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Orange Zoning Stickers, where is the key info?

An orange zoning sticker is a vital posting to someone who cares about the goings-on in their community - be it concerned citizens, property owners, or hell, even neighborhood bloggers. They are a veritable warning flare that something important is potentially going to take place in that vacant storefront, abandoned house or building, or long forgotten strip of trash-strewn land. The main question is if these stickers are so damned important, why are they so difficult to read and understand?

Joe Schiavo of Old City thinks the initial refusal that lead to the need for a zoning hearing should be listed on the sticker. He argues that this will help ease the confusion that surrounds a typical notice. After all, a sentence such as "Permit for the food, beverages, and groceries (caterer)" doesn't exactly paint a clear picture of future intended use of the site of a former restaurant, as it's written in the above notice.

Schiavo tells PlanPhilly:

“No matter how well informed or well versed in zoning matters a citizen of Philadelphia may be, there is not enough key information to inform anyone of why the particular address is posted for a hearing,” Schiavo told PlanPhilly in an email. “... Of course, the essential information already exists on the Refusal received by the Applicant before the Applicant makes the decision to appeal to the ZBA, but L&I elects, by policy, to omit that information …

...When neighbors frequently call me at my home asking why a property is posted and what variances/special exceptions are being requested, they are in the dark because there isn't enough information included in the posting,” Schiavo said. “What's the purpose of a public posting if there is no content? Should people be taking a day off work to attend a ZBA hearing just to learn what should have been included in the posting in the first place?"

Ralph DiPietro, L&I's Director of Operations, mentioned that they're currently focusing their effort in to the eCLIPSE program, which is an online permitting and licensing system that's two years away from being implemented. He also cited the physical size of the orange sticker as not having enough space in some instances for the number of refusals (and variances) needed for a project.

For the time being, it looks like Philadelphia will be stuck with a zoning notification system that, frankly, is difficult to navigate.

Old City Resident Wants More Info On Zoning Notifications [PlanPhilly]

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Love it, hate it, or don't exactly know what it is, Latimer House is on the market again

Ah, Latimer House, long have you bewildered many a passerby, amazed lovers of unique architecture and design, and evoked hatred of your "curb appeal" and general oddity in the comments section of blog posts. No matter the category you may subscribe to, the fact is that Philly's former most expensive listing is on the market again. This time for $4.4m -- nearly $2m less than at it's peak.

For those who don't know, this building located at 241 South 12th Street is actually a house:

Designed by husband and wife duo David S. Slovic and Ligia Rave-slovic, this single-family home features "bold geometry with voluminous three story ceilings," according to the listing on RedFin.

While chances are pretty good that those of you reading this post are not exactly in the market for a $4.4m home with a "suspended steel staircase," just take a moment to look at the pictures and wonder no more about what exactly is inside the bunker-like building on the corner of South 12th and Latimer Streets.

You may remember that we covered the initial sale of Latimer House right here on Curbed back in 2012. Back then, the listing came with a few more pictures and some interesting quotes from Slovic, who called Latimer House "a sculpture big enough to walk through."

Here are some of the pics from 2012:

Vitals: 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 7,500 sq.ft.

Price: $4.4mAmenities: Unique interior and exterior architecture, panoramic roof deck, suspended steel staircase, 3-car garage, artist studio, garden

Philadelphia's Most Expensive House [Curbed Philly]

241 SOUTH 12th STREET [RedFin]

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The Checklist: "Charming South Philly Starter Home" Edition

This listing, located at 332 Greenwich Street in Pennsport, has everything on the "Charming South Philly Starter Home" checklist. Let's take a look shall we?

Does it have an old-school door that tells an interesting story about your new home? Check.

What about updated features like forced-air heating and a/c, "neutral feature" paint job, dual-window planters, and hardwood floors? Check.

Does it feature the amazing interior character often found in a traditional South Philly Rowhome such as vestibule with a tin ceiling, ornate ceiling partition, and/or kitschy kitchen? Check.

Does it have a place to grow vegetable and/or plants? Check.

Does it have an extra bedroom, you know, in case we have kids? Check.

Is it in an awesome neighborhood near at least one gastro-pub, coffee shop and green space? Check.

Lastly, is it located on a street in which your neighbors pronounce in a certain way to weed out non-locals, in this case, "Green-witch" not "Gren-itch"? Check.

Well, that's our list. How does it do on yours? Click through for more info and take a look at the inside.

This house seems to have it all for buyers looking for a starter home, or those looking to downsize but not at the expense of some actual charm or value. 

House Vitals:

Size: Two bedroom, one bath, outdoor patio, "bright, clean basement" - 1,112 sq. ft.

Amenities: Vestibule with tin ceiling, hardwood floors, private patio, ceiling fans, walking distance to parks, food, Queen Village and Passyunk Ave.

Asking Price: $249,900

332 GREENWICH ST. [RedFin]

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Inga Saffron -- everyone's favorite Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic -- argues in her most recent article that The Gallery isn't as awful as you think, calling it, not a mall, but a "climate-controlled neighborhood." Saffron points to how the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, owners of the mall, is looking to reinvent the "dying white elephant" by attracting better stores (such as upscale, low cost Century 21) that will serve a wide range of people. Also, Saffron notes that JPRA Architects has been retained in order to implement architectural changes to the "windowless facade" to help pedestrians on Market and Filbert Streets, you know, want to stop and shop at the mall.

And so, if a Pulitzer Prize winning writer proclaims The Gallery has hope, then gosh-darn it, we believe her! The question is, do you?

Inquirer's Saffron, critic of the built environment, wins Pulitzer [PHILLY.COM]

Changing Skyline: Bringing More Life to The Gallery [PHILLY.COM]

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City puts 20 more school buildings up for sale, PIDC in charge this time

As you've undoubtedly read (or maybe even experienced), the School District of Philadelphia is having a rough go of it for the last, well, decade or so. The school district sold eight of the vacant school buildings last March for less than $30m and announced this week that 20 more buildings will go up for sale, this time with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) at the helm.

Through their new website, www.phlschoolsales.com, the PIDC will look to offload the 20 properties as soon as possible in order to raise the necessary funds to help ease the school district's financial crisis, according to Philly.com. Superintendent William Hite and School Reform Commission Chair Bill Green testified to City Council on Monday that the district is $261m short.

The PIDC will hold two open houses per day from May 19th through June 2nd -- so be on the look out if you're in the market for an old school building.

The properties start at $700k and go all the way up to the hefty price of $15m for William Penn High School on North Broad Street.

You can view the entire list of properties here.

Phila. schools poised to sell 20 more properties [PHILLY.COM]

PIDC - PHL School Sales [PHLSCHOOLSALES.COM]

PICD Home Page

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Bikeable: Two Philly 'hoods on national bike list

While the usual suspects in Oregon and California are there as well, two rather surprising Philly neighborhoods made the "Top 10 Cycling Communities in the USA" list -- Pennsport comes at #4 and Spruce Hill tops it at #3. Based on the percentage of bike mode share, this list encompasses non-college area communities -- but don't worry -- there is a whole other Top 10 list for that. [URBANTIMES]