Philadelphia’s major rewrite of its zoning code in 2012 embraced urbanist principles such as increasing density, encouraging mixed use and reducing the number of new single-family homes with first floor garages. Developers have been less than enthusiastic about the new code, however, and have sought variances for dozens of projects from the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) in the name of providing what the market wants.
Klinghoffer Carpet at 734-38 Bainbridge Street would be torn down and replaced by three single family homes if the ZBA grants Robert Volpe a variance. | Photo: Peter Woodall
In these cases, the developer has to make a case for “economic hardship” to the ZBA which shows that development isn’t financially feasible. One developer who received a variance from the ZBA last year was Robert Volpe, president of Lily Properties Development. Volpe proposed two new row houses with ground floor garages facing the street just south of South Street on Eighth Street.
Neighbors argued–and the Bella Vista neighborhood’s zoning committee concurred–that the garages would be detrimental to the health of the South Street district. But the ZBA ruled for Volpe and the two houses were built according to his plans, a common outcome, according to Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.
Now, Volpe is back with a proposal to build seven single-family row homes a half block away, four of which would have first floor garages that would require variances from the ZBA. His plan, which will go before the ZBA Wednesday at 2PM, has angered some nearby residents who are fearful of losing the urban life and vitality they say gives the neighborhood its value.
The two single family houses on 8th Street just south of South Street built by Volpe | Photo: Peter Woodall
The project involves two lots which face each other across Bainbridge Street: the Klinghoffer Carpets showroom at 734-38 Bainbridge, and the vacant lot across the street at 739-41 Bainbridge, where the company’s one-story warehouse stood until recently. Volpe is asking for variances to build single family row homes on each lot because both properties (and the entire block) are zoned CMX-2, which mandates using the first floor for a store or office.
His application to the ZBA directly contradicts the intent of the zoning, which is designed to create small-scale residential and commercial mixed use. It states that the current commercial use “is inappropriate in this largely residential neighborhood. The proposed use as single family dwellings is more in harmony with the character of the surrounding area.”
Volpe is also requesting a variance for four first floor garages, two facing south at 739-41 Bainbridge, and two directly behind them facing north at 732 and 734 Kater Street. Each of these four garages, although only a single car’s width, could accommodate two cars via a lift system. The other three, on south side of Bainbridge, include a shared garage for six cars that will be accessed from tiny Perth Street, behind the property.
Historian Regina Blaszczyk, a chair of the Bella Vista Neighborhood Association, wrote an open letter to the ZBA outlining her concerns about the project.
Looking south down Kater Street. Two single family houses with garages facing the street on the ground floor would be built in the lot with the blue tarpaulin | Photo: Peter Woodall
“As a neighborhood, Bella Vista is an ideal place to live without a car,” wrote Blaszczyk. “It would be a shame to upset this balance by granting zone variances that create incentives for multiple car ownership.”
For the developer, garages are a key selling point. “The market demands it,” said Volpe. “I’ve built homes in that area in the past and they were very successful with garages.” Designed by local architect Joseph Serratone, the proposed housing units stand 38 feet tall and feature balconies on the third and fourth floors and a roof deck.
The alternative, according to Volpe, was to build multi-family housing with more than 20 units. “We felt this was the less dense development than doing multi-family homes. In essence, there will be less density by just doing the seven homes.”
Proposed site of the three single family houses at 734-38 Bainbridge Street (click to enlarge) | Source: Jos Serratore & Company Architects zoning proposal
To build the three houses facing north on Bainbridge, the developer will tear down the early 20th century commercial building that’s currently the showroom for Klinghoffer Carpet, a century-old neighborhood business. If demolished, the Klinghoffer building will be the second substantial legacy commercial building lost in Bella Vista in the past year–a 7-Up bottling plant on Carpenter Street was leveled last year.
