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(345.1) Urban Experiential Display.
An Urban Experiential Display (UED) is [a form of Digital Display as defined at § 14-203(94.1)] is a Digital Sign type of Animated Sign Illumination as defined in § 14-203(296.2), that is formatted to exhibit full motion video or animation by the use of lighting or otherwise to depict movement or animation or to create a special effect or scene that may include intermittent, scrolling, or changes in illumination that may vary in intensity given ambient light level. A UED may also include Embellishments or Embellished Area areas, special effects elements, or structures that extend beyond the face of the UED and UED structure, or wall or structure to which it is attached, and may include two- and three- dimensional features. UEDs are not subject to the Sign Standards of § 14-904(1)(b)(.4), § 14-905(8)(c), and § 14-905(8)(d).
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CHAPTER 14-300. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
§ 14-304. Specific Procedures
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(5) Civic Design Review.
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(b) Applicability.
(.1) Required Review.
(.a) The civic design review procedures of this subsection apply to any development that meets the criteria in Table 14-304-2 (Civic Design Review Triggers) and to master plans as set forth in § 14-304(3)(e)(.1), except for:
i. Development on lots located within the SP-ENT, SP-PO, [and] SP-STA, and in the Arena Area of the Center City Overlay, provided that SP-STA district and Arena Area master plans shall remain subject to any required civic design review;
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CHAPTER 14-500. OVERLAY ZONING DISTRICTS
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§ 14-502. /CTR, Center City Overlay District
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(2) Applicability.
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(b) Area Boundaries.
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(.28) Market Street East Retail Area.
The Market Street East Retail Area is:
(.a) North: The area bounded by Market Street, 8th Street, Filbert Street, and 11th [Street.] Street, except for any lots located within the Arena Area.
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(.35) Arena Area.
(.a) The provisions of the Arena Area shall apply to all lots that are located in the area bounded by the easterly edge of 10th Street, Market Street, 11th Street, a line extending along the centerline of Filbert Street (extended) a distance of 85.145 feet from the easterly edge of 11th Street at a bearing parallel to Market Street in an easterly direction, a line extending northerly from that point a distance of 105.251 feet parallel to 10th Street , a line extending westerly from that point a distance of 25.00 feet parallel to Market Street, a line extending from that point parallel to 10th Street a distance of 57.000 feet, a line extending along the southerly edge of Cuthbert Street a distance of 135.000 feet, a line extending northerly parallel to 11th Street a distance of 20.00 feet, a line extending easterly from that point parallel with Market Street a distance of 250.838 feet, to the easterly line of 10th Street.
(.b) The provisions of the Arena Area and any accompanying master plan shall only apply if an assembly and entertainment use within an arena is included in a zoning permit application. Otherwise, the underlying base zoning district and any other applicable zoning overlay districts (not including the Arena Area of the Center City Overlay), shall control.
(.c) Notwithstanding the forgoing, the provisions of the Arena Area and any accompanying master plan shall expire five (5) years from the date this provision is effective, unless the applicant demonstrates that an entity affiliated with a major professional sports organization has acquired ownership or lease rights to property in the Arena Area.
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(d) /CTR Summary Table.
Table 14-502-1, below, summarizes the standards and regulations of this § 14-502 (/CTR, Center City Overlay District). In the event of conflict between the provisions of Table 14-502-1 and the text of this Zoning Code, the text shall govern.
Table 14-502-1: /CTR Summary Table
|
Area |
Height Controls |
Setback / Build-To Controls |
Supple-mental Use Controls |
Parking & Loading Controls |
Sign Controls |
Special Review Controls |
Bulk and Massing Controls |
|
Arena Area |
|
|
§ 14-502(5)(c) |
§ 14-502(6)(o) |
§ 14-502(7)(p) |
§ 14-502(8)(a)(.3) |
§ 14-502(9)(a) |
|
Benjamin Franklin Parkway Area |
§ 14-502(3)(d) |
|
|
§ 14-502(6)(a) |
|
|
|
|
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(5) Supplemental Use Controls.
For the purposes of this § 14-502(5) (Supplemental Use Controls), the following supplemental use controls apply to the areas listed in Table 14-502-2 and Table 14-502-3.
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(c) Permitted Accessory Uses and Structures.
In addition to those accessory uses and structures permitted in the underlying zoning district, roof decks, balconies and decks shall be permitted for non-residential uses within the [Broad Street Area, Mid-South, provided that this § 14-502(5)(c) shall expire on January 1, 2020] Arena Area.
