If it's too much of a problem for them, then they shouldn't have purchased the property. They knew the height restriction was in place, and were well aware of the risk they were taking.

Maybe they should just turn it into a parking lot or a strip mall.

As cities grow and land becomes more valuable, height restrictions are increased. The developer was betting on Philadelphia knowing this.

__________________
The idealistic are no longer concerned with influencing public opinion and creating a free world of responsible and ethical social choices, but rather imposing opinion through legislation, mandating these ethics, and outlawing choice in what the loudest sample finds offensive.

Ban the Bans. It's a slippery slope between Idealism and Fascism.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

The height restriction in Society Hill--currently a residential neighborhood, by the way--has not been increased. And there are other areas of the city where a height restriction of 60 ft. is not on the books.

Or...maybe the developer could design a condo/hotel with a height that's within the limit (or at least within better negotiating range). It's been done before.

There is no such thing as a residential neighborhood or commercial neighborhood in philadelphia, which is why plots are zoned according to the zoning map. That particular parcel is zoned c2, which makes it commercial. Additionally, it is the zoning classification that prescribes the height, not the area.

__________________
Peter Cetera:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying

Hmm...sounds like you're trying to claim that there is no height limit.

Looks like he's been trying to bring it down to the 12-story height of the W proposal (which had received a variance back in the '90s but was never built). Too bad the move was presented in such an awkward way at the last
week's meeting.

most people hold the code in the highest regard when it agrees with them, and trash it when it doesn't. that would be the case here. the zoning code doesn't exist to bring order or establish a better place, it exists to make people have to beg the city for every little thing...that way they contribute campaign cash and maximize the power of ward leaders and self righteous community groups that also happen to lend support in campaigns.

__________________
"You down wit OPM?"
Fumo: "Yeah, you know me!"

Wrong. You made a claim that Society Hill was a "residential neighborhood by the way". I said that that land is zoned c-2, and it is inconsequential what area of town it is in because the zoning code dictates it's height. In the case of C-2 zoning, the height limit is 60ft. In a residential (R11) section the height is 45 ft.

And while naysayers wish to read the zoning code as if its set in stone and should be held to its highest regard, please note that in residential zoning there is to be 50 ft. of space between each house in Philadelphia-so who's giving up their house so their neighbor can be in compliance?

__________________
Peter Cetera:
Sometimes I just forget
Say things I might regret
It breaks my heart to see you crying

This is hilarious.

If it really is inconsequential what the area of town is, why do you think we have C-1, C-2, C-5, etc. zoning.