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---Shosh

Good job to whomever got the paper involved, but the article surely missed several key concerns about this legislation.

No ****. I spent about 1/2 hour on the phone with the guy, going through all of the issues in my "big list" posted above, and all he quoted was that one minor, insignificant, statement. But I guess on the flip side, he did the same to QVNA -- "we don't like what's being built" isn't very convincing either.

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---Shosh

hehe...I did take a note of that snippet to use at a later date.

Neighbors,

This is a reminder that City Council's Committee on Rules will hold a public hearing to hear comment on the Queen Village Neighborhood Conservation District on Wednesday, June 11, at 10 a.m., in Room 400, City Hall. (Notices about the hearing were mailed to all property owners in mid-April.) The proposed ordinance (Bill No. 080080) is available on the QVNA web site www.qvna.org. Follow the link to Neighborhood Conservation District.

Mike Hauptman, NCD Committee Co-Chair, has written an article for the June Crier, with updates and clarifications regarding the NCD legislation. The Crier will not come back from the printer until Thursday, June 12, so we are providing the text of the article below. You can also download the June Crier from the Web site at www.qvna.org/about/crier.htm.

Neighborhood Conservation District: Clarifications and Updates
by Mike Hauptman
Co-Chair, Neighborhood Conservation District Committee

The comments and discussions from the recent General Meeting and the emails that followed make it clear that there is serious concern about the legislation as well as significant misunderstanding. Before I address some of the specific issues that were raised, a little background about the legislation seems appropriate.

The Neighborhood Conservation District (NCD) concept has been around for many years. It was conceived as a much less restrictive and more locally generated alternative to an Historic District, which is expensive to establish and is much more encumbered by regulations. The theory behind the NCD ordinance is that every neighborhood has characteristics that make it unique and that, without some protection, can be destroyed by unregulated development that neither the zoning nor building code addresses. Queen Village became the candidate to become Philadelphia's first NCD only after other target neighborhoods were found to lack the neighborhood organizations to do the work and see it through. A QVNA committee was formed about four years ago comprised of architects, historians and other residents who had an interest in urban affairs or just Queen Village in general. The committee set about looking at the neighborhood with an eye toward what characteristics make Queen Village the charming, attractive, livable place that we all enjoy and want to preserve; and what has happened over the last few years that may have been intrusive, or destructive or detrimental. The committee took pictures, made measurements, did drawings and had discussions with the Preservation Alliance and the City Planning Commission.

The resulting observations were surprising and encouraging. It appeared that relatively few guidelines would be necessary to protect a small list of architectural features in order to prevent what was becoming a noticeable fraying of the neighborhood's distinctive fabric. Probably the greatest threat to the neighborhood's livability is the proliferation of garage-front houses. If you want a good sense of how deadening and charmless this phenomenon can be, take a walk along the south side of the 200 block of Lombard. (And, yes, that's in Queen Village.)

Even with garage-fronts being identified as the greatest threat to an historic neighborhood, the guidelines that were developed do not ban them outright. We were advised that that would be difficult to enforce. Instead, the guidelines offer a more positive approach: all new construction must have a first floor habitable room with windows facing that street. That, after all, is what the issue is really about. So if you have a property with enough width to have a habitable room and a garage, then at least the street retains the life and safety that was intended.

The majority of the guidelines address massing, scale and materials. There is nothing in the ordinance that controls style or color. If you want to build an Italian palazzo or a modern glass house, or even a house with a giant ball on the roof, there's nothing stopping you. The intent is not to turn Queen Village into Colonial Williamsburg or Disneyland. But a 35-foot high, three story house with vinyl siding and a garage should not be built on Little Fitzwater Street.

I would like to respond to some of the comments that were raised at the meeting and in emails that were received by the QVNA office:

1. The regulations and the process are undemocratic and were done slyly and in secret.
Over the last three or four years, the NCD Committee made four presentations at a General Meeting that were announced in the Crier, via email, and on the QVNA website. They were well-attended. Also present were a representative of the City Planning Commission and a representative of Councilman DiCicco's office, if not the Councilman himself. Those present were overwhelmingly supportive. Comments and criticisms were discussed and in most cases adopted. The ordinance has been posted on the website.