(6) Parking and Loading Regulations.
The following parking regulations apply to the areas described in each subsection.
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(o) Arena Area
For Assembly and Entertainment Uses:
(.1) The provisions of § 14-802(3) (Required Parking in Commercial Districts) shall not apply;
(.2) A minimum of 1,000 accessory parking spaces shall be provided.
(.3) Such spaces may be provided pursuant to the provisions of § 14-802(9) Off-Site Parking, except that:
(.a) Off-site accessory parking must be located within 2,640 ft. of an entrance to the principal use that the parking serves;
(.b) Off-site parking need only be reserved for occupants of, or visitors to, the principal use during scheduled events and for two (2) hours before and after these events; and
(.c) Before a certificate of occupancy is issued for an arena in the Arena Area, the applicant shall provide written evidence of reservation of such parking spaces in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof.
(.4) The minimum number of accessible parking spaces for persons with disabilities (as shown on Table 14-802-4: Required Parking for Persons with Disabilities) shall be calculated as though the number of total parking spaces provided were equal to what would be required for the Assembly and Entertainment uses under § 14-802(3) (Required Parking in Commercial Districts); provided that if any accessible spaces provided are located off-site, they must be located within 1,000 feet of an accessible entrance to the Assembly and Entertainment Use.
(.5) All Assembly and Entertainment uses in the Arena Area shall provide a minimum of four (4) off-street loading spaces.
(7) Sign Regulations.
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(p) Arena Area.
(.1) The Market Street East Advertising District provisions of Section 14-906 of this Code shall not apply to the Arena Area and the following signage provisions shall control. Accessory and Non-Accessory signage, including window signs, wall signs, venue signs, pylon signs, accessory digital news tickers, and Urban Experiential Displays shall be permitted in the Arena Area as follows:
(.a) Sign Area
(.i) The maximum sign area for a building or several interconnected buildings shall be equal to 15,000 sq. ft on the Market Street façade and 11,000 sq. ft. on each other facade. An additional 10,000 sq. ft. of sign area shall be permitted for interior elements of an Urban Experiential Display (UED) that is part of a larger, continuous UED that extends to the Market Street façade exterior, as described in subsection (.iii) below.
(.ii) No single sign, shall exceed 10,000 sq. ft. per sign face.
(.iii) The provisions of 14-903(2)(e) shall not apply. Rather, interior signage within a building in the Arena Area shall not require a zoning permit or constitute signage for purposes of calculating total sign area, except where the interior elements of an Urban Experiential Display (UED) are components of a larger continuous UED that extends to the exterior of a structure or where signs have a scale or placement such that they can only be viewed in their entirety from the exterior.
(.b) Height
(.i) The maximum height of any sign shall be 100 feet above the ground.
(.ii) Wall Signs and Urban Experiential Displays shall be permitted above the second floor window sill.
(.c) Projecting signs shall be permitted, provided that the maximum projection onto a public right of way shall not exceed three ft. projected from the first 15 ft. of building height or five feet projected from building heights in excess of 15 feet. Neither the bottom nor top edge of any projecting sign shall create an acute angle with the vertical wall from which it projects greater than 60 degrees; nor shall any such edge be perpendicular to such wall; and provided further than no antenna may be attached to a projecting sign.
(.d) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 14-904(1)(i)(.3), signs may be placed in more than two windows or transparent glass doors.
(.3) Naming Rights Signage and Roof Logo Signs shall be permitted as follows:
(.a) Naming Rights Signage and Roof Logo Signs shall not be included in the calculation of total allowable maximum sign area per façade and shall not be subject to the maximum area or signage height restrictions, provided that they may not exceed the height of the facade of the building;
(.b) Naming Rights Signage is permitted on each façade of a building and the roof; and
(.c) The bottom edge of a Naming Rights Sign may not be any lower than 100 feet from the sidewalk
.
(.4) Directional Signage shall be permitted and shall not be subject to maximum area or height restrictions.
(.5) Signs with animated illumination, mechanical motion or digital displays, including UEDs, shall be permitted as follows:
(.a) Full motion digital displays shall only be permitted between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m.;
(.b) Primary illumination of the screens shall be internal and use ambient light sensors to automatically reduce the intensity of illumination during periods of darkness; and
(.c) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 14-904(1)(b)(.2), signs with animated illumination may be located within 200 ft. of intersections of any two or more streets.
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(8) Special Review Areas.
The following special review requirements apply to the areas described in each subsection [below] below; some of these areas are shown on the Special Review Areas map for illustrative purposes only.
a. Planning Commission Review.
