The April 2010 issue of the SHCA Newsletter contains the following in the report from the Zoning Committee:
"The hotel project slated for 4109 Walnut Street (formerly the 40th and Pine project) was reviewed by the committee at a meeting to which all nearby neighbors were invited. The current project is not following the traditional zoning rout; rather, the developers asked Councilwoman Blackwell to introduce an ordinance rezoning the portion of the block from the existing lot east to 41st Street. Since Campus Apartments owns the entire parcel, City Planing had asked that a master plan be developed for the entire site to reflect possible future construction. So, instead of testifying before ZBA, the community will have an opportunity to make known its views at hearings in City Council. The committee had a generally favorable reaction to the plans, but is [in] the process of seeking clarifications on several points before recommending any position." FYI, the SHCA website contains links to PDF copies of their newsletters, but the link for this most-recent issue is not functioning at the moment; I have notified the editor of this, and would expect that the problem will be corrected soon. I am not necessarily opposed to a hotel on the proposed site, and am waiting to hear more about the specifics of the project (especially parking) before I reach any conclusions. But I am definitely concerned about the approach that the developers are taking. I can see that, from the Councilwoman's perspective, a new hotel in her district would be beneficial, bringing both jobs and money to her district and to the city as a whole. However, the involvement of Councilwoman Blackwell in a developer's circumvention of normal zoning procedures reminds me of the situation several years back when she introduced legislation that would allow a developer to convert a then-empty nursing home on the 4500 block of Chestnut Street, across the street from West Catholic High School, into the city's central facility for homeless intake. I note with some pride that successful community opposition to this plan began when I spotted a summary description of the legislation in the Inquirer's legal notices section and reported details of the bill's contents to the various local discussion lists. Several posters on this list have previously described this situation as involving a "shelter." That's only partly true. This was not going to be a standard shelter -- the larger plan was to close city-operated homeless facilities in several other neighborhoods such as Germantown and North Philly, and to send all their users -- most notably new applicants for assistance -- to this site. >> >> Begin forwarded message: >> >> From: [email protected] >> Date: April 17, 2010 9:31:53 PM EDT >> To: >> Subject: Campus Inn II >> >> On Tuesday, 20 April, at 1:00 p.m., the City Planning Commission will >> meet on the 18th Floor at 1515 Arch Street. Its agenda includes the >> development on the 4100 block of Walnut Street of a hotel similar to that >> once proposed for 400 South 40th Street. It is my understanding that it >> includes no onsite parking. >> >> To be sure, this is not 40th and Pine. Although I do not intend to >> comment on this proposal, I expect to attend and encourage others to go to >> the meeting as an expression of our ongoing neighborhood interest in the >> proposals of the diverse institutions, developers and organizations active >> in this part of West Philadelphia -- or to be more archaic -- Blockley. >> >> I hope to see you on Tuesday. And please urge others to attend. >> >> Regards, >> >> Richard Tyler >>
