Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Missing Middle Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council committee reviews proposal to create RTA‑2 two‑family rowhouse zoning district
Summary
Bill 250525 would add an RTA‑2 base zoning district to allow two‑family attached rowhouse typologies by right, with maximums of two dwelling units, three stories and 35 feet, and a minimum lot size of 1,080 square feet; the Planning Commission supports the measure and said district councils must act to map it.
The Rules Committee heard testimony June 5 on bill 250525, a zoning code amendment to create a new RTA‑2 district allowing two‑family attached rowhouse housing by right. Michael Gahl, senior legislative planner with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, told the committee the district was created "to be more reflective of the city's housing stock and parcel dimensions in areas of the city that are not well served by current zoning districts." The new district would limit buildings to two dwelling units, up to three stories and 35 feet in height, and require a minimum lot size of 1,080 square feet.
The Planning Commission said RTA‑2 is intended as a tool for district council offices to map in response to local needs rather than as an automatic citywide remapping. "Since this is not a base zoning designation that would automatically be mapped onto existing areas, further action would need to be taken by individual council offices to map RTA‑2 in their districts as they see appropriate," Gahl said.
Housing advocates and industry groups supported the change. Carrie Rathman of Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia said RTA‑2 "fills a really important gap between single family row homes and multi‑unit apartments," enabling two‑family homes on row‑house size lots and helping preserve affordability. The Urban League's Abraham Reyes Pardo said two‑family rowhouses can increase naturally occurring affordable housing and noted that small multifamily structures remain eligible for FHA mortgages, which can help owner‑occupants qualify.
Representatives of the building industry and the American Institute of Architects also testified in favor of RTA‑2, saying it provides predictable zoning for an existing housing typology and can be mapped where transit access and neighborhood form make sense. No vote was taken; the Planning Commission will consider the ordinance at a public meeting and councilmembers said they would need to introduce local mapping legislation to apply RTA‑2 in their districts.
