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To the Editor:
Congratulations to Mayor Street on his recent veto of Bill 629. It was a
nefarious piece of insider legislation which easily trumped some of the more
evil aspects of Newt Gingritch's late, failed Contract on America. Bill 629
was trash designed to further trash our already too Balkanized, too ugly city,
all in the name of pigs whose greed apparently knows no bounds. My prayer now
is that the good people of Philadelphia will start voting jerks like Frank
DiCicco and other like minded politicians out of office. You know the kind:
Those that live in the ever present now, bring a giant ego and little else to
their job, and can't see past the Avenue that serves as the border of their
district. Philadelphia and the entire metropolitan area deserve better.

To the Editor:

I wanted to take a minute and respond to the situation regarding Bill 629. As
an industry insider, it is clear that this piece of legislation is intended to
ease the way of developers and billboard builders.

In many cases, outdoor companies come into neighborhoods, build signs and
donate money back to the community. If a community is interested in the
benefit of the funds from a billboard, or other outdoor signage, and if the
community is OK with having a 14'x48 sign in their backyards, then more power
to them.

On the other hand, small communities that do not want billboards in their
neighborhood will probably not have the resources to fight development.
Agencies like SCRUB (who may be overzealous in their efforts against outdoor
advertising)are in a position to help underfunded groups of local residents
opposed to billboards by their homes. It seems that under this proposed
legislation, individuals and community organizations will have their rights
limited in that they will not be able to find support for their causes.

From a business perspective, this is a good bill: it will open up
opportunities where there was previous resistence. If I lived in a
Philadelphia neighborhood, however, I would be opposed to this bill

To the Editor:

Councilman Frank DiCicco believes that outsiders shouldn't make
"critical zoning and development decisions" for a neighborhood. I
couldn't agree more. Unfortunately, DiCicco's Bill 629 would give
outsiders more power, not less, when it comes to our neighborhoods.

Suppose I am a billboard company that wants to capture all those
eyeballs driving over the Ben Franklin Bridge. Currently it is
against the law to erect a billboard within 660 ft. of the bridge.
But billboards bring in big money, $30-$50,000 per month.

What to do? My first step as a company is to contribute generously to
local politicians, first and foremost the Mayor, but also City
Council. Should L&I have the gall to turn down my permit application,
a few phone calls are made and presto: the ZBA grants a variance for
my bridge billboard!

That's why city wide community groups such as SCRUB are so important.
They take the ZBA to court when it grants an illegal variance such as
for my bridge sign. And judges, it turns out, actually care what the
law says. They won't turn a blind eye to an illegal variance no
matter how much money Corporation X has given to local politicians.

SCRUB took the billboard companies to court and won decision after
decision. Did the companies take the hint and start playing by the
rules? Fat chance. Why obey the law, when you can change it? The
result is Frank DiCicco wakes up one morning and informs us that our
zoning code, which has been on the books for 40+ years, is fatally
flawed.

DiCicco says he isn't taking away anybody's rights because we will
still be able to participate in zoning hearings. You just won't be
able to appeal. Translation: "you can complain all you want, but only
developers and corporations will have access to the courts."

Philadelphians deserve better. Councilman DiCicco should withdraw
Bill 629.

--

Ed Goppelt, webmaster@hallwatch.org

To The Editor:

At a time of national grief and despair, our leaders are urging us to get
back to normal, to prove to our enemies that the American way cannot be
extinguished by those who have no appreciation for the rights that we hold
dear. So Philadelphia and her leaders are carrying on, focused on the issues
that confront us. It is in this context--and only in this context--that
Councilman Frank DiCicco's 9-22 Inquirer letter is so comforting. For, in
Philadelphia, it is business as usual as some members of City Council
continue to rally around those who contribute to them at the expense of those
represented by them, at issue: billboard companies have the right to put
their billboards wherever they please; council members have the right to take
contributions from businesses and individuals that do not call Philadelphia
home; and the citizens of Phila have the right to be thoroughly confused by
the doublespeak of our leaders.

