Zoning plan OKd for waterfront

A reshaping of the Delaware River waterfront took a key step forward yesterday with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission unanimously approving an interim zoning plan for a seven-mile stretch from South Philadelphia to Fishtown.

At its regular meeting, the commission voted to recommend to City Council that it approve the interim plan, which contains this key component: keeping development at least 100 feet from the river's edge.

That setback would allow for better public access along 1,146 acres of waterfront - a key recommendation from consultants with the University of Pennsylvania's PennPraxis design group.

At the urging of then-Mayor John F. Street, PennPraxis met with thousands of residents over the course of a year to arrive at a new "civic vision" for the waterfront.

Council is expected to vote on a zoning ordinance to usher in that vision before it breaks for the summer on June 18.

Alan Greenberger, executive director of the Planning Commission, said the interim zoning would stay in place only until a more detailed master plan for the waterfront could be designed in 12 to 16 months.

He said the interim plan would keep landowners from moving ahead with projects that could conflict with the civic vision mapped out by PennPraxis.

Of the dozen of people to testify before the commission, those representing property owners had the strongest criticism.

Michael Sklaroff, a real estate lawyer and chairman of the nonprofit Development Workshop Inc., warned that the zoning changes "will drive development from important parcels."

Sklaroff said the interim zoning, with its setback rule, constituted a public taking of private land. "When you take land from people, you pay them for it," Sklaroff said.

Among the supporters of the zoning changes was Janice Woodcock, who headed the Planning Commission under Street.

Woodcock testified that the changes were necessitated by the state's decision to place two big-box slots parlors in South Philadelphia and Fishtown.

"They thought so little of our planning process that they did our planning for us," she said.

Woodcock said the yearlong process by PennPraxis to gather public input for a civic vision was "a populist movement," the likes of which the city had not seen.

She said creating a waterfront that was more accessible "was an opportunity we can't afford to miss."