4614 Spruce Street, WHAT IS GOING ON?
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
The building project at 4614 Spruce Street in West Philadelphia is a blight on our neighborhood!
That it has gotten this far despite stop work orders, failed inspections and safety violations demonstrates a systematic failure to protect the city and its residents from unscrupulous developers who are permitted to skirt the law. This has been going on for well over a year. To this day, no current building permit is posted at the site nor is the required contractor identification. Enforcement actions have been inconsistent, allowing work to proceed.
The scale of the addition that is being built in the rear yard, is grievous. It does not abide by the RM-1 zoning requirement of a 5’ side set back on the south side. The new extension is five stories high, counting the basement. Only the basement level, is there a 5’ set back in the form of a tunnel-like walkway. The 4 stories above the basement, cantilever over the submerged walkway and extend to the property line
• Why was the zoning permit approved when it did not conform to RM-1 side yard requirements?
• Why was the work allowed to proceed without conformance to L+I’s construction site requirements?
• Why was work allowed to proceed despite L+I’s acknowledgement of unsafe conditions, material substitutions, and lack of engineering services?
• Why was the work allowed to proceed after the owner never appeared at a stop work order
hearing?
• Why was the work allowed to proceed with stop work orders in place?
• Why has this situation gone on for nearly two years?
Should the current project become a “by right” template for future development, the net effect will be to
effectively eliminate the side yards required by RM-1 zoning and the light and air they provide. This will
create a zone of structures more closely related to the infamous late-19th century “dumbbell” tenements of New York City than the gracious “twins” of West Philadelphia.
We urge our councilperson to speak up now and take action
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