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(1) Legislative Findings. The Council finds that:
(a) Major public and private investments have been made to promote the economic viability and the aesthetics in and around the area of 30th and Market Streets;
(b) It is essential to continue the success of this area by attracting high-rise mixed used development. Such success can attract and promote certain specialty and high-end retailers to locate in this area, as well as restaurants to support residential uses. This, in turn, will attract additional commercial and institutional development, all of which promote an increase of pedestrian traffic;
(c) It is in the best interest of the property owners, business operators, local institutions and the City of Philadelphia that this area continues to prosper;
(d) Therefore, special land use controls are needed to promote and protect the economic viability of this area.
(2) Purpose of the District. This special district is established to encourage the highest and best use of development for this section of the City by promoting commercial and residential uses within the district, consistent with sound development principles appropriate for the surroundings; and to promote a lively pedestrian-friendly gateway connecting Center City and University City.
(3) District Boundaries. For the purposes of this section, the "30th Street Special Controls District" shall consist of the area bounded by Thirtieth Street, Market Street, Schuylkill Avenue and Walnut Street. This area due to its uniqueness has upper and lower street levels, namely along Walnut and Thirtieth Streets, which can allow direct building access from both levels.
(4) Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) "Upper Street Level" shall be defined as the highest level in which a building has direct access to a street.
(b) "Lower Street Level" shall be defined as the lowest level in which a building has direct access to a street.
(c) "LEED Certification" shall be defined as certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design process, which is based upon a variety of categories, such as site sustainability, energy, materials, and indoor quality. This certification divides buildings into four categories: Basic Certification, Silver, Gold and Platinum.
(d) "Green Roof" shall be defined as a roof that supports living vegetation and includes a synthetic, high quality waterproof membrane, drainage layer, soil layer and light weight medium plants.
(e) "Commission" shall be defined as the City Planning Commission.
(5) Permitted Uses. The uses permitted in this District shall be:
(a) The uses permitted in the C-5 Commercial District.
(b) Attached buildings used solely for dwelling purposes, provided that, no certificate of occupancy for a dwelling (other than a hotel) shall be issued for any building in this District unless the Revenue Department certifies that the dwelling (other than a hotel) is not subject to the provisions of Chapter 19-3200, relating to Keystone Opportunity Zones, Improvement Zones and Expansion Zones. In and only in the event the foregoing proviso is determined not to be permitted by law, it is the intent of Council that no certificate of occupancy shall be issued for any dwellings (other than hotels) in this District.
(c) All limitations on multiple uses or structures on a lot, whether stated or implied, shall not apply.
(d) Above Ground Parking Garages are specifically permitted in the district and may include parking spaces for car-sharing programs and electric vehicles (including in-place electric vehicle chargers), and in addition, do not require a special use permit. The Commission shall review and approve the facade design of the garage prior to the issuance of a building permit related to the erection of the garage. Such approval shall be granted if, in the judgment of the Commission, the design is compatible with sound development principles and appropriate for its surroundings. Nothing in this subsection shall require approval of the Commission prior to the issuance of a building foundation permit.
(6) Area Regulations. In order to encourage and promote mixed-use development, and to promote density, the following applies to this district:
(a) The cumulative gross floor area of all buildings on a lot shall not exceed one thousand two hundred (1200%) percent of the area of such lot, unless additional gross floor area is permitted pursuant to subsection (7), relating to Incentive Floor Area.
(b) Open Area Above the Average Ground Level.
(.1) Buildings may occupy one hundred (100%) percent of the lot for the first 175 feet of building height above the average ground level.
(.2) From a point 175 feet above the average ground level of the lot, the area regulations under a C-5 Commercial District shall apply.
(c) Building Set Back, and Yards. Building setback, front yards and rear yards shall not be required.
(d) Legally Required Windows. All qualifications and restrictions set forth in this Title for legally required windows shall not apply in this District.
(e) Courts. No minimum court requirement shall apply in this District.
