Planners want to rezone Fairmount Avenue. The first public meeting is Nov. 12

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has started work on new zoning for the properties that face Fairmount Avenue between Broad Street and the Parkway area, according to a city announcement posted Oct. 27. The first public meeting is Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at St. Andrew's Church Hall.

Zoning decides what can be built on a lot and what it can be used for: how tall a building can be, whether a ground floor can be a shop or a restaurant, and how many homes fit on a parcel. If you live, work or own property along Fairmount Avenue, the next few months are the time to weigh in, before a map reaches City Council.

What the city says it wants

The commission says the goals are to give properties zoning that matches how they are used now and could be used in the future, and to keep the avenue's "unique character." The announcement's focus area runs from Broad Street to Pennsylvania Avenue. The effort builds on goals residents set in the 2013 Central District Plan.

The city has not proposed specific changes yet. It is asking residents, workers and visitors to fill out a Fairmount Avenue Survey about how the corridor should develop, and it says more meetings will follow, with materials posted online for people who can't attend.

How a zoning remap becomes law

A Planning Commission study does not change zoning on its own. The new map has to be passed by City Council as an ordinance. Typically the district councilmember introduces the bill, the Rules Committee holds a public hearing, and Council votes on it at two sessions.

Our records show how that works in a nearby part of the 5th District. Bill 260462, from 5th District Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr., remaps an area bounded by Thompson Street, 17th Street, Girard Avenue, Ridge Avenue and 19th Street, and amends the Fifth District Overlay. It was introduced May 7, amended and approved by the Rules Committee Sept. 29, and was listed for its final vote on today's Council agenda.

What our records add

• Whose district. Recent Council actions for properties on this stretch have come from Young. In May, a sidewalk café at 1811 Fairmount Ave. was authorized through his Bill 250806, signed May 26. Temporary parking rules for a large area that includes Fairmount Avenue near North 21st Street came through his Bill 260424, enacted this year.
• No Fairmount bill yet. Our records show no pending zoning bill for the Fairmount Avenue corridor. Nothing will change until one is introduced.
• The commission's recommendations matter. The commission reviews every zoning bill and sends Council a recommendation. It recently recommended against a bill limiting short-term rentals in RSA-5 neighborhoods, as we reported. Council can still pass a bill the commission opposes.
• Other zoning on the calendar. Nine items are set for the Rules Committee's Nov. 17 hearing, including two of Young's: Bill 260697, extending business-hour limits in parts of the 5th District, and Bill 260764, adding use restrictions to the Fifth District Overlay.

What's next

Go to the Nov. 12 meeting or take the survey linked from the city's announcement. When a bill is introduced, it will appear on our Rules Committee page listings and the matter page will track every step.