I heard that Councilman F. DiCicco is putting forward a bill
to Council tomorrow which will place a moratorium on demolition
within the boundaries of Queen Village? :shock:

What is going on down there? :what_is_:

All of the rest of the neighborhoods (Jefferson Square, Fairmount,
Fishtown, Northern Liberties) are going through a great rebuilding
phase, yet Queen Village will not welcome new development?

How will this affect the new project off of Delaware Avenue?

(I think its called Independence Courts at QV) What about other areas
which are rundown and need rehabbing?

I would agree that if a particular property is historic...hands off.
Rehab the property accordingly or don't purchase it. But some of the
houses down in Quenn Village are atrocious. All of Christian Street, above
Third till about Sixth) Even some of the homes on the 200 block of
Christian Street are hideous. The residents/neighborhood assn. must not
like it when their home values increase. In a market this hot, some of the
owners of the properties down there which are up for sale, like the one
large property at the corner of Sixth and Bainbridge must be foaming
at the mouth. Who are the major realtors down there?
Better pack up and relocate that business elsewhere. :?

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"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

Any updates about this proposed bill?


I'll check the Queen Village website.

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"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

Posted on Fri, Jun. 04, 2004





Council gives neighborhoods a say on building guidelines

Groups in Queen Village and other parts of the city sought the bill to protect their distinctive character.

By Linda K. Harris

Inquirer Staff Writer


City Council yesterday unanimously passed a conservation bill allowing community groups to work with the City Planning Commission to develop design guidelines for buildings in their neighborhoods.

The bill, introduced by Councilman Frank DiCicco, targets neighborhoods with notable character that do not qualify for historic-preservation status.

"The intent was to protect the integrity of many of our great neighborhoods," DiCicco said yesterday. "This will allow for community groups to take an active role in safeguarding their treasures."

The bill was sought by various neighborhoods, especially Queen Village, just south of Center City, where many old, distinguished homes are under threat from developers. The conservation district would protect the buildings when they are being remodeled or a new building is being erected.

John Andrew Gallery, executive director of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, hailed the bill and said neighborhoods from Queen Village to Roxborough and Frankford had expressed interest in it.

"Our hope is to promote the idea and to try to find a few neighborhoods that are interested, to show how it can be used as a strategy."

Gallery worked with DiCicco and others to get the bill passed.

David O'Donnell, president of the Queen Village Neighbors Association, said his group intended to apply for designation right away.

"We'll be able to set up some guidelines, like no purple stucco over brick and things of that nature," O'Donnell said.

Under the legislation, a neighborhood conservation district can be sought in two ways: through a community group application, or through a petition signed by 30 percent of property owners who live in the community. The Planning Commission would help come up with guidelines, and the proposal would be presented to Council. After 60 days, there would be a public hearing. A notice would be distributed from the clerk of Council to all homeowners in the proposed district. If 51 percent of the homeowners sent in a "no" vote, the proposal would not go forward. Absent the opposition, Council would then vote independently on the matter, and could defeat it as well.

Once the district is created, it would be enforced by the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

In a related matter, Council also unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on demolition of buildings in Queen Village.

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"Opportunities multiply as they are seized."

This sounds to me like more people making it harder for individuals to make improvements to the facade of their homes. Usually these groups are not very progressive and are full of more traditional "old school" thinkers, so I can imagine that many of these folks would veto many things other than just "purple stucco".


While that is used as an example....I see this possibly being a problem...this is how those god-awful townhouse communities started. I have a family memeber that lives in one...your have to have a certain color door, and thing but white lights only during christmas...it all starts somewhere.

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I don't think that you are correct to say that Bella Vista is in South Philly instead of center city. In some of it's latest literature, the Center City District presents an expanded definition of center city. The center city district has, in effect, annexed Bella Vista (and other) surrounding areas. People living in Bella Vista live in center city! I mean aren't people who live at 10th and bainbridge (technically Bella Vista) going to have a lot more in common--including problems--with people who live at 10th and Lombard than they will with people living at 2500 S. 10th??!!! of course!

Sorry about the above reply...I accidentally posted it on the wrong topic!

Accidental or not, its still wrong.
http://phillyblog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=46693#46693

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs

Once you go south of South Street you are in South Philadelphia. That has been my understanding for my whole life...

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[quote="wilreynolds"]This creates an opportunity for you to get involved with the civic group and make sure some 'creativity' is allowed in improving your facade. For the most part, however, design guidelines do more good for neighborhoods. Look at Chestnut Hill...every business must get their awnings and signage approved by the civic association. I think residents appreciate the guidance, such as avoiding siding and embellishing cornices with colorful paint palettes instead of covering them up. Design guidelines are nothing like the housing codes that look to control behavior in suburban communities.

You can view an example of design guidelines (for commercial not residential buildings) on the planning commission's website. http://www.philaplanning.org/plans/designguide.pdf

[quote="dmberwyn"]Can we get over the need to demarcate? But if we must...I live in Bella Vista (a neighborhood) which is south of Center City (not a neighborhood, but a section of the city) and located within South Philly (again, a section of the city, not a neighborhood).

There was a small discussion of this (I posted this story in a different thread) elsewhere. It seems to me that this is a pretty good idea - sort of Historic District Lite.

The requirements for certification as a Historic District are both rigorous and expensive. The neighborhood must pay a certified architectural historian to catalog every structure, its history, etc. Cost in Old City, for instance, was roughly $40,000. And it took more than three years from start to finish.

On top of that, Historical Commission has said that it did not think it would be able to do any more districts for a number of years because of a lack of funding.

This seems to solve several of these problems.

I remember Richard Tyler, director of the commission, once saying that he wouldn't want to live in a historic district . . . but he wanted both of his neighbors to live in one.

That sums things up pretty well. If you have bought a house, paid to fix it up and have a good sized investment, you don't want someone else to do things that will detract from the value of your house.

What I haven't seen is who will enforce guidelines after they are put forward. Voluntary guidelines will not work. I'll be curious to see how the neighborhoods get through this new process.

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“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” - Jane Jacobs