Councilman DiCicco asserts that by limiting the voices of concerned
Philadelphians, we will triumph over outsiders who seek to shape our
communities. In reality, Bill 629 will simply restrict the ability of our
citizens to speak out; while placing no restriction on outside developers and
other businesses. His comment that "outside developers, billboard companies,
vendors and others, who don't reside in Philadelphia, don't raise their
children here, and don't have a direct stake in our neighborhoods should not
decide how our neighborhoods and communities grow", reads good; but he
apparently has an odd view and little faith in Court procedures and decisions.

In the seven months of debate over Bill 629, the Councilman cites his only
example of the horrific fact that average Philadelphians can band together
throughout the City to voice opposition to an issue, is that the organization
SCRUB has been successful in holding back placement of billboards throughout
Philadelphia in areas where they did not belong in the first place.

According to www.hallwatch.org review of the Councilman's Financial Campaign
Report, 48 percent of contributions to his campaign came from "businesses,
developers, billboard companies or others" who do NOT live in Philadelphia.
Since the developers and other business interests in a specific action before
the ZBA will not be excluded from testifying and presenting their plans,just
who will be excluded? The answer is clear; motivated citizens who care about
more than the block they live on, the very kind of people we should be
celebrating, not eliminating from the process. We are sure that the
Councilman will stand on the Bill of Rights to defend his right to accept
funds from those who can never cast a vote for him. We, on the other hand,
will stand on our hard-won and hard-defended First Amendment right to speak
out.

Lastly, Councilman cites that passage of Bill 629 would bring Philadelphia
back in line with the rest of Pennsylvania. To accomplish this task, it is
recommended that the Councilman direct his energies to lowering the Phila
Wage Tax, elimination of the bar tax, and the extra one percent sales tax
that only Philadelphians pay, shore up a defunct school system, etc. To
resolve just one of these issues will help all who reside WITHIN Philadelphia.

Just a thought.

Bernice Sikora
President
Greater Bustleton Civic League

To the Editor:
In our own and surrounding neighborhoods, we feel proud of the improvements made
in Philadelphia in the last decade; many of us have lived here for over 30
years. A number of these improvements are due to the vigor and dedication of our
Community Organizations, which play a great role in improving the quality of
life. Therefore I was very deeply troubled by the enormous pressure put to pass
a bill that would severely restrict the ability of these Community Organizations
to protest an ugly or defacing huge billboard, or industrial traffic through
their nieghborhood from a nearby area, or a zoning change which would affect an
entire neighborhood or other such power plays. I see no reasons to take this
action (Bill 629) because of the occasional individual who is unreasonable;
there are other measures that could be taken which would not threaten our
ability to work constructively for the betterment of the area in which we live.
I urge you to come out publicly against Bill 629 and to demand better
resolutions from our elected officials.

The short sightedness of Bill 629 is likely to
backfire in the faces of those presently
promoting it. The effect of its enactment will
be disenfranchisement of groups and
individuals who may not live within spitting
distance of affected sites, but who work, live,
and play there, often paying taxes for that
privilege or making donations and
investments to sustain such areas. Bill 629
will take away the voice of those who use
public places such as our city’s parks, as well
as the civic, environmental, and cultural
organizations that work hard to protect those
natural and/or historic areas. It will take away
the voice of those who “merely” work in areas
subject to this proposed ordinance, as though
their quality of life were irrelevant. Without a
voice to protect what we love about
Philadelphia, why would the public continue to
support what will undoubtedly become a long
list of losing causes?

Because I live two blocks beyond City Avenue
into Montgomery County, I suppose I am to be
considered completely without standing in this
fray. Yet I am an active member of Friends of
Philadelphia Parks, Friends of Manayunk
Canal, Schuylkill Environmental Center, and
the Philadelphia Museum of Art, all within the
city limits. I spend as much time both
working and playing on the Philadelphia side
of the county line as I do on my home’s side. I
say that I do have a right to have a voice in any
matter affecting the quality of my experiences
in Philadelphia, and so do all other citizens,
whether they reside within a two-block radius
of a site or two counties away. Bill 629 does
not give a voice to all those affected by
proposed zoning actions. It restricts it to a
small group that generally would be drowned
out by the louder voices of Philadelphia
agencies seeking to have their own way. This
is an observation from direct and recent
experience. Bill 629 will strip those small
groups of any allies who might assist them. It
will not empower them. Bill 629 acts directly
against the interests of those its supporters
state it is intended to protect. This Bill must
be stopped if the democratic process it
professes to protect are indeed to be upheld.

