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September 13, 2023
TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA:
I am hereby returning without my signature, Bill Number 230443, which was passed by Council at its session on June 22, 2023. Bill No. 230443 amends the Philadelphia Zoning Code by amending Section 14-500 of the Philadelphia Zoning Code by creating the “Warrington Affordable Housing Overlay District” located in the Cedar Park neighborhood.
This bill accompanies the zoning map changes of Bill No. 220447 to create an overlay that will apply to only one property. The project is currently designed, with an accessory parking lot facing the street and two multi-family buildings behind the parking lot, abutting railroad tracks. The overlay will allow two curb cuts on a single street frontage. Through the zoning code amendment, it will reduce the requirement of providing an eight-foot buffer between the parking lot and the street down to five feet. The landscape requirement for ten percent of the parking area will also be reduced to five percent of the area.
The City Planning Commission staff currently have the authority to waive the landscape requirements if there is a limitation to the property as defined in Bill No. 220414, which updated the Landscape Requirements for parking lots. In the Planning Commission staff’s review of the plan and participation at Civic Design Review, it was recommended that there be a change to the plan’s design while still providing the same number of units, which would make this overlay most likely unnecessary.
The Philadelphia City Planning Commission considered Bill No. 230443 at its meeting on June 8, 2023, and recommended that the bill not be approved. For this reason, I am returning without my signature Bill Number 230443.
Respectfully,
JAMES F. KENNEY
Mayor
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