Nutter Vetoes Controversial Wall Wrap Bill

By Kellie Patrick Gates
For PlanPhilly

Mayor Michael Nutter has vetoed a controversial zoning bill that allowed large wall wrap advertising on buildings between Spring Garden, Willow, 6th and 7th streets.

The bill, recently approved by city council and introduced by outgoing First District Councilman Frank DiCicco, would have allowed such a sign to be hung on The Electric Factory.

DiCicco did not call for a vote to override the veto. After the council session, he said the vote would have been close, and he also did not want to pressure any council colleagues who don't like the idea to go along because it was his last council session. "I didn't feel it was appropriate," he said.

Nutter vetoes are called for

By Doron Taussig
Daily News

An IOM editorial in the Daily News:

TOMORROW, City Council is expected to make history by voting to approve a new simplified zoning code. The code hasn't been updated for 50 years, so this is a momentus day that could put the city on track for more coherent and streamlined dealings over what gets built and where.

It's been a long and winding road, but Council has shown a commitment to do the right thing.

So why did it take two steps back by approving a spot-zoning change that is not only inadvisable, but, according to the City Solictor's Office, illegal?

The bill, sponsored by Frank DiCicco, would allow a building on 7th Street near Callowhill to be wrapped with a giant ad. Right before the vote, City Solicitor Shelley Smith wrote a six-page letter detailing legal issues with the bill, and said that allowing the ad could jeopardize Federal Highway Administration funding.

By Sabrine Tribié

PlanPhilly

SCRUB, the Public Voice for Public Space recently released a ground breaking study entitled "Beyond Aesthetics: How Billboards Affect Economic Prosperity". The paper was written by urban planner Jonathan Snyder with the support of a grant from the Samuel S. Fels Fund. Snyder received a Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 2011 with a concentration in Community and Economic Development.

Snyder's research focused on whether economic prosperity is best served by strict sign control laws. He combined US Census, local home price and zoning code data with geographic information system (GIS) and statistical analysis tools in order to address three key questions: What impact do billboards have on real estate prices in the City of Philadelphia? What impact do billboards have on home value within census tracts in the City of Philadelphia? What impact do billboard regulations have on median income, poverty rates and vacancy rates in different cities in the United States? No other known studies examine how billboards affect their surrounding area, or explore the relationship between billboard controls and the economic condition of U.S. cities.