Focus on the Central District: Callowhill Strategic Plan

Many of you may have noticed that the PCPC adopted a plan last week that focuses on a particular corner of the Central District. For those who haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, here’s a bit of background on how we came to focus on this area and why.

When we talk about the Central District we usually mention the many nationally-known cultural venues, great restaurants, gleaming office towers and vibrant neighborhoods. What usually doesn’t come to mind is industry, when in fact it’s been part of Center City’s history from the start. That’s understandable since many of the industrial powerhouses, like Baldwin Locomotive Works and Packard Car Company, are long gone.

This overhead shot shows the area covered in the plan, color-coded into areas of differing personalities and conditions.

Currently 14% of all land in the Central District is zoned for industrial use; however only 6% is still used for industry – think the Federal Mint on 5^th Street or the East Asia Noodle Company in Chinatown or the design/construction companies on Washington Avenue. A large concentration of the industrially zoned land can be found in the former Callowhill Industrial District. This area between Old City and Northern Liberties, stretching from 2^nd Street to Broad Street, was envisioned as a 20^th century industrial complex to serve Center City, with 19^thcentury industrial buildings at the western end (Hey Eraserhood!) and the superblocks created at the eastern end in the late 1960s. While it was moderately successful as an industrial center in the early years, many other uses have now started to come into the area and the industry has been transitioning out.

To determine the future of this area our office hired URS Corporation (in conjunction with Studio Bryan Hanes, McMahon Associates and BAE Urban Economics) to create a Strategic Plan for the area, which the Planning Commission adopted at its meeting last week. Future zoning, transportation, stormwater management, and overall development were all evaluated and we have some exciting recommendations: READ MORE

Your First 2013 Party: January 10th!!!

Posted on December 20, 2012 by maneto | Tagged: Citywide Vision, CPI, Making It Happen, PCPC Biznass, Zoning

So many accomplishments…and so nicely presented, too!

A little light on the posting these days. Too much eggnog. We hope you’re intrigued by the above graphic. Excuse me. INFOgraphic. I’ll bet you’re wondering who has gone to such lengths to capture Philadelphia’s Complete Streets-related accomplishments in one eye-catching place, and to what end?

The short answer is, we did, because it is our responsibility to track the many moving pieces in Philadelphia’s ever-changing built environment in order to keep us on course and positioned to achieve the lofty goals we’ve set for ourselves. For the full answer, you’ll need to wait until January 10th, when PCPC proudly hosts The Future is Now: Philadelphia2035 Update. Click on the link to RSVP and learn more. If you come to the event, you’ll see many more graphics like that, AND you’ll get a keepsake that helps tell Philadelphia’s story. Come on down!

So in the planning version, Jane Jacobs would play this part. And we would keep Patrick Stewart, obviously.

Now that we’re thinking about it, the planning process sort of mirrors Ebeneezer Scrooge’s story, at least with regards to the three spirits that visit him. Go with us on this. So first, to make any solid plan, you need to have a rock solid Ghost of Planning Past, who gets real and tells you like it is: “There are real reasons that the x planning district has ended up this way, ~~Scrooge~~ Philly, so this is what you need to work with as you look ahead.”

It’s hard to get more cheerful than a Muppet. We’d also like to throw out there that Michael Caine gives Sir Patrick a serious run for his money in this version.

Then you want a grounded but rosy picture of the present. It’s all about identifying and capitalizing on strengths, maintaining a healthy amount of aspiration but never forgetting what the first spirit told you. That’s what the Ghost of Planning Present is all about.

And finally, you need to man up and look forward into the great unknown. Typically, we like to adopt a tone that is slightly more upbeat than the one typically laid out in most tellings of a Christmas Carol, but there’s a crucial lesson in the doom and gloom of the third spirit. The Ghost of Planning Yet To Come is, in the traditional story, is doing trend-based forecasting: Here’s what happens, ~~Scrooge~~ Philadelphia, if you stay on the current course.

The third ghost is terrifying, so we went with the cartoon version.