The city determined the system by which the ordinance is introduced into Council and how the property owners should be notified. QVNA was responsible for assembling all of the addresses (not an easy task) and the Councilman's office printed the labels. Neighborhood volunteers stuffed thousands of envelopes. (Two email blasts went out to hundreds of residents asking for volunteers; about ten people turned out.) After the notices went out, through email and the Crier, we asked if there was anyone who was missed. As it turned out, there were a few blocks that did not make the lists. Notices were subsequently hand delivered or mailed to anyone who notified the QVNA office.

2. Does this mean that I'm going to have to change my house, or that I'm going to be forced to comply with these guidelines if I want to do minor renovations?

These guidelines do not affect existing buildings, or if you want to make normal changes to your house, like windows or paint or shutters. If you want to demolish the front of your house and completely rebuild it, you will be asked to follow the guidelines.

The guideline process is triggered by applying for a building permit. Painting your house, or replacing your windows, or putting on shutters do not require a building permit. (If your house is listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, the Historical Commission has say over those things and are completely separate from the NCD ordinance, which will not apply.)

Following the last General Meeting, language will be added to the guidelines that explicitly says that existing houses are "grandfathered in" so that no homeowner will be forced to comply with the guidelines when making repairs to materials or features that do not comply.

3. It's my house and I can do what I want, or we have enough regulations. Why do we need more? and
These regulations will lower our property values.

Actually, we really can't do whatever we want. That's what zoning is all about. That's why we are assured that our neighbor's house can't be replaced by a gas station or a fast food restaurant. It's why we can't build a 15 story apartment building in our back yard, taking away the light and air of the surrounding properties. These guidelines are simply adding a few more restrictions that will further protect our properties and our neighborhood.

Right now, someone could purchase the house next door, and, if it isn't on the Historic Register, tear it down and put up a house with a garage and vinyl siding or cheap stucco. Or even worse - it could be set back 20 feet with a concrete parking pad instead of a front garden. That takes away a space at the curb that you used to be able to park in. As long as the design complies with zoning (adequate rear yard and within the height limits) any of that is possible.

Society Hill has some of the most restrictive design regulations in the city. How are their property values doing?

4. You can't tell me that I can't protect my house with security bars.

We have asked that this guideline be removed from the ordinance. The intent was to avoid the kind of prison-like bars that are on some of the houses in the neighborhood. It was not intended to prohibit bars on side, rear or basement windows. If a homeowner wanted to put security grilles on the front first floor windows, the guidelines would require at least a review of how they looked. Decorative iron can be attractive. It can also be off-putting. Think about property values when your neighbors' houses look like fortresses.

These guidelines that have been developed are geared to protect the existing residents, not restrict them. They are designed to ensure that our best streets and neighborhoods are not destroyed by careless and unregulated development, and that as real estate becomes more valuable, we don't lose the very features that got us here.

This NCD legislation has a "sunset clause" that requires it to be reconsidered in one year after passage. We owe it to ourselves to give this legislation a chance, and to see whether it is an unwanted and unnecessary burden or a beneficial tool that we can modify and reconsider as necessary. Queen Village has the opportunity to lead the rest of the city in an experiment that is exciting, progressive and far-reaching. Let's not pass it up.

oh, then i change my mind!

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SITUATION: MOISTURIZED
thor must be failing -

Someone needs to look up the definition of "progressive," because this "experiment" is far from it.

pro·gres·sive Audio Help/prəˈgrɛsɪv/Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pruh-gres-iv]Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective . . . 2.. . . employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.


BTW, it's nice to see that The Crier/QVNA published a dissenting viewpoint along with its cheerleader article.

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---Shosh

So QVNA writes a story explaining the legislation, and said story won't be printed until after the public hearing. Yeah, there's nothing strange about that

yes, this part of the explanation is reminiscent of a story i once read about a man named arthur dent whose house was demolished one day while he was out."well the plans were on display!!" i think the whole planet went next, so look out!

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SITUATION: MOISTURIZED
thor must be failing -

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (for the benefit of anyone who hasn't read the book or seen the movie.)

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Cheers,
Jayfar
--
“I am indeed well aware of the history of Conventional (sic) Hall, both globally and locally, and can assure you that we are carefully exploring avenues for its future.” -- Penn President Amy Gutmann 5 days before demolition began.