The curb cuts–ramps cut into sidewalks that allow for cars to pass easily across the sidewalk into a garage–have drawn the most anger. In the immediate vicinity of this project in the past decade, developers have removed 20 public parking spaces in five years, replaced by private, first floor garages accessed by curb cuts. Often, as in the case of another new row house constructed on the 700 block of Bainbridge Street this year, two public parking spaces are removed to make room for one private garage. Some planners view this as a subsidy for the developer, who will receive a premium for proving the interior parking, while removing a public good–on-street parking.
Lily Properties Development brought the Bainbridge Street plans to the May 13th zoning meeting of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association–a required step before a developer can go to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Prior to the neighborhood meeting, Lily Properties Development had sought zoning approval for the project, but, by course, the Department of Licenses and Inspections refused it. The parcels are currently zoned for commercial use on the ground floor.
Front elevation, 739 and 41 Bainbridge Street | Source: Jos Serratore & Company Architects zoning proposal
“It was overwhelming opposition to the proposals,” said Jon Geeting, secretary of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association and editor of the on-line journal Keystone Politics. Geeting cited the curb cuts as a major source of frustration.
During this meeting, residents voiced their concerns about the proposal to Lily Properties Development. But, according to members who were present, Lily Properties Development appeared to be unfazed by the opposition.
“It was frustrating to me because they didn’t really try to give a reason for the hardship,” Getting said. “They were basically saying that this is what the market wants for this location. They wanted to build what they wanted to build. They didn’t really come into this one with the attitude that there was going to be any give-and-take.”
Volpe also points out that these garage sites have preexisting curb cuts, and that there are 22 garages within a one-block radius of these homes, so it’s not as if he’s doing anything all that new and different.
Looking south from Kater through to Bainbridge Street. This is the proposed site of the four single-family homes that would require curb cuts | Photo: Peter Woodall
“In fact,” he said, “we’re adding spots, because on the south side of Bainbridge, there was a loading zone, and we’re giving the parking that the loading zone occupied back to the community.”
Blaszczyk, in her letter to the ZBA, pointed out that–despite these hardship claims–five houses in the nearby area that don’t have private parking sold last year for about $900,000. (Volpe will be asking $1 million for the proposed row houses.) According to the US Census Bureau, 37 percent of households in the area don’t own a car. Some 48 percent own one and just 12 percent own two cars.)
Blaszczyk also argues that these garage-equipped homes are detrimental to local business, as curb cuts lead to a decline in foot traffic and discourage businesses from setting up shop in the neighborhood.
Other complaints center on the noise level of the garage system itself, which uses a lift system to fit a second car into what amounts to a single-car width garage, the lack of rear yard space in the plans, and the sheer size of the proposed housing units. (For reference, the plans call for the units to occupy 85 percent of the lots, when only 75 percent is permitted.)
Looking north on Perth Street at the back of the Clinghoffer Carpet showroom that faces Bainbridge Street. This is where the entrance for the shared garage with six spaces would be. | Photo: Peter Woodall
Lempieri said at the neighborhood meeting he proposed putting the parking below ground. “When you go down six feet and raise up the house three-and-a-half feet, you have room for partially submerged parking,” he told Hidden City, pointing out that the proposed garages are very narrow, and don’t allow for much storage space. “And they said, ‘Well, people want to have their own garages.’ But once you share [parking], you have advantages: you have room for bikes, for strollers, kayaks, recreation and mechanical equipment. Developers don’t care about this stuff. They want to bring the suburbs to the city and that means that everyone gets their own space.”
The Bainbridge-Perth part of the proposed development has also caused addition concern. Tiny Perth Street is a dead end (into the Klinghoffer showroom), and used substantially by the children who live on the block, which is adjacent to Cianfrani Park. Volpe’s plan will bring six cars down the alley to the garage. Some residents worry about the impact on their quality of life.
Volpe, however, remains steadfast in what he deems to be a fair and worthwhile project. “We’re going ahead with what we’ve proposed,” said Volpe, who has never lost in “more than a few” cases before the Zoning Board.
About the author
Max Ufberg is a freelance reporter in Philadelphia, where he's been living since 2008. A graduate of Temple University, Max has covered everything from books and business to boxing and blues. He's originally from Scranton, PA.
