Old City Registered Community Organization (RCO) Process and Procedures. Introduction and Purpose of this Document

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1 Old City Registered Community Organization (RCO) Process and Procedures Introduction and Purpose of this Document This document serves to outline the process by which applicants seeking a zoning variance, a special exception, or civic design review within the Old City Registered Community Organization (RCO) Service Area will be required to engage local stakeholders (Old City District assessment ratepayers, Old City business & property owners & residents) in pursuit of its support for the proposed new development, change in land use, or alteration of an existing structure that does not conform to the parcel s zoning requirements. The Old City RCO Service Area is bounded by Front Street to the east, 6 th Street to the West, Florist Street to the North, and Walnut & Dock Streets to the South. This Old City RCO Procedures document sets forth roles of organizational bodies engaged in the process, sequences of meetings and community presentations, rules for community votes, and so on, in order to clearly define and standardize these processes and to condition the expectations of developers, stakeholders, and the Old City RCO Committee. The purpose of the Old City RCO Meeting is to provide a public forum for the discussion and review of all zoning variance, special exception and civic design review applications occurring within the Old City RCO Service Area. Through these meetings, Old City stakeholders are able to provide direct neighborhood input into this important civic decision-making process. Structure and Authority The Old City RCO Committee is a committee of the Old City District (OCD) Board of Directors (Board) appointed from its members and exercises the role of the Board with respect to the RCO process. The Old City RCO Committee acts on behalf of the Board for actions/issues before government agencies (including, but not limited to, the Zoning Board of Adjustments, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the Philadelphia Historical Commission) Meeting Schedule Old City RCO Meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 pm as needed, or such other time designated by the Committee, and are the forum for local stakeholders to hear a presentation from the applicant, ask questions about the requested variance, special exception or civic design review, and share their opinions & concerns regarding the project. The meeting will also include a private discussion and vote of the Old City RCO Committee regarding the request. Page 1 of 7

2 Applicants should contact the Old City District staff to request and schedule a review at the next available RCO Committee Meeting. Special RCO meetings may be scheduled if the issue generates widespread interest and a larger space must be reserved for the meeting. Project Qualification and Criteria for Review The Old City RCO Committee will only meet to review projects that have received a Notice of Refusal or Special Exception from the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) or a civic design review referral. In addition, the Old City RCO Committee will only review projects which meet the following criteria: - Has copy of L&I Zoning Application & Refusal or Referral from L&I - All commercial & mixed use properties subject to RCO review - Residential properties subject to review multiple addresses, greater than 4 units, greater than 10,000 SF, OR height of four stories or higher. If the project does not meet the Project Review Criteria, the OCD Executive Director will send a generic no opinion on this project letter to ZBA. If the project does meet the criteria, OCD staff will schedule with the applicant to present at the next regularly scheduled Old City RCO Meeting. Courtesy or Informational Presentations can be conducted upon request for the courtesy of the community and are informative in nature. The presenter is not requesting support or opinion and the Committee will not conduct a vote. Intake Procedures and Requirements for Presentation The first step for an applicant seeking the community s support for a zoning variance, special exception or civic design review request is to contact the Old City District office: Old City District 231 Market Street, Phila PA (215) greg.diehl@oldcitydistrict.org Applicants will be provided with a copy of the Old City RCO Application Review Criteria (see appendix) to be completed as soon as possible and returned to the office. The applicant is also required to submit six hard copies of the following to the Old City District office, and an electronic copy via Copy of zoning application* Page 2 of 7

