TITLE 14. ZONING AND PLANNING
CHAPTER 14-1600. MISCELLANEOUS
§14-1609. Center City Height Controls. [383]
(1) Legislative Findings. The Council finds
that:
(a) The protection and enhancement of the high quality of the
City's skyline is in the best interest of the City of
Philadelphia.
(b) Historic views of the skyline and the City Hall Tower
from Interstate 95, the Schuylkill Expressway, Broad street, the Belmont Plateau
and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway contribute to the character of the City and
must be retained for posterity.
(c) The City of Philadelphia has an
economic interest in maintaining its skyline and views of the City Hall Tower in
that these views have been traditionally identified with the City of
Philadelphia and have been used to promote the City both as a tourist attraction
and as an attractive location for business and industry.
(d) It is
desirable to continue to promote the historic character of the City and the
statue of William Penn has frequently been used as a symbol of the history of
the City as well as a symbol of the history of the United States of
America.
(e) At the time of its construction, the City Hall Tower was
one of the tallest structures in the country. While it is not necessary for the
tower to be the City's tallest structure, it is necessary to preserve its
prominence on the skyline by the preservation of the traditional views of the
tower.
(f) At present, only the existing Benjamin Franklin Parkway
controls protect and enhance the City's skyline and traditional view
corridors of the City Hall Tower.
(g) Therefore, additional special
height controls are necessary to protect and enhance the City's skyline
and to protect traditional view corridors of the City Hall
Tower.
(h) The establishment of specific height maximums within the
four zones shown on the accompanying Maps "A," "B" and "C" is necessary to
accomplish the protection and enhancement of the City's skyline and
traditional view corridors of the City Hall
Tower.
(2) Scope.
(a) The special controls of this Section
shall apply within the following zones, as defined:
(.1) Zone 1. The
area which lies between the line bearing south fifty-four degrees forty-five
minutes twenty-nine seconds east and the line bearing south fifty-three degrees
nine minutes forty-five seconds east, and which is at least seven thousand one
hundred sixty-five feet from that point on the Art Museum steps designated as
N240740, E2719920 on the Pennsylvania State Plane Coordinate South Zone Map.
Zone 1 generally is a corridor extending southeast from City Hall, and is
illustrated in the accompanying Map "A."
(.2) Zone 2. The area which
lies between the line bearing south fifty-three degrees nine minutes forty-five
seconds east and the line bearing south forty-eight degrees forty-nine minutes
fifty-nine seconds east, and which is at least seven thousand one hundred
sixty-five feet from that point on the Art Museum steps designated as N240740,
E2719920 on the Pennsylvania State Plane Coordinate South Zone Map. Zone 2
generally is a corridor extending southeast from City Hall, and is illustrated
in the accompanying Map "A."
(.3) Zone 3. The area not more than two
hundred sixty feet on either side of the line bearing north fifty-nine degrees
fifty-one minutes twenty seconds east, beginning at City Hall Tower, and within
the area bounded by the south side of Spring Garden street to the north and the
west side of Fourth street to the east. Zone 3 generally is a corridor extending
northeast of City Hall, and is illustrated in the accompanying Map
"B."
(.4) Zone 4. The area marked "Zone 4" on the accompanying Map
"C," being generally the area bounded by Arch street, Sixteenth street, Chestnut
street, and Thirteenth street.
(b) All maps referenced in this Section
shall be filed with the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the City
Planning Commission, and shall be available for public inspection during normal
business hours upon request.
(3) Maximum Heights. No building within any
of the Zones listed in subsection (2) shall be erected or altered to be in
excess of the following maximum heights (measured from 0 feet City
Datum):
(a) Within Zone 1, the maximum height of a building at any
point shall be determined by the formula (d x 0.05705) + 90 feet, where "d" is
the distance in feet from any point of the building to the point on the Art
Museum steps designated as N240740, E2719920 on the Pennsylvania State Plane
Coordinates South Zone Map;
(b) Within Zone 2, the maximum height of a
building at any point shall be determined by the formula (d x 0.02586) + 90
feet, where "d" is calculated as in subsection 3(a);
(c) Within Zone 3,
the maximum height shall be determined as follows:
(.1) For any point
of a building within one hundred feet on either side of the line bearing north
fifty-nine degrees fifty-one minutes twenty seconds east as measured through the
center line of City Hall Tower, the maximum height shall be three hundred thirty
feet;
(.2) For any point of a building greater than one hundred feet
from said line bearing north fifty-nine degrees fifty-one minutes twenty seconds
east, but no more than two hundred sixty feet from said line, the maximum height
shall increase above three hundred thirty feet along a forty-five degree
recession plane, such that the maximum height at the outer edge of the recession
plane (two hundred sixty feet from said line) shall be four hundred ninety
feet;
(d) Within Zone 4, the maximum height shall be as designated on
Map "C".
(4) Conflicting Height Limitations. If any part of a building
is subject to more than one maximum height, whether established by this Section
or established by or resulting from any other provision of this Title, the least
maximum height shall control.