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Jun 1, 2019 7:19 PM |
Philadelphia Councilman Pushes Ban On Bay Windows To Curtail Gentrification
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson Pushes Ban On Bay Windows, Seen As A Symbol Of Gentrification, In His South Philly District
May 28, 2019
By Caitlin McCabe
Read More: https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate...-20190528.html
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Johnson, who represents much of South Philadelphia, introduced a bill during City Council’s May 23 session that would ban balconies and bay windows across Point Breeze and Grays Ferry. The two architectural features would still be allowed outside of those two neighborhoods, but according to the bill, the distance from which they can project from a building would continue to be regulated.
- Johnson’s legislation comes amid unprecedented change in his district, which stretches from the fast-gentrifying neighborhoods of Graduate Hospital and Point Breeze, to areas farther south and west, including the Navy Yard and Eastwick. Thousands of new rowhouses have been built, adding taller and showier structures to older and modest rowhouse blocks. — The boxy, bump-out bay windows that Johnson aims to legislate have become a well-known architectural feature of Philadelphia’s construction boom, just as aluminum siding and roof decks have. For some homeowners in the market for newly constructed homes, balconies and bump-out bay windows offer two things that a traditional rowhouse can’t: additional space and light.
- Historically known for their curved outward projection, bay windows have long been a defining characteristic of Philadelphia architecture, often appearing in West Philadelphia Victorians, for example, or South Philadelphia rowhouses. (In the latter neighborhood, bay windows are well-known for their holiday displays.) — Johnson’s legislation is instead more likely targeted at the large, boxy bay windows that have appeared citywide in recent years, jutting out from the sides of new rowhouses built in South Philadelphia, the River Wards, West Philadelphia, and elsewhere. Development tensions have become especially pronounced in South Philadelphia, where the population has grown wealthier and whiter in recent years.
- “Some developers are putting bay windows past the property line [and] encroaching on the sidewalk/streets space," Johnson said in the emailed statement. “This practice is inconsistent with the character of many of South Philadelphia’s historic rowhouse blocks, so the legislation is designed to ensure the historical preservation of the facades and character of the residential blocks.” — His legislation, if passed as is, would take effect immediately and would apply across Point Breeze and Grays Ferry. Outside of those designated neighborhood boundaries, all existing rules surrounding balconies and bay windows stand. For example, outside of those neighborhoods, a developer could build a balcony or bay window that extends four feet, but only if that building is set back from its property line.
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A trinity home (center) is pictured beside new construction on the right. The new home was built with a bay window.
https://i.imgur.com/AIjDzsr.jpg?1
Newly built townhouses appear along Front Street between Sansom Walk and Walnut Street. The townhouses include bay windows, with balconies on top of them.
https://i.imgur.com/LuSsNCp.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/g339v2V.jpg?1
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