Opinion ID: 754048
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Philadelphia's Historic Preservation Ordinance

Text: 4 The Philadelphia Historical Commission (Historical Commission) is an instrumentality of the City which administers Philadelphia's Historic Preservation Ordinance (the ordinance). The Historical Commission's primary obligation is to [d]esignate as historic those buildings, structures, sites and objects which the Commission determines, pursuant to the criteria set forth in Subsection (5) of [Section 14-2007], are significant to the City. Phila. Code § 14-2007(4)(a). The ordinance permits the Historical Commission to designate a building 1 as historic where at least one of ten enumerated criteria is met. 5 When a building is proposed for historic designation, the Historical Commission prepares a nomination form, which begins the process by which the Historical Commission considers buildings for designation. The nomination form details information regarding the building's historic, architectural, and cultural features. The Designation Committee of the Historical Commission (the Designation Committee) is responsible for selecting which nominated buildings the Historical Commission will consider for historic designation. When the Designation Committee recommends a building for preservation, it presents its report and recommendation to the Historical Commission at a hearing on the matter. 6 Pursuant to the ordinance, the owner of a building designated as historic may not demolish or alter that building without a permit from the Department of Licenses and Inspections (Department of Licenses). See Phila. Code § 14-2007(7)(a). If an owner desires such a permit, it applies to the Department of Licenses, which then forwards the application to the Historical Commission for review. An owner may obtain the permit where it is suffering financial hardship or the building cannot be used for any purpose for which it is or may be reasonably adapted. Phila. Code § 14-2007(7)(f). The ordinance requires the Department of Licenses to grant the application if the Historical Commission has no objection but to deny the application if the Historical Commission does object. See Phila. Code § 14-2007(7)(g). Upon the denial of such a permit, the owner may appeal to the Board of License and Inspection Review (the Board of License Review). See Phila. Code § 14-2007(10).