(7) Incentive Floor Area. It is recognized that this area of the City is embarking on new high-density development. This area would better serve the public if development adheres to pro-environment standards, addresses innovations in transportation and fosters pedestrian and community vitality. In order to promote development that serves the public interest, each one of the following shall apply to any one building on a single lot and shall qualify independently for an additional one hundred percent (100%) of the area of the lot up to a total of eight hundred percent (800%) as approved by the Commission:
(a) LEED Certification. To receive additional gross floor area, the applicant shall submit a certification from the U.S. Green Building Council that the development plans for the project have been submitted in an application for a basic LEED Certification. LEED Score sheets shall be submitted with the development plans, along with the certification of an architect or engineer that, in his or her professional judgment, the plans will qualify for a basic LEED Certification. Such certification shall be subject to review and approval of the Commission. An additional 100% incentive area shall be granted for a certification of Silver LEED Certification, and an additional 100% incentive area shall be granted for a certification of Gold or Platinum LEED Certification, provided that no more than 300% incentive area shall be available under this subsection relating to LEED Certification. The applicant must build in substantial conformance with said plans, provided that revisions to the LEED Score during design development shall be permitted as long as the intended overall LEED rating is retained, and provided further that the applicant shall use its good faith efforts to obtain the indicated LEED Certification, including any minor modifications to the design necessary in that regard.
(b) Green Roof. To receive additional gross floor area, the applicant shall provide a green roof on any building on the lot that covers at least 30% of the lot area, provided that the green roof covers at least 75% of the roof area of such building; and shall commit to certify to the Commission, upon request of the Commission at any time during the life of the building, that such roof is maintained, to the satisfaction of the Water Department, to accepted stormwater performance standards at the time of application.
(c) Public Access to the Green Roof. To receive additional gross floor area, the applicant shall provide access to its Green Roof with a visible entrance to the roof from a public right-of-way.
(d) Retail. To receive additional gross floor area, the applicant shall provide retail along a minimum of two (2) street frontages for a combined minimum of 10,000 sf with transparent facades on the Upper Street Level. Retail shall also include restaurants subject to existing restrictions in Section 14-305 of the Code.
(e) Community Room or Rooms. If a community room or rooms totaling at least 1,000 square feet are part of the development, the applicant shall receive additional floor area provided that free access is made available to non-profit organizations during normal business hours, subject to reasonable rules and regulations established by the building owner.
(f) Transportation. It is recognized that this District will allow development to occur that focuses on land uses around a transit corridor. It is also recognized that this District is within one city block of the 30th Street Rail Station. In order to promote use of mass transit, the applicant shall qualify for additional gross floor area by providing on the subject lot parking spaces for car-sharing programs and/or electric vehicles (including in-place electric vehicle chargers) totaling, in any combination, at least eighty (80) spaces.
(g) Public Open Space. To receive additional gross floor area, the applicant shall provide a minimum of 5000 sf of public space at the Upper Street Level, with a visible, public connection from Walnut and 30th Streets to the public space. The public open space may serve as a vehicular entry and for circulation but the design of the open space shall permit pedestrian use of the space and include pedestrian amenities such as lighting, benches and dedicated pedestrian routes protected from vehicles by bollards or other means. The public space must be approved by the Commission as consistent with appropriate design principles and providing an appropriate balance between pedestrian and vehicular uses in the context of the surroundings.
(h) Historic Preservation. To receive additional gross floor area, the Commission must certify that the applicant has submitted appropriate documentation confirming that it is renovating any existing structure within the District of at least 100,000 square feet for the purpose of preservation and adaptive reuse of any building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in conformity with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
(i) Lighting. To receive additional gross floor area for the provision of pedestrian lighting along the sidewalks on Walnut, Chestnut and 30th Streets for the entire length of the building frontage along these streets, and the inclusion of a lighted, ornamental screen along the entire facade of the parking garage facing 30th Street and the Schuylkill River, the bonus shall be awarded upon submission and approval of a lighting plan for sidewalk lighting reviewed and conceptually approved (for the purpose of issuance of zoning permits) by the Commission and the Philadelphia Streets Department as providing sufficient lighting for public safety in a manner that is appropriate to its surroundings in terms of illumination, direction and architecture. No building permit (other than foundation permits) shall issue prior to final approval of the lighting plan by the Commission and the Streets Department.