3 Copy of refusal or referral letter from Zoning Board of Adjustment, L&I, or Planning Board* *Review meetings will not be conducted without this required documentation Floor plan drawn to scale Building exterior elevation, including detailed signage and awning plans Photographs of interior of the existing space Photographs of exterior building, including the following: entire façade, views down the block to the left and right of the property, view of the property from across the street, views from the nearest intersection(s), views of the rear of the property and any other visible sides of the building, views from the left and right of the rear of the building. Written summary description of the project plan, including delivery, loading, trash and recycling plans Written confirmation that the applicant has complied with the meeting notification requirements specified in the Philadelphia Code, Title 14 Zoning & Planning, as amended by City Council Bill no In order to provide the Old City RCO Committee with enough information to meaningfully discuss the project, drawings submitted to the Committee must: have a definite program (number of residential or commercial units or other programmatic specifications), be measured and to scale & dimensioned, indicate square footages of rooms, and accurately represent the proposed design. Additional information may be requested in advance of the Old City RCO meeting. Applicants must bring large format versions of all plans, renderings or other materials that would be displayed at the ZBA hearing for presentation at the Old City RCO meeting, mounted on boards to the extent possible. An easel is available for display. Should an applicant fail to provide the aforementioned drawings or specifications at least one week in advance of the meeting, Old City RCO Committee reserves the right to move the community presentation or vote to a later date. The Old City RCO Committee strongly encourages applicants to submit materials electronically so that they can be distributed to the entire committee in advance of the meeting. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the Old City District staff as early as possible to minimize the possibility of a request for continuance. If a timely meeting date cannot be met, the Old City RCO Committee encourages the applicant to request a continuance of the ZBA hearing If an applicant has not requested a meeting with the Old City RCO, refuses to present before the Committee or cannot be contacted, the Committee reserves the right to ask the ZBA directly for a hearing continuance. Page 3 of 7

4 Meeting Notice The Old City District staff will post RCO meeting notice to the community via the Old City District website, The Applicant shall provide all notices required to be provided to the Community in accordance with applicable laws and regulations and shall attest to compliance in writing to the Committee as a condition to conducting the review. The OCD staff will send the RCO notice with the completed Project Review Criteria document along with all required documents for presentation from the applicant to the OCD Board via on the Friday prior to the RCO meeting, as part of the monthly Board Meeting Package. Meeting Procedures Meeting attendees will be asked to sign in with their names, addresses, affiliations and contact information. The Committee Chair(s) (or another committee member) will call the meeting to order by explaining that the purpose of the RCO Committee Meeting is to provide a forum for the applicant to present his/her proposal and obtain input from the RCO Committee and concerned stakeholders within the Old City RCO boundaries. The Old City RCO Committee will then identify themselves and the applicants and give a brief summary of why the applicant needs a variance, special exception or civic design review in that particular zoning classification. The applicant and their representatives will then present a brief and concise summary of the proposed project. Applicants are strongly encouraged to have his/her architect, attorney, operations manager and/or other representatives present. Q&A Procedures & Conduct After the applicant, his/her attorney, architect, or other representative has completed their presentation to the Committee, the Committee Members shall have first opportunity to ask questions and or comment on the project. Once the Committee has no further questions, the chair will take questions and brief comments from any local stakeholders in attendance. In order for everyone to have a fair chance to participate, community members are asked to speak only when recognized by the chair. If a question or comment has not been addressed to the satisfaction of a stakeholder, he or she should request the opportunity to speak again and not engage in dialogue with the applicant. Interaction between community members and applicants and their representatives is expected to be conducted in an orderly and respectful manner at all times, and not to become argumentative. Page 4 of 7

