Rules committee backs allowing religious assembly in SPCIV zoning district

The Philadelphia City Council Committee on Rules voted to report Bill 250333 from committee with a favorable recommendation and to suspend the rules to permit first reading at the next session, advancing an ordinance that would allow religious assembly uses in the SPCIV special-purpose civic, educational and medical zoning district.

City Planning Commission staff described the measure as an effort to correct what they called an inequity in the code. City Planning Commission staff member David (last name unclear), senior legislative planner with the commission's legislative team, told the committee that the bill "will add religious assembly as an allowed use in the SPCIV" and that prohibiting religious uses there "creates an inequitable situation compared with other civic uses such as schools, libraries, museums, and hospitals." He said the commission considered the bill at its public meeting on April 17, 2025, and recommended approval.

The commission staff cited a local example in which the zoning prevented an expansion for the Al Aqsa Islamic Society on the 1500 block of Germantown Avenue, which the planner said would have fit the SPCIV district's intent for civic and educational uses. "We had a case where... a mosque called the Al Aqsa Islamic Society... wanted to expand their primary educational school," the planner said, and SPCIV "would have been the perfect zoning district for that," but it did not allow the religious use.

On parking, the planner said the bill carries over existing parking standards used elsewhere for religious assembly: "1 parking space for every 10 seats or 1 parking space for every 1,000 square feet, whichever is greater," and that those requirements would apply where religious assembly is newly allowed in SPCIV. Councilmember O'Neil pressed for a plain-English explanation of the change and asked staff to check whether some zoning districts allow places of worship with lower parking requirements; the planner said he would need to verify that.

Councilmember Cathy Gilmore Richardson moved that the committee report the bill favorably and suspend the rules to permit first reading. The motion was seconded (second not specified on the record) and adopted by voice vote; the chair announced, "The ayes have it and the motion carries." No recorded roll-call tally was provided in the hearing record.

The ordinance as introduced would amend Title 14 of the Philadelphia Code, including section 14-602 (use tables) and the SPCIV designation, to permit religious assembly in SPCIV under the terms and conditions described in the bill. The bill number on the record is 250333; council staff indicated it was introduced into City Council on April 10, 2025. The City Planning Commission recommended approval on April 17, 2025. The committee did not set a date for the first reading during the hearing on the record.

Next steps: with the committee's favorable report and suspension of rules, the bill is slated for first reading at the next session of City Council. The hearing record does not show a final ordinance adoption vote or which councilmember seconded the committee motion.