ZBA Announces Resumption of Hearings: Zoning Board to Hear Cases Starting July 14 and 15

PHILADELPHIA – The Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) announced today it will resume hearing cases on July 14 and 15. ZBA will hold the hearings online. Following these meetings, ZBA will hold meetings online twice a week through July to hear rescheduled cases. Staff will continue to work remotely to schedule cases and process new applications.

ZBA began postponing hearings in March when the City shut down due to COVID-19. Since then it has postponed approximately 520 cases.

The July 14 and 15 hearings are those that were first postponed and that are ready to be heard. Each has completed all notification and public meeting processes. ZBA will continue the hearings previously scheduled on July 15 to a future date.

“ZBA was an especially complicated meeting to move online,” said Anne Fadullon, Director of Planning and Development with the City of Philadelphia. “Its process includes legal requirements affecting participant standing that other boards and commissions do not have. As with all our meetings we want to ensure equitable opportunity for participation. I want to thank Chair DiCicco, the board members and especially the ZBA staff for their tireless work to get these meetings up and running.”

ZBA will hold the hearings on Zoom, which are accessible on a computer, tablet, smart phone, or telephone. ZBA will publish a link to the meeting and a meeting phone number on its website five days before the meeting. Members of the public can use that link or phone number to participate in the meeting.

ZBA expects applicants, attorneys, and witnesses to appear on camera. ZBA encourages members of the public to appear on camera but they may participate by phone.

Zoom will prompt attendees to fill out a Notice of Appearance form as they enter the meeting. Staff will instruct those attending by phone how to fill out a Notice over the phone. The Notice of Appearance form preserves the right to participate in the case in the future.

Moving forward, ZBA will prioritize cases that do not require public notification, that have met their Registered Community Organization (RCO) notification and meeting requirements, and/or that have paid for an expedited appeal. The Board encourages applicants with rescheduled hearings to mail a hearing notice to those that were previously noticed, including the RCOs and City Council office.

Staff will email notifications for rescheduled hearings to coordinating RCOs and affected RCOs.

In June, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission resumed issuing RCO notifications. Those notifications inform the coordinating RCO that it has 45 days to host a community meeting to review an appeal before ZBA (or a development before the Civic Design Review Committee).

The Planning Commission encourages applicants to work with RCOs to support hosting virtual or remote meetings. It also encourages applicants to make plans and renderings available to the public before the RCO meeting.

Planning Commission staff and staff at district Council offices have been working with RCOs to plan for virtual and remote meetings.

Anyone with questions can email RCOZBA@phila.gov or leave a voicemail at (215) 686-2429.

ZBA Hearings Scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, 2020

10:00 AM Hearings

2:00 PM Hearings

 ZBA Hearings Scheduled for Wednesday, July 15, 2020

10:00 AM Hearings

2:00 PM Hearings

3:30 PM Hearings