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(.3) Arena Area.
(.a) Any Street Tree requirements under § 14-705(2) may be waived at the discretion of the Commission if deemed necessary to accommodate the anticipated pedestrian movement and safety within the Arena Area. Any waiver granted that reduces the total number of street trees provided shall be subject to the provisions of § 14-705(1)(c)(.8)(.b).
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(9) Bulk and Massing Controls.
The following bulk and massing regulations apply to the areas described in each subsection below.
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(h) Arena Area.
(.1) Parcels within the Arena Area shall be collectively reviewed as a single unified lot, as defined by § 14-203(169), for purposes of zoning. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, individual parcels of land within the Arena Area may consist of a horizontal plane that is bounded by irregularly shaped vertical planes. Within the Arena Area, all limits on Occupied Area and Floor Area Ratio delineated in Table 14-701-3: Dimensional Standards for Commercial Districts, and all floor area bonuses available in § 14-702 (Floor Area, Height, and Dwelling Unit Density Bonuses), shall be calculated on the basis of the total floor area within the area of the Master Plan approved pursuant to section (a) of § 14-502(11) (Master Plans) and the total land area included in that Master Plan, including, but not limited to, any additional lots created via subdivision, not including streets.
(.2) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 14-701(5), buildings in the Arena Area may occupy one hundred percent (100%) of the lot area up to 190 ft. in height. Any portion of a building above the 190 ft. height threshold shall be subject to either the applicable sky plane controls as set forth in Table 14-701-5 or the open area, building width, spacing and height controls as set forth in Section 14-701(5)(c).
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(11) Master Plans
a. Arena Area
(.1) L&I shall not issue a zoning permit for a lot within the Arena Area unless it conforms to a master plan for the area that has been approved under the same procedures as required for master plan districts, as provided in § 14-304(3)(e)(.1).
(.2) L&I shall not issue any building permit, other than a demolition permit, for any lot within the Arena Area unless it conforms to a master plan for the area that has been approved under the same procedures as required for master plan districts, as provided in § 14-304(3)(e)(.1).
(.3) Any amendments to this master plan shall be subject to the provisions of § 14-304(4) (Amendments to Master Plans), except that, notwithstanding the provisions of 14-304(4)(d), the Commission may approve an amendment under the procedures for Minor Amendments if the changes proposed would not increase the total gross floor area of a building shown on the master plan in the Arena Area by more than 5%. These changes shall be measured collectively from the date of the latest amendment to the Master Plan approved by Council.
(.4) Applications on lots within the Arena Area may propose development that crosses over lot lines between individual abutting lots and without regard to individual lot setbacks, provided that (a) all of the lots on which the development is to occur are in common ownership, and (b) the proposed development is consistent with the approved master plan for the district.
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CHAPTER 14-900. SIGNS
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§ 14-904. Accessory Sign Controls.
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(2) Controls Applicable to Specific Zoning Districts.
(a) Sign Controls Table 14-904-1.
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(.3) Sign Characteristics.
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(.b) Animated Illumination.
Except as follows, a [A] "Yes" in the row labeled "Animated Illumination" indicates that animated illumination is permitted for the sign type in the corresponding column. A "No" indicates that animated illumination is prohibited. Animated illumination includes the following types of signage:
[(.c)] (.i) Digital Sign.
[A "Yes" in the row labeled "Digital Sign" indicates that digital signs are permitted for the sign type on the corresponding column. A "No" indicates that digital signs are prohibited.]
(.ii) Electronic Message Sign
(.iii) Accessory Digital News Ticker
An accessory digital news ticker shall be permitted only in the Market Street East Advertising District, subject to the requirements of § 14-906(6), and of the Arena Area of the /CTR, Center City Overlay District.
[(.d)] (.c) Mechanical Motion.
A "Yes" in the row labeled "Mechanical Motion" indicates that mechanical motion is permitted for the sign type in the corresponding column. A "No" indicates that mechanical motion is prohibited.
[(.e) Electronic Message Sign.
A "Yes" in the row labeled "Electronic Message Sign" indicates that electronic message signs are permitted for the sign type in the corresponding column. A "No" indicates that electronic message signs are prohibited.
(.f) Accessory Digital News Ticker.
An accessory digital news ticker shall be permitted only in the Market Street East Advertising District, subject to the requirements of § 14-906(6).]
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SECTION 2. The master plan attached as Exhibit “A” to this Ordinance is hereby approved.
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Explanation:
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted.
Italics indicate new matter added.
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