Certain types of historic buildings, such as churches, theaters and gymnasiums, are often not zoned to allow residential or commercial adaptive reuse. The bill would allow redevelopment by-right for uses allowable in residential or neighborhood commercial mixed-use districts.

The bill also eliminates parking requirements for redevelopment of historic buildings. It also reduces parking requirements by 50% if a historic building is being expanded.

The legislation would also make ADUs a by-right use in a historic building. This offers the owner the opportunity to gain additional resources to maintain and preserve the resource, city officials note.

“I am pleased to have served on the Historic Preservation Task Force and offer legislation to address the obstacles faced when trying to renovate and re-purpose historical properties,” Councilmember Squilla says. “These bills preserve Philadelphia's historic architecture by allowing thoughtful renovations that will keep the buildings in use for generations to come.”

Since the Historic Preservation Task Force report was issued, the administration has begun negotiations with a vendor to customize software to support a survey of historic properties; appointed a historic preservationist to the Civic Design Review Committee and convened a policy team to review historic preservation issues that cut across multiple departments.