New Philadelphia Zoning

[Dan Powers]

I came across a current bill that is in council currently that would add a new zoning code called RSA-6. That would make houses even smaller than RSA-5. In the link provided, search the number below to pull up the specific bill.

https://phila.legistar.com/Leg...

210078

In the bill the highlights are buildings can now only be 25 ft. tall with a minimum width is 14 ft. wide, compared to 38 ft. tall and a minimum width of 16 ft. in RSA-5. Also, the minimum lot sqft. drops from 960 in RSA-5 to 700 in RSA-6. 

I find this bill extremely interesting when you combine the factor of the new legislation in Strawberry Mansion limits the construction of 3rd stories and roof decks on specific blocks. There are also many lots available in South Philly that could be put under this new zoning as well. The city is attempting to slow development and growth in areas and the combination of this bill, if passed, with the new legislation limiting building roof decks + additional stories, and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out if passed.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

Dan Powers - Real Estate Agent

[Steve Babiak]

Link to the actual bill:

https://phila.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=9171210&GUID=DF959729-F4E5-44BA-8E45-D753FFE998BE

[Dan Powers]

@Steve Babiak thank you!

[Mayer M.]

@Steve Babiak

Do you know if there’s a map outlining the areas/properties affected? Want to see if it affects anything I own

[Steve Babiak]

Originally posted by @Mayer M.:

@Steve Babiak

Do you know if there’s a map outlining the areas/properties affected? Want to see if it affects anything I own

 At this time I am not aware of the map being made available.  Can’t blame you for wanting to know if you will be affected.

[Mayer M.]

@Steve Babiak

Yep. I have zoning permits in for all my properties and that should be good enough

I wonder how long something like this would take to go into effect

[Jimmy O'Connor]

This legislation will be tough on the new build investors that buy, build, and sell SF homes. Quite a hit to the shorts for the only remaining vacant lots left in developing areas. Those are areas primed for new construction with a huge number of RSA5 lots on 14x50 sf (exactly 700sf). If people own land or need to tear down their property now and build while they can still lock a 38ft building in place. @Dan Powers the minimum lot square footage for RSA5 properties is still 1,440sf not 960sf with 16ft of frontage if you are looking to subdivide without any sort of variance. Getting below 1000sf is usually only a special exception that depends on 75% of your surrounding lots being less than 1000sf specifically designed for large parcels that are surrounded by smaller lots so city can keep consistent density throughout the block. 

See the image below of the remaining RSA5 vacant land parcels that risk getting rezoned to RSA6 and can only have two stories built on it. 

Although it does seem like the city is trying it's best to get into developers ways, there are some council members that still support development. This one does not actually seemed directly linked to the Strawberry Mansion piece, they are supported by two different council members (Mansion rezoning by Darrel Clarke, new RSA6 zoning by Quinones-Sanchez) that likely are affecting two different areas.  Quinones-Sanchez is actually rather developer friendly (Clarke is not), this may be a balancing act for her constituents since she has been able to pass some investor favored overlays recently. Notice how a large portion of small vacant land falls within her district. The RSA6 zoning does not have anything to do with roof-decks, building materials, or having a homogenous look like the bill for Strawberry Mansion Rezoning. Interestingly, there are no lots that are <700sf in the area that Darrel Clarke imposed the new building restrictions. 

If you want to follow how the city is making its way more and more into real estate, I would rather follow how council members are LEGALLY starting to take over more influential roles as "city planners." This is where you'll start to be able to predict what areas will become more difficult to build in, and those that wont. 

[Eric Greenberg]

Originally posted by @Jimmy O'Connor:

This legislation will be tough on the new build investors that buy, build, and sell SF homes. Quite a hit to the shorts for the only remaining vacant lots left in developing areas. Those are areas primed for new construction with a huge number of RSA5 lots on 14x50 sf (exactly 700sf). If people own land or need to tear down their property now and build while they can still lock a 38ft building in place. @Dan Powers the minimum lot square footage for RSA5 properties is still 1,440sf not 960sf with 16ft of frontage if you are looking to subdivide without any sort of variance. Getting below 1000sf is usually only a special exception that depends on 75% of your surrounding lots being less than 1000sf specifically designed for large parcels that are surrounded by smaller lots so city can keep consistent density throughout the block. 

See the image below of the remaining RSA5 vacant land parcels that risk getting rezoned to RSA6 and can only have two stories built on it. 

Although it does seem like the city is trying it's best to get into developers ways, there are some council members that still support development. This one does not actually seemed directly linked to the Strawberry Mansion piece, they are supported by two different council members (Mansion rezoning by Darrel Clarke, new RSA6 zoning by Quinones-Sanchez) that likely are affecting two different areas.  Quinones-Sanchez is actually rather developer friendly (Clarke is not), this may be a balancing act for her constituents since she has been able to pass some investor favored overlays recently. Notice how a large portion of small vacant land falls within her district. The RSA6 zoning does not have anything to do with roof-decks, building materials, or having a homogenous look like the bill for Strawberry Mansion Rezoning. Interestingly, there are no lots that are <700sf in the area that Darrel Clarke imposed the new building restrictions. 

If you want to follow how the city is making its way more and more into real estate, I would rather follow how council members are LEGALLY starting to take over more influential roles as "city planners." This is where you'll start to be able to predict what areas will become more difficult to build in, and those that wont. 

Thanks for the info! From your map screenshot it looks likes its only certain areas that could be effected.  Do you have a link to that map? Id like to know if one of my lots which is under the 700sqft threshold could get its zoning changed. 

[Jimmy O'Connor]

@Eric Greenberg I made this one looking on public records for all parcels that are 700sf using the "my maps" function of google! If you shoot me over your lots I can take a peak for you!