(j) Incentive floor area awarded under this Section (7) shall be available for use only on the lot where the criteria of this Section (7) are met, except as provided in subsection (h) relating to historic preservation; and may be used at any time after its award for future development.
(8) Retail Space. Retail space at the Upper Street Level shall not count as part of the gross floor area on the lot.
(9) Parking, Loading and Trash Requirements. Off street parking, including open air parking lots and above and below grade garages, shall be permitted, subject to the provisions stated below.
(a) Parking Garages and Lots. For all parking garages and lots, whether accessory or non-accessory, the regulations applicable to the C-5 Commercial District, including, as applicable, those regulations consistent with this Chapter set forth in Chapter 14-1400, shall apply, subject to the following:
(.1) Gross Floor Area. The gross floor area of all levels of a parking garage located below the average ground level (or, in the case of Walnut Street and 30th Street, the Upper Street Level) shall not be included as part of the permitted gross floor area calculations of any lot.
(.2) Ingress/Egress. At every point where a driveway, whether for ingress or egress, crosses a public sidewalk, the area of the sidewalk between the building line and the curb line, equal in width to the driveway shall be of a different color, texture or paving material, in accordance with the standards of the Department of Streets, so as to indicate and warn pedestrians of the existence of the driveway.
(.3) Residential Parking. The number of spaces required for all dwellings containing twenty-five or more families shall be one (1) space per two (2) families. Buildings containing fewer than twenty-five dwelling units shall not be required to provide off-street parking.
(b) Loading and Trash Storage. Every building shall provide off-street loading and trash storage in accordance with the requirements applicable to the C-5 Commercial District, including, as applicable, those regulations consistent with this Chapter set forth in Chapter 14-1400, subject to the following:
(.1) Required spaces for office buildings, commercial and retail buildings and hotels shall be 2 spaces for up to 1,500,000 square feet in gross floor area. An additional space for each additional 500,000 square feet of gross floor area shall be provided. These reduced loading space requirements apply only if ingress and egress from all such spaces is below the Upper Street Level.
(.2) Required space for residential uses shall be 1 space for up to 700,000 square feet in gross floor area. An additional space for each additional 300,000 square feet of gross floor area shall be provided. These reduced loading space requirements apply only if ingress and egress from all such spaces is below the Upper Street Level.
(.3) All common loading areas and ingress/egress driveways shall be in accordance with the standards of the Department of Streets. No requirements for a maximum size of curb cuts shall apply in this District for any curb cut located below the Upper Street Level.
(.4) Every required loading space shall have direct access to the building it serves.
(.5) Every required loading space shall be at least ten feet wide, forty feet long, and fourteen feet high.
(10) Flood Plain Controls. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has adopted standards for residential and nonresidential structures requiring flood protection. In accordance with these standards, the following shall apply:
(a) Structures or portions of structures located at or below the regulatory flood elevation used solely for parking of vehicles, building access or storage shall be permitted in the district, if flood proofed in accordance with FEMA guidelines. This subsection shall apply to all structures within the district, including commercial, residential and mixed- use structures.
(11) Signage. Signs shall be permitted to the same extent and in the same manner as in a C-5 Commercial District; provided, that, to the extent any requirements of this Code limit the placement of signage above a certain height above ground level or above a certain floor of the building, height or floors of the building located below the Upper Street Level shall not be counted, nor shall signs below the Upper Street Level be counted toward any maximum amount of signage.
(12) Conflicting Provisions. When the provisions of this Section conflict with other provisions of this Title, the provisions stated herein shall prevail.
Notes
| 626 | Added, Bill No. 070674-A (approved November 16, 2007). Section 2 of Bill No. 070674-A provides: "This Ordinance shall be effective upon certification by the City Solicitor that an agreement substantially in the form of that set forth in Exhibit A hereto has been executed by the party or parties called for therein." The City Solicitor filed the certification with the Chief Clerk of Council on December 4, 2007. |