Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-11-02
JOSEPH c. WAGNER
On Zoning the City


a IONING law in Philadelphia is ncvt-
~ abIc--itS Introduction may be delayed
but not prevented. When home owners and
home dwCllcrs understand the purposes of
the Honing system. just so soon will it be-
como fact. This is the thought Of Assistant
Director Of the Department Of Public Works
Joseph {. Wagner.
'Tho principle of coming must be ono of
the clements of any wise, comprehensive city
plan in the United States" sDyS Mr.. WNg-
nor. 1T is certainly evident to any OBJ
Scrvant person that unrcstrGincd and un-
regulated building has done much TO upset
social life in our cities. What has been
done. of course, cannot be altered and any
regulating laws must provide only for the
future. Now. it seems to me, when there
is general quiet in the work Of build
ing construction. is tn" propitiouS and
logical tim" for writing such n law on our
statute books.
"Each day permits arc issued for the con-
struclon Of various buildings that wifi BE-
prcjudici0l TO the n"ighhorhoodS in which
they are to b" located. lndcr Zoning law
many of them coulI not be built without
considerable modification.
Results of XOning System Discussed
"roday there arc nearly 400, 900 dwelling
houses in IN" City of PhiadCiphia, and
about 10. 600 buildings for every other use
are about 30 O0O unimprovcd lots. Let us
take this condition and see what would
result under the enforcement of an intelIl-
gently conceived zoninS system.
"If it should be desired to erect n new
DIV Cling. or Il new Office building, or now
mill or n new factory or n building for any
nurposr whatcycr il would be necessary first
for the owner Of the sit" or the builder to
present his plans to the XOning Commission.
If would then be the function of the COM
mission 70 determine whether the plans con-
formed in all respects to the stated require
mcutS of The particular district. is build
ing for such use permitted in this pArtlCu-
lar district? II so. does the proposed height
for the building conform to the regulations
sot for tho district? Thirdly. is the ground
plan Of tho building within tn" percentage
limit uf the amount Of area allowed to be
cncumhorcd? Finally, d" the plan" meet with
tho rcuuirrments 9S 10 side, front and rear
wards: Not unless all of these questions
are satisfactorily answered would p"rmis-
sion t. build be given.
Regulations Before Council
"lndcr authority from the new City
Clartcr the Mayor on May &c, 1920. aD-
rointcd Xonirg Commission TO formulate
r,.untionS 10 carry out II" scheme here.
Last month the commission finally approved
rcculntions which wcr" Incorporated into Il
bill which is now before Council. \ sum-
mary Of these rrgulutionS might make for a
better public understanding Of the coming
"Thc city is srnaratcly mapped into three
n,oiu classes, ESo districts height dis
t"icts' and area distrirt*.'
"Thc idea in the first classification is to
cuthrr together, . much a. possible. build
ir,e used for orc particular or general puI.
nose into a single district. Ihr regulations
L;v,Lr the city into such usc districts
under four heads Districts for business and
commerce. districts for residence, districts
for industrial uso AMI least rcStrirt"d dis
tricts. The ro.idcmih districts 0ro cstab-
Eyhrd for luiIdinge used HS dwellings, and
fnr any use that llHy be considered accessory,
4uch for example. H@ II physicians Office
urivatc garage or n private stable.
Public Would BE Heard
"In ,uoh district it would bc usually
considered that the erection Of II church, a
llLrory or n similar building would not be
doomed as detrimental to tn" district but
thn ApcriM IOration Of these buildings would
hr determined after publ" hearing. ut
,yhi,h property owners in the Immediate
rrighhorhood might give their opinions,
,vbatcvor they might be. Where Il building
in "A residential section should have Il use out
of harmony with III" section, that use i, not
Llaturhcd under the regulations. but Is called
n non conforming use and is allowed 10 con-
tinuc; but should the building be DESTROYED
nr removed the new building must conform
IA tNc standards for the district.
"rlc ncyt division for commerce, genera,
business, and sales, together with any llght
industry that Iaag We accessory, follows II
Inc through thc business section Of the citv
~ developed today. Through the uudcycIopeJ
uorImls It's sections are several blocks Au1rt
riyiug due ullowanr" for business cyuni,yinn,
in the future, hut with the idea that business
md commor"" should follow certain dptini,n
lines and that til" residence sections sLonL
be- kept clear of invasion.
In the industrial districts, no Industry N.
munufurtory that is in any part dntlimnntoI
10 the public hcaith Is allowed. If il !. i'n
portaut that the residential districts Lc I'" '','
tcctcd against the invasion Of industry - j..
cqualy essential that dwellings shruId not ~ H." j."
permitted alongside OF industry. The reguIaV
tions provide, however, for an oGc"n"to