It’s not always pretty, but knowing what the trend scenario is allows you to figure out where there are opportunities to make an investment, or change a policy, and chart a brighter future. The way Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning, all refreshed and ready to make a new life for himself and those around him…that’s how we feel about Philadelphia every morning (we promise), and that’s how we want you to feel as we head into our third year of planning and implementing a 25 year vision for this great city.

Ok, definitely too much eggnog.

The Year in Review

Posted on December 17, 2012 by maneto | Tagged: civic engagement, PCPC Biznass, Zoning

PlanPhilly’s Jared Brey has a short and sweet piece looking back at the year in planning/zoning/policy from his perspective as a journalist on the front lines. In that same spirit, a quick overview from us of some of the things we’re proud of from this year and looking forward to next year:

1) We got Civic Design Review underway. As with many aspects of the new code, it’s a little early to call this a runaway success, but it’s been exciting for the staff to have a new process handed to us by a code that we helped write, and then sit down to figure out exactly what it will take to carry that process out effectively. A lot of details go into this, from streamlining how applicants submit information to divvying up the new responsibilities, to establishing the schedule for internal and public reviews. We’re looking forward to a full year of this in 2013, and we see some interesting projects teeing up just around the corner.

2) We expanded our public engagement and communications toolbox with Textizen, a new email blast system, and this blog. We know for a fact that we’ve managed to get some lively discussions going with our blog posts, and we heard from almost a thousand people via text message during the Central and Lower Northeast plans. We’re finalizing Textizen posters for the University/Southwest District Plan, so keep your eyes peeled for questions from us on various SEPTA vehicles starting late January. At that same time, we’ll be unveiling what we hope will be the online companion to all future District Plans, Phila2035: The Game!

3) We broke a public meeting attendance record in November! Props to West Philadelphians far and wide for getting the word out and being so engaged: somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 people ended up crowding the Enterprise Center for the kick off of our fifth District Plan, University/Southwest.

4) The tricky business of plan implementation got more air time. It’s been a long time since Philadelphia last had a bevy of official planning documents to inform decision-making at a variety of public agencies. As such, we – speaking very broadly for the universe of groups that have anything to do with permits, approvals, and recommendations – didn’t always get it right. Proposals challenged some of the most basic tenets of the newly adopted Plan for the Central Delaware Waterfront. Zoning amendments called into question the validity of recently enacted legislation, and cast a shadow of uncertainty on the future process for site-specific re-mappings. Progressive legislation from City Council and an adopted handbook from MOTU put some teeth behind the Mayor’s executive order on Complete Streets, and advanced the goals of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan. Where you stand on any of these issues is less important than the fact that at long last, Philadelphia gets to debate these issues in an established policy and regulatory context. That is a much better place to be than where we were just a couple years ago.

Zoning Recap and What’s Next

Posted on December 5, 2012 by maneto | Tagged: city council, Zoning

We’ll venture a guess that most of the folks who stop by this blog on their daily circuit through the interwebs probably read lots of other planning sites too. If you do, then you’ll know that there’s already been lots of coverage and opinions voiced of yesterday’s action-packed hearings in City Council which, among other things, concerned Registered Community Organizations and uses in commercial districts. These last two links are likely the most thorough recap of what went down, but here it is in a quicker format in case you’re behind:

New RCO rules

More notice and more meetings?

Council more involved

2.5 less 2

Does not equal 2.2

We’ll see what happens

That’s all we’ll say about these bills at this time. What we will say more broadly is that we’re very pleased that these and other zoning issues are making the topic of zoning an increasingly mainstream thing in Philadelphia.

Of course, we were already ahead on this front. READ MORE

Feel like getting nothing done for the rest of the day?

Posted on December 4, 2012 by maneto | Tagged: city council, Spotlight on the Districts, Zoning

Then we encourage you to follow these two excellent Twitter feeds for up-to-the-second accounts of testimony and debate in City Council over bills relating to commercial uses and RCOs:

https://twitter.com/Jan_Ransom

https://twitter.com/jaredbrey

We would have told you sooner, but we’ve been hitting refresh like a maniac.