|
|
|
Controversial Chestnut Hill development looks like a done deal - if it wasn't already
The Philly City Planning Commission gave its approval to a mixed use development on Germantown Avenue that had stirred debate among neighbors.
Controversial Chestnut Hill development looks like a done deal — if it wasn't already
Unless the laws of physics and/or councilmanic prerogative cease to apply between now and City Council's final session on Thursday, it looks like Bowman Properties will get the three ordinances it needs to go ahead with its planned mixed-use development at 8200 Germantown Ave. The development is to include a Fresh Market and eight townhouses, along with retail, condos and parking, on the site of a former car dealership. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) gave the plan its approval this afternoon, over the vehement objections of a few nearby neighbors, who have been circulating petitions and said they've collected 2,000 signatures (600 of them from within Chestnut Hill proper).
Part of the PCPC's decision doubtless relied on the fact that Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller's amended bill — which brings the overall height down to 60 feet from 70, reduces the square footage, adds setbacks and requires landscaping and other changes — got overwhelming approval from the Chestnut Hill Community Association's (CHCA) board last night.
The problem with that, as neighbors pointed out, is twofold: First, the CHCA board may not be representative of the community, given that a third of the board allegedly lives outside the neighborhood, as do many of the (less than 200) voters who installed them. Second, as nearby neighbor Terry Halbert argued, "the community association had a gun to its head" in the process, given that the neighborhood would have no say at all if the ordinances were passed without a community agreement in place. She said 73 percent of nearby neighbors had signed the petition, and that they felt "railroaded" by the CHCA giving in with only minor tweaks. "It was presented to us a fait accompli," she added.
Joseph Syrnick, one of the City Planning Commissioners, said a certain amount of resistance is inevitable. "That's the nature of being a developer and trying to get 10 pounds of sugar in a five-pound bag," he said before making a motion to approve.
- ActiVman
- adventures
- Arts
- Ask A Man-About-Town
- Award Tour
- Awards
- Bad Idea Factory
- Beer
- Below the Curve
- Bikes
- Booze
- Brian Hickey
- BRT
- Budget
- Budget Fuss
- Business
- Casinos
- City Council
- City Hall
- CouncilMANIC
- CP Abroad
- CP in the Community
- Criminal Justice System
- Day Tripper
- Death and Taxes
- Delaware River
- Design
- DROP
- Drugs
- Dubious Distinction
- Elections
- End of Days
- Environment
- Fashion
- Film Fest
- Financial Meltdown
- FrackTrack
- Free Library
- Gambling
- Gay Stuff
- Get Lit
- Greenstorming
- guns
- Hall Monitor
- Health
- Health Care
- Hello, Kitty
- Holidays
- Ice Cubes
- Iggles
- Immigration
- In Memoriam
- Labor
- Lawsuits
- Letters
- LGBTQ
- Maps
- Marcellus Shale
- Media
- MMA
- Mummers
- Music
- MUST READ
- Mysterious Mysteries
- Nation
- News
- Non Sequitur
- Opinion
- PA politics 2010
- Parking Wars
- Parks and Recreation
- People Send Us This Stuff
- Philadelphia Police
- Philadelphia Union
- Philaphemera
- Philly From Scratch
- philly madness
- Photos
- Poverty
- PPA
- President Obama
- Print Edition
- Prisons
- Protest
- Readers Write
- Real Estate
- Rock Bottom
- Schools
- Science
- Screwing Philly
- SEPTA
- snow
- So Lush
- Soccer
- Sporting Life
- Sports Complex
- State Politicians
- State Politics
- Street Art
- Strike
- Stuff We Like
- Taxes
- Taxi Drivers
- Tech Fetish
- television
- The Budget Crisis
- The City Paper
- The CLOG
- The Human Condition
- The Mayor
- The Phightin Phils
- The World
- Things that make you go hm
- Tinfoil Hats Off
- Under the Table
- Under the Tables
- Urban Development
- Urban Planning
- urban wildlife
- Video Poker
- We Call Shenanigans
- Weather
- Web Junk
- Weekend Omnibus
- White House
- What We've Found
- Women's Issues
- Flyered Up!
- How 'Bout That Weather?
- it's always sunny in philadelphia
- Stu!
- Shopping
- get out
- 10-track mind
- ArtsFlash
- Bloggity
- Bruce Being Bruce
- Colleges
- Comedy
- Gigantic Surprises
- Hello Canary
- Hello Puppy
- errata
- get lost
- Inside The Fishbowl
- Library Closings
- Local Support
- Movies
- Murder
- Night Moves
- Recycling
- radio
- Scientology
- Sex
- Sixers
- Skeeze Police
- State Politicians Screwing Philly
- That's a cool stencil!
- Theater
- Things We See
- This Week
- This Week in Oates
- University City
- WIN
- What we don't heart
- trailer!
- what we heart
- Feeling Guilty
- Askadelphia.
- Broke in Philly
- Contest
- Dance
- Dear Paper Doll
- Do A Good Thing
- Education
- Film Fest Schism
- G20-20 Vision
- Goodbye
- Gossip
- Great American Heroes
- PATCO
- Pearl Jam Week
- Puppy
- Stars of the Photostream
- sustainability
- Lower Merion Webcam-Gate
- The Cycle
- Equality Forum
- Bureaucrat of the Week
- Animals
- ElectionEar
- Photostream