Wendy Lathrop, PLS

Philadelphia residents and organizations should
be pleased to see City Councilman Frank DiCicco
issue a desperate cry for support of Bill 629
(Philadelphia Inquirer, September 22, 2001).
Despite the 1st District Councilman?s spin, there
are many reasons this Bill is not regarded with
favor.

Bill 629 seeks to divide and conquer. Reduce our
numbers and limit our strength.

Mr. DiCicco's bill proposes to amend the process
of appeals in decisions made by the Zoning Board
of Adjustment. It specifically considers a
citizen's "standing" in the Court of Common
Pleas, where appeals of the Zoning Board are
heard. "Standing" simply defines whether a
citizen has the right to appear before the court
and question a decision of the Zoning Board.

Existing law permits any taxpayer in the City of
Philadelphia to question zoning decisions. This
is clearly designed to allow all citizens a voice
in the development of their city.

More and more it has become necessary for
citizens to organize in order to take on wealthy
corporations seeking variances from the Zoning
Board. There is strength in numbers, whether we
are speaking of dollars or citizens.

It seems that one thing this Bill does is
demonstrate a lack of trust in the Zoning Board
and the Court of Common Pleas.

Mr. DiCicco charges ??current law actually allows
any person, business or organization to make
critical zoning and development decisions that
will affect us, even if they don?t even live in
our neighborhood.? That is a lie. The critical
decisions he so passionately seeks to protect are
not made by the people, businesses and
organizations, but by the Zoning Board and Court
of Common Pleas. Rather than attacking the
rights of citizens, he should express his
dissatisfaction to the decision makers.

Concerned Neighbors United is currently embroiled
in a dispute with Acme Markets over the use and
abuse of a 2-acre Buffer Zone in Mount Airy. To
summarize we feel the Buffer Zone is essential to
our neighborhood's well-being and quality of
life, Acme feels it is land to be developed to
enhance the profit bottom line. How this issue
is resolved will be seriously impacted on by the
passage of Bill 629.

To relate this to our local issue, we understand
that the passage of this Bill would reduce our
effective membership from over 600 to only the 24
residents owning property that abuts the land
Acme wants to develop. We feel our
accomplishments thus far -- we compelled Acme to
remove a gas station from their plans -- are due
in large part to the number of supporters we have
rallied.

While the voices of 24 neighbors might go
unheard, the roar of 600 would be very difficult
to ignore.

If Acme were granted the variance they want, CNU
would appeal the decision. We do not have the
financial resources to stay in court while our
individual standing is tested. Acme and others
with deep pockets could hang out there
indefinitely!

The limitations this Bill would impose on
citizens are alarming. Organizations with a
proud history of community support would be
brazenly stripped of their ability to lend
strength to smaller or unorganized
neighborhoods. This Bill, in fact, targets
organizations doing good work that many
Philadelphia residents appreciate.

Before the summer recess, Mr. DiCicco proclaimed
that he would embark on a mission of education.
His objective would be to help Philadelphia
residents and organizations understand the need
for Bill 629. On two separate occasions, CNU
invited the Councilman to favor us with the
wisdom of his bill. His office stated Mr.
DiCicco would welcome the opportunity to meet
with us, yet we have never heard from the
Councilman or his office.

It is difficult to imagine that Mr. DiCicco
harbors a specific disrespect for our community,
but his lack of response suggests either complete
disregard for communities outside of his
immediate financial/political support base or his
personal lack of confidence in the very Bill he
sponsored.

At last count, nearly 100 community organizations
stand in opposition to Bill 629. Is it really
possible they are all so wrong?

Mr. DiCicco?s claim that limiting access to the
appeals process will empower neighborhoods is
absurd. The only thing more absurd is the
Councilman's flagrant disrespect and anger toward
the droves of residents who appear at City
Council each Thursday in specific opposition to
this outrageous Bill.

Mark Hanlon
Concerned Neighbors United
Mount Airy