PHILADELPHIA ZBA and L&I REVIEW BOARD
RESPONDS TO COVID-19 SITUATION BY EXTENDING APPEAL DEADLINES
AND ADVISORY ABOUT REGISTERED COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
The City of Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment and Licenses and Inspections Review Board have announced that deadlines to file appeals falling between March 13, 2020 and March 31, 2020 shall be SUSPENDED.
This includes:
All appeals to the Philadelphia Zoning Hearing Board of Adjustment from:
- any L&I Refusal
- any L&I Referral; and
- any appeal from any action of L&I.
And, except on an emergency basis,
all appeals to the Philadelphia Licenses and Inspections Review Board.
In all cases, the time for filing appeals has been extended for two weeks from the original deadline for filing during the suspension period (March 13 and March 31, 2020),
i.e., March 13 appeals will be due on March 27.
The City may further extend the deadline. We will keep you up to date if that should happen.
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The City Planning Commission has informed Registered Community Organizations that they will not be penalized for postponing meetings until March 31 on ZBA and Civic Design Review cases.
RCOs and Developers have been encouraged to work together to arrive at alternative arrangements when public meetings are not possible. Suggested alternatives must meet the RCOs by-laws, and could include: presenting a project online or emailing the project presentation; making a hard copy of a presentation available at the RCO office for review; or posting a video of the presentation.
The City has noted that the ZBA may continue to hear cases even when a community meeting has not occurred. RCOs have been advised to keep lines of communication open with the ZBA.
Please stay safe and let us know how we can help.
