TITLE 14. ZONING AND PLANNING
CHAPTER 14-1600. MISCELLANEOUS
§14-1625. Fairmount Avenue Special District Controls. [429]
(1) Legislative Findings. The Council finds
that:
(a) Major public and private investments have been made and
continue to be made in and around this area of the City to prevent declining
property values, protect and promote the economic development potential, enhance
residential uses in and adjacent thereto, encourage investment and tourism,
protect and promote small businesses, and protect and promote the economic
vitality of this area of Philadelphia;
(b) Substantial private
investment within and immediately adjacent to this section of Fairmount avenue
has included the restoration, adaptive reuse, and reconstruction of numerous
historic buildings as well as new construction and new parking facilities to
serve the needs of the developing residential, commercial and tourist
areas;
(c) Public and private expenditures have also included funding
for the restoration of Eastern State Penitentiary, an important City-owned
historical and tourist site on Fairmount avenue;
(d) The neighborhoods
abutting this section of Fairmount avenue consist of a fragile and unique
balance of residences and retail development surrounded by predominantly
residential areas within walking distance or a short commute of the business
core;
(e) The Spring Garden neighborhood has been designated as both a
Federal Historic District and a Philadelphia Historic
District;
(f) Therefore, special land use and zoning controls are
required to protect the historic, residential and cultural properties in and
near this district and to maintain and promote the economic vitality of the
area.
(2) District Boundaries. For the purposes of this Section, the
Fairmount Avenue Special District Controls shall apply to all properties with
frontage on the north side of Fairmount avenue between Corinthian avenue and
Pennsylvania avenue and on the south side of Fairmount avenue between
Twenty-first street and Pennsylvania avenue.
(3) Prohibited Uses. Within
the area subject to the Fairmount Avenue Special District Controls and
notwithstanding any other Chapter of this Title, the following uses shall be
prohibited:
(a) Animal hospital;
(b) Drill hall, dance hall,
nightclub, private clubs; catering hall; theaters with live stage performances;
motion picture theaters or auditoriums and other entertainment of guests and
patrons as a main use; sound and media recording studios; radio and television
studios;
(c) Automobile repair shops; automobile service station for
the retail sale of automobile fuels, lubricants and accessories; vehicle
licensing and inspection stations; car wash; retail sale and installation of
automobile parts, tires or audio equipment; automobile and truck sales lots;
automobile and truck rental lots; installations of auto, boat, motorcycle or
truck parts;
(d) Bath houses;
(e) Bottling and/or distribution
of liquids for human consumption;
(f) Drug stores, unless less than
2,000 square feet in net leasable area;
(g) Fortune teller
establishment;
(h) Funeral parlors;
(i) Hand laundry and
on-premises dry cleaning;
(j) Medical and surgical hospitals and
medical centers of more than 4,000 square feet, clinics and sanitaria; rest, old
age, nursing or convalescent centers; social service offices and
agencies;
(k) Outdoor sales or storage, including outdoor use of coin
operated machines that dispense food or drink;
(l) Take-out
restaurants, and other similar establishments for the sale and consumption of
food and/or beverages, with drive-in or take-out service (sale of food and/or
beverages to be consumed outside primarily the confines of the
premises);
(m) Retail sales of liquor or beer, except for facilities
operated by the State Liquor Control Board;
(n) Retail sales of
products or food through a window or aperture which opens directly onto the
sidewalk, a public arcade, or public entranceway into a
building;
(o) Any accessory speaker or audio device that causes music
or voices to reach the sidewalk area, public arcade, or public entranceway to a
building, which is adjunct to any permitted retail use, used to advertise
merchandise sold, and/or used to call public attention to the use of the
premises.
(p) Food markets of more than 2500 square
feet.
(4) Prohibition of Building Set-Back. Except when required by the
underlying zoning classification, newly erected buildings shall have no set-back
from the street line of Fairmount avenue.
(5) Height Regulations. The
maximum height of a building shall be 55 feet above the average ground level at
the base of the structure, but in no case over 4
stories.
(6) Conflicting Regulations. When the provisions of this
Section conflict with other provisions of this Title, more restrictive
provisions shall control.