‘Hoods won’t be history

David O’Donnell owns one of the city’s 11 remaining wood-frame homes built in the 1760s.

The newly elected president of the Queen Village Neighbors Association lives in the home on the 200 block of Christian Street, which is on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

Three years ago, O’Donnell and the local civic group began discussions with First District Councilman Frank DiCicco about preserving older structures that — unlike O’Donnell’s home — do not qualify for historic-preservation status.

A glut of construction in recent years that threatens the older, distinguished homes in Queen Village prompted the call to action, O’Donnell said.

After the group brought its concerns to DiCicco, the councilman became the architect of a bill aimed at protecting certain sections of the city.

Two weeks ago, City Council unanimously passed the Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCD) legislation.

On a related note, Council also unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on demolition of buildings in Queen Village, said DiCicco.

"The citizens of this city, the people who live in these neighborhoods, deserve some mechanism to try and preserve their neighborhoods. It’s all about preservation," he said.

O’Donnell couldn’t be happier with the measures.

"We’re thrilled. Our neighborhood is being drastically changed," he said. "We’re very much for development, but at this point, we would just like to see more preserved than demolished. We don’t want to be a neighborhood of garage door after garage door."

DiCicco noted the bill is in no way intended to discourage homeowners from fixing up the exterior of their homes or a builder from developing a prime piece of real estate.

The NCD law creates a residential zoning overlay that would require all exterior remodeling and new construction in a neighborhood to comply with specific design guidelines.

An NCD will consist of at least two blocks by two blocks, no part of which is contained within a Historic District. At least 70 percent of the area must be for residential use and zoned residential, while no more than 20 percent would consist of vacant lots or buildings.

Neighborhood civic associations, in conjunction with the City Planning Commission, would initiate and create the guidelines.

"At this point, we have no say in what [developers] are building, but this would give us say," O’Donnell said. "This would help us set up our own guidelines."

City Council, in turn, would approve the guidelines, and the Department of Licenses and Inspections would enforce them.

Queen Village and Bella Vista are two of the local neighborhoods that could benefit from the new law, said DiCicco.

"It’s an opportunity for people who have a stake in the community to protect the integrity and the aesthetic value of their community," the councilman said.

Until now, residents were at the mercy of developers or absentee landlords who wanted to either build a structure or dramatically change a fa�ade, thereby marring the complexion of a block, according to DiCicco.

"Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. In many cases there is a certain aesthetic characteristic that is associated with some of these neighborhoods, and people tend to move to these neighborhoods for that reason," he said.

Marlise Ellis, a resident of the 500 block of Kauffman Street and founding member of the Queen Village Historic Preservation Alliance, agreed.

"The people who live in Queen Village decide to live there because of the way it looks," she said.

Philadelphia is comprised of distinct neighborhoods that were settled at different periods in history. Swedish immigrants settled Queen Village in the 1600s. That area, like many others throughout the city, possesses distinguishing characteristics reflective of the time that it was built.

According to the newly amended Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code titled "Zoning and Planning," distinguishing characteristics of a neighborhood include height, setbacks and side yards, as well as distinctive exterior fa�ade design elements such as porches, steps, masonry, stoops, cornices and trim, doors and windows, and other architectural styles and features.

Only about 15 percent of properties in Queen Village are on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, said O’Donnell.

It wasn’t until after Ellis moved into her home that she found she owned a piece of history. "I was thrilled to find out it was [on the register]," she said.

But unlike Society Hill, Queen Village has not applied for Historic District designation, O’Donnell said. The neighborhood plans to begin the application process in the near future.

"Old houses are just being torn down right and left," O’Donnell said. "Houses can be built in the 1700s and if they are not on the register, they are totally unprotected by that; the zoning laws have nothing to say about that."

Ellis believes the NCD will empower neighborhoods to identify and preserve notable homes.

"This legislation is going to be great. As part of the Queen Village Preservation Alliance, our mission is to identify the houses that were missed by the National Register of Historic Places," she said. "[The legislation] will give us the time to get those houses registered because we have the backing of the neighborhood association, which now has more of a say."

The bill that passed June 10 is only the beginning, as creating an NCD is a lengthy process.

Residents begin by petitioning the Planning Commission through their neighborhood association or with a petition containing the signatures of at least 30 percent of all owners of owner-occupied housing units.

Once the commission receives the petition, it has six months to develop design guidelines by working with residents.

The district councilperson can then introduce legislation creating the NCD. Residents who oppose it have 60 days to register an opinion with the Clerk of City Council. The proposal is history if 51 percent of the residents oppose it. Otherwise, Council votes on the measure.