300 block of North 42nd Street.
A group of West Powelton residents attended last week’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting to speak out against a proposed development on the 300 block of North 42nd Street that would have squeezed seven single-family homes onto a lot zoned for just one.
Through a combination of the community’s testimony, the Planning Commission’s recommendation and the ZBA’s own concerns, the project did not receive a variance.
The hearing, which ran over two hours, was the culmination of multiple community meetings and strained attempts to communicate with the project’s developer, 42nd Street LLC. Even after meeting with the architect and seeing the site plan and renderings, the majority of residents on the block signed a petition expressing their lack of support due to what they saw as an overuse of the property.
The developer’s attorney stressed during the hearing that the lot was over 12,000-square feet and irregularly shaped. The visible portion of the lot is between 320 N. 42nd and the Lombard Presbyterian Church, but it also extends behind the houses on the west side of the street, forming a triangular shape. This was the justification for attempting to fit so many houses in the space, according to the attorney.
The case was set to be heard last September, but the developer requested a continuance. Through the leadership of the West Powelton/Saunders Park Registered Community Organization (RCO), residents returned for the second meeting with prepared testimony. Each resident spoke about a different concern, from traffic, parking and child safety to how the development would affect the fabric of the neighborhood.
Martin F. Cabry, chief of staff for Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, said after the meeting that the testimony from the community was one of the best he has ever heard.
To get involved with the group that helped organize the community around this issue, attend tonight’s monthly meeting of the West Powelton/Saunders Park RCO. The meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. and will take place at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church at 4110 Haverford Ave.
– Alex Vuocolo
November 15th, 2013 at 12:46 am
Bravo for the community organization!
November 15th, 2013 at 11:53 am
12,000 square feet is more than a quarter acre. Typical rowhouse lots are only about 700 square feet. This is not the burbs. Why would you be limited to one single family house on a quarter acre lot in the heart of the city? Insanity.
November 15th, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Well it’s not like the developer was asking for a variance to build two houses or three houses.
November 16th, 2013 at 6:17 pm
Our neighborhoods dig graves for themselves. The generation that oversaw the extraordinary decline of this city has nothing of value to offer for the future except defeatism, fatigue and failure. Out of the way! Let us build and grow, young Philadelphians!
November 18th, 2013 at 10:06 am
If anything, the density of Philadelphia is too low, what with all the two-story row houses. Why not a 20-unit tower on this space? Why think small with seven lousy homes.
November 19th, 2013 at 10:19 am
I don’t think increasing density anywhere and everywhere is the way to go. Yes, the city as a whole needs more density. But this neighborhood is mostly occupied, safe, family-oriented and increasingly surrounded by institutional buildings and apartments filled with college students. Not to mention the fact that University City is gaining density perhaps faster than anywhere else in the city.