“We’re aware of the fact that for us to remain in the neighborhood once we have children, the extra space a third story provides would be crucial,” he said. Marx and his wife Becky live in a two-story rowhome but know an addition has benefits. The new zoning code, which would require homeowners to set their third-story add-ons back from the street, should be in place by year’s end. Groundbreaking on 11 houses soon will occur on the 1700 block of Federal Street, Radwanski said. Developers need to use all of the funds by ’13 to prevent having to pay back the federal government. Philadelphia has received almost $44 million, with $7 million going to Point Breeze. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, a product of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, seeks to assist in redeveloping abandoned and foreclosed homes. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has joined much of Point Breeze and Newbold in rallying against the measure for one simple reason, the advancing future. The City allows construction to reach 35 feet, with permission to expand to 38 feet coming from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. … Point Breeze community wants the moratorium now!”ĭespite ample outreach, Beaufort refused to comment further.īeaufort desired a permanent halt to altering the two-story setup, Radwanski said. “… Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze believe Verna has received pressure from big money developers and is trying to find excuses to pull the moratorium. “Many residents believe Verna is trying to find support to renege on the moratorium,” the release claimed, adding that Point Breeze’s longtime residents have supported her in her 36-year district career. The next day Concerned Citizens blasted the evening affair in a press release. South Philadelphia HOMES Inc., 1444 Point Breeze Ave., hosted a gathering featuring Verna April 7. The hearing led Verna, who grew up at 22nd and Dickinson streets and whose jurisdiction includes Point Breeze, to table the recommendation, with plans to gain more feedback from community meetings. “I actually agree with their argument about aesthetics, but the demands of modern building codes and modern living make a 700-square-foot house obsolete in every sense,” the resident of 15th and Tasker streets said. His home dates from the 1880s and contains three stories, like every other abode on the block. Newbold Neighbors Association president Jim Resta oversees an area whose boundaries, Broad to 18th streets and Washington to Passyunk avenues, overlap Point Breeze’s. “Three-story homes and second-story ones are not comparable.” “That’s not right,” Radwanski said of the taxation element. She feels those who add stories or build three-story homes hinder skyline views and will contribute to tax increases for established residents, according to published reports. The chief voice among the former belonged to Concerned Citizens president Betty Beaufort, a resident of 18th and Reed streets, who argued two-story dwellings must remain the norm. A March 23 hearing before the council’s Committee on Rules united the backers and opponents. Since its introduction, he added, Verna has received “not one call for and a million against” the proposal. “The only way to gauge community reaction was to introduce the bill,” he said of the attempt to check the growth of a stretch whose lower portions a national real estate authority, deemed thriving sales territories last year. Members of Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze approached Verna from August through October, claiming their community, which spans from Broad to 25th Street from Washington Avenue to Moore Street, had reached a consensus on looking to preserve architectural uniformity for the expanse, Tony Radwanski, City Council’s director of communications, said. Verna, the bill would amend Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code and prohibit “the issuance of any permit for the construction of buildings, additions or roof decks, exceeding a certain height, on certain properties within the Point Breeze area of the City” for one year. The work of City Council President and 2nd District Councilwoman Anna C.
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