Local groups, city officials clash on signage plans

Center City may be getting brighter - but not everyone is happy about it.

Some groups in the city anticipate negative effects of Commercial Entertainment District zoning, which lifts some parking constraints and allows for rooftop, revolving, electronic or flashing signs.

The Market Gallery - 300,000 square feet of land between Market and Filbert streets and 9th and 10th streets - was recently zoned as a Commercial Entertainment District. The change was result of Foxwoods' plans to build a casino in the Gallery.

This sparked concern among residents and organizations, who fear the new zoning will allow billboards that compromise the identity of the community.

"We don't want to destroy or hurt our visual assets," said Mary Tracy, executive director of the Society Created to Reduce Urban Blight, a Philadelphia organization that tries to improve quality of life in the city.

Philadelphia government officials claim that allowing certain signage is key to rejuvenating that area, and all proposed signage will come under the review of a design committee.

Tracy, however, says that having a committee determine what constitutes appropriate is not the best method.

"If the Gallery Bar is not allowed to put up a certain sign because the committee wants something more upscale, that's arbitrary," said Tracy.

Philadelphia's Design Advocacy Group also opposes the zoning changes.

Last week, the group sent a letter to City Councilman Frank DiCicco, the author of the zoning legislation, requesting that signage not be allowed in the Commercial Entertainment District.

But despite DAG's opposition to the signage in the area, it would support a casino on Market Street as long as it meets certain conditions.

"We believe that the success of this project will depend on good process and good design," DAG chairwoman Joanne Aitken wrote in an e-mail. "Any site considered for the casino must go through a thoughtful and open vetting process, and the design must be carefully shaped and rigorously reviewed."

Tracy is currently working with DiCicco's office to find a solution both groups can agree on.

"I think we want the same things in terms of this being a benefit and not a blight to this city," she said.

DiCicco spokesman Brian Abernathy also stressed a willingness to work with local groups on the issue.

"We may not agree on everything, but we are going to work through the concerns point by point," he said.

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