Community associations, businesses and advocacy groups could lose the right to appeal development projects before the city’s Zoning Board if City Council approves a significant amendment to the law.
Councilman Frank DiCicco and Councilwoman Joan Krajewski are sponsoring the change. A hearing on the matter was held March 12, but DiCicco requested that the bill be held for a vote.
DiCicco claims his proposal would close a "loophole" in zoning regulations that allow activists to fight development projects against the will of neighborhood residents.
But the bill takes direct aim at an anti-billboard group, the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight (SCRUB).
A law introduced by Councilman David Cohen in 1991 restricts the number of billboards permitted in the city. To skirt the regulations, however, outdoor advertisers request a zoning variance. Since Zoning Board members are appointed by the mayor, they tend to back his wishes. Former Mayor Rendell pandered to the outdoor advertising industry, and Mayor Street appears to be doing the same. His administration testified on behalf of the amendment during Monday’s hearing.
SCRUB has successfully put the brakes on several billboards by appealing Zoning Board decisions in Commonwealth Court. Recently, the court overturned a variance granted to Keystone Outdoor Advertising after SCRUB challenged it. The company’s owner, Dominick Cipollini, has rained cash on many City Council members — DiCicco and Krajewski among them.
Currently, "any taxpayer" can appeal a Zoning Board decision. But the amendment would limit that option to "established" associations "with a significant constituency in the affected neighborhood." That would prohibit citywide groups like the Sierra Club and the Preservation Society from protesting Zoning Board matters.
The proposed amendment would also lock out business associations — such as Rittenhouse Row and the Korean Business Association — because only residential groups would qualify to appeal.