Author: Philly Zoning Team

Wait, I have to get approval from what?   Ah, prerequisite approvals!  Who doesn't love that giddy sensation?  You know the one:  You walk up to the desk at Licenses and Inspections, submit your carefully prepared application, and are told in a dead monotone, "This needs approval from Streets before we'll look at it."   There's no way around it: Prerequisite approvals are rough.  In this story, you need...

Read More

Our Plans Requirements Cheat Code   We here at Philadelphia Zoning told you a while back about how important plans are to most zoning, building, and sign permitting projects.  (You can find that post right here.)  But that advice was general; we know a lot of you are probably wondering specifically what kind of plans you need for which project.   We've decided to make a cheat sheet for...

Read More

We here at Philadelphia Zoning like to think we have answers for you.  We tell you we can saw through forests of red tape, and we mean it.  But sometimes, we get a question that has about a hundred different answers.  "How much does a permit cost?" is one of those questions.   There are a few reasons why such a simple question has so many different answers.   First,...

Read More

You’ve just decided to apply for a Zoning Permit for a new house.  This Zoning Permit is not by right; meaning that you’re asking to create a building that doesn’t conform to the Philadelphia Code.  This means you’ll be issued a form called a Refusal.  (If this is too confusing already, check out our primer on zoning in Philly.)   You know all of that, and you’re...

Read More
Philadelphia Zoning - Developing Your Dreams

Zoning in Philadelphia is a strange enterprise.  The ideas behind it are simple, and the people working the desks downtown are generally helpful and clear.  But in practice, it can be quite confusing.  This little overview probably won’t make the strange details of zoning any less confusing, but it may give you a clearer picture of the overall structure of zoning complaints, requests, and applications...

Read More

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Every landlord or entity that rents-out a residential housing unit in Philadelphia is required to obtain a rental license (formerly known as a housing inspection license).     The rental license itself is one piece of the compliance puzzle. There are prerequisites to being able to get the rental license, and then there are other things you must do or fulfill after you get the actual license.   The...

Read More

Zoning in Philadelphia is a strange enterprise.  The ideas behind it are simple, and the people working the desks downtown are generally helpful and clear.  But in practice, it can be quite confusing.  This little overview probably won’t make the strange details of zoning any less confusing, but it may give you a clearer picture of the overall structure of zoning complaints, requests, and applications...

Read More

One of Philadelphia Zoning's very first clients hired an accountant to do the zoning for his tattoo shop. As you can imagine, that didn’t turn out too well for our client — or for the accountant (which is why the tattoo artist became a Philly Zoning client).   Zoning is a highly misconstrued world here in Philly. There can be many complications, misunderstandings and miscommunications; so much...

Read More

Zoning in Philadelphia is a strange enterprise.  The ideas behind it are simple, and the people working the desks downtown are generally helpful.  But in practice, it can be quite confusing.  This little overview probably won’t make the strange details of zoning any less confusing, but it may give you a clearer picture of the overall structure of zoning complaints, requests, and applications in Philadelphia.   How...

Read More

The City of Philadelphia recently combined its review boards into the new Department of Planning and Development.   The Department now houses the Art Commission, Historical Commission, City Planning Commission, and — of particular note to us at Philadelphia Zoning — the Zoning Board of Adjustment.   This seems like a smart reorganization on paper, and there are other departments and personnel involved beyond those boards our company usually...

Read More