5 The Committee requests that before individuals speak, they state whether they have any bias in this case, whether they are a relative of the applicant, a real estate broker related to the case, an attorney whose office represents the applicant, or any other interest. After the meeting, the Old City RCO Committee will deliberate in closed session on the merits of each application and vote on the Committee s position regarding the application. Voting Procedures Voting procedures take place as follows: 1. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Old City RCO Committee will enter executive session for discussion and to vote on the meeting s agenda items. At the discretion of the Committee the session may be extended, and the Committee may ask for an additional meeting to further discuss the agenda item(s) before a vote is taken. 2. Executive session is limited to members of the Old City RCO Committee, Old City District Board members & OCD Staff. 3.. Prior to onset of executive session, the applicant, their agents (partners, professional advisors, contractors, and others with financial interests all of which can include Committee Members) and visitors will be asked to leave the meeting. 4. Voting shall be limited only to Old City RCO Committee Members and Board Members who have attended the meeting to hear the project presentations and related Q & A. 5. A quorum must be present. A quorum will be defined as a minimum of a majority of the Committee members. To the extent Board Members are present, they may count toward the quorum requirement. 6. Members of the Committee and Board Members must be physically present to vote. 7. The voting outcome will be determined by simple majority vote of the Committee members and Board members present. 8. At the onset of executive session, any voting member with a potential conflict of interest will be required to state the conflict; should the conflict be determined to be influential, the member may remain for discussion but must abstain from voting. 9. In the event of a tie, the Committee will neither support nor object to the action/issue. A tie vote will result in a no position outcome. 10. Requests for extensions by the applicant will not restrict the Committee from voting on the particular issue/action. 12. The Committee chair(s) may table or postpone a vote due to inadequate or incomplete information supplied by the applicant. There also may be occasions when more time is needed to discuss the presentation. The Chair(s) may then determine to schedule an additional meeting for discussion among voting members before a vote is taken. Once the vote is taken, a voting member has an obligation to support that vote. He or she must not speak against the decision at hearings nor write letters to government agencies that might result in confusion regarding the Old City District RCO Committee s voted position on an issue. Page 5 of 7

6 Attendees wishing to know the outcome of the vote will need to wait until the conclusion of the meeting or contact the Old City District office at a later time. The Letter of Support, Support with Provisos, Opposition, or No Position or request for continuance reflecting the results of the vote will be drafted by the Old City District Executive Director after the meeting. This letter must be approved by the Old City RCO Committee Chair(s). If the Committee votes to support the proposed project with provisos, the provisos will become part of the Letter of Support with Provisos submitted to the ZBA, outlined as specific conditions that the community feels the proposed project must meet in order to earn the community s approval. Notification / ZBA Letter The Old City RCO Committee s position is communicated to the ZBA in a letter from the Old City District Executive Director, copying the applicant, their attorney & other involved professional parties and the District Councilperson, taking one of four possible positions: a) Support reflects a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity, among the Old City RCO Committee and local stakeholders in favor of the application. b) Non-Opposition reflects a generally favorable disposition toward the application among the RCO Committee and community members, but recognizes significant opposition by some nearneighbors and/or other interested parties. c) No Position reflects division among Zoning Committee and community members to the degree that the Zoning Committee cannot assume either a favorable or unfavorable position, and therefore defers to the ZBA. d) Opposition reflects a consensus, though not necessarily unanimity, among the Old City RCO Committee and local stakeholders against the application. Members of the Old City RCO Committee may appear at any ZBA hearings to reinforce the Committee s position on applications. In addition, neighbors and other interested parties have the right to appear at ZBA hearings to speak for or against any application, whether or not a consensus agreement is reached at the RCO Meeting. Compliance with Provisos The Old City District staff will follow the project s progress and monitor adherence to provisos. At such time as provisos are not being adhered to, the staff member will notify the Old City RCO Committee, and will work with the appropriate authorities (Licenses and Inspections, Philly311, Police or Fire Departments, etc.) to rectify the situation. Page 6 of 7

7 Records A member of the OCD staff will attend and take notes at all Old City RCO meetings, prepare a summary document of the RCO meeting including points of discussion, a copy of the refusal letter, any provisos, and the discussion & final vote of the RCO Committee. Hard copies of all documents pertaining to projects pending review will remain in a stand-up file folder in the Executive Director s Office, labeled with the address of the property. Upon completion of RCO review, file folders will be moved to Filing Cabinet B, Drawer 2, in the section called RCO Meetings, at the Old City District offices at 231 Market Street. In addition, electronic copies of all documents pertaining to pending & completed RCO reviews will be kept in the shared files on the OCD server in a folder named with the address of the property. Please direct any questions to the Old City District staff: Gregory Diehl Economic Development Coordinator Old City District 231 Market Street Philadelphia, PA (215) greg.diehl@oldcitydistrict.org Attachments: Old City RCO Project Review Criteria New Rules for Registered Community Organizations & Neighborhood Meetings with Zoning Applicants (Philadelphia City Planning Commission) Page 7 of 7