Cedar Point Park Neighborhood Association - An RCO?

[annie]

City of Philadelphia: Registered Community Organization Map

Cedar Point Park Neighborhood Association is a Registered Community Organization for zoning purposes? Really? It has a functioning board and everything?

We're never going to get an ice cream shop in that building, are we?

[seand]

No to board.

Notice its both the smallest physcial RCO I can find on the map and its entirely contained by other neighborhood community associations.

If I were Nick Lai I'd have sued them already. How many years has that property been vacant?
They basically exist as an organization to deny him, very specifically, rental income.

[annie]

But then how did this get approved? I hope the RCO approval is provisional or something.

http://philaplanning.org/pubinfo/RCOsignup.pdf

Attach the following items to your application:

• Mission Statement
• Written rules such as by-laws (for Issue-Based RCOs, incorporation documents are required)
• Names of Board members, Executive Committee members, or other leadership
• Recent Meeting Announcement (within the last 6 months)
• Recent Meeting Agenda (within the last 6 months)

[seand]

I mean an RCO of one household whose beat is so small that its only real activity is to shut down zoning for their next door neighbor's commercial property begs all kinds of constitutional issues.

[annie]

I wonder if their domain extends to the other side of Baltimore as they did shut out that tattoo parlor by that artist. Can't have that!

[seand]

I wonder if their domain extends to the other side of Baltimore as they did shut out that tattoo parlor by that artist. Can't have that!

They organized the opposition but I believe were opposed as neighbors, not as Cedar Point Park Association, not that there is big difference.

[seand]

Perhaps they should change their name to "Two Neighbors Opposed to a Business Next Door" or TNOBND.

[annie]

They organized the opposition but I believe were opposed as neighbors, not as Cedar Point Park Association, not that there is big difference.

I'm pretty sure they floated a petition against and presented it as Cedar Point Park Association opposing it and neighbors signed thinking they were CPN. Something classy like that.

[seand]

The good news is would-have-been tatoo parlor is now across the street from their new 1 block by 1/2 block boundaries, all of which is incorporated into 3 different other RCO's.

[seand]

One of them has some connection to city government, right? Thats the source of their pull with Jannie, as I recall.

[annie]

http://legislation.phila.gov/attachments/10528.pdf

[the_wza]

hahaha, the contact lists an e-mail address @hotmail.com. i take that to mean they don't have much of a web presence, outside of already not having much of any other presence.

[ArcticSplash]

http://legislation.phila.gov/attachments/10528.pdf

Wait... this one-woman RCO also landed herself an appointment? Niiiiice.

The 3rd District... it's like Manuel Noriega runs the place.

[TLP]

I thought there were supposed to be both minimum and maximum sizes for RCOs? Between this one and the fact that Center City District is registered as an RCO for everything from Girard to Tasker, I'm starting to wonder.

EDIT: Not to mention, there are a few political ward committees registered as RCOs. Seems to run against the spirit of having RCOs.

[annie]

Wait... this one-woman RCO also landed herself an appointment? Niiiiice.

Per Google, there's maybe three women, two of whom own 4614 Cedar. In addition to stopping any viable commercial use of 4612 Cedar, they've historically had issues with the owner of 4618 and his dental practice of which they haven't been quite as successful. The fence surrounding their namesake Cedar Point Park was damaged by a falling tree in that freak windstorm a couple years back and rather than replace it they've propped up the mangled thing.

But they got themselves a mention in American City...wonder how that happened.

A New Zoning Code for a Different Philadelphia – Next American City

The intersection of 46th Street and Baltimore Avenue, in West Philadelphia, has no fewer than five RCOs — one of which, the Cedar Point Park Neighborhood Association, only encompasses 1.5 square blocks. (The code imposes five-block minimums on service areas, however this group appears to have been grandfathered in.)

ETA: However, the link on the article goes to CPN's website when it obviously shouldn't.

[thoth]

Per Google, there's maybe three women, two of whom own 4614 Cedar. In addition to stopping any viable commercial use of 4612 Cedar, they've historically had issues with the owner of 4618 and his dental practice of which they haven't been quite as successful. The fence surrounding their namesake Cedar Point Park was damaged by a falling tree in that freak windstorm a couple years back and rather than replace it they've propped up the mangled thing.

But they got themselves a mention in American City...wonder how that happened.

A New Zoning Code for a Different Philadelphia – Next American City



ETA: However, the link on the article goes to CPN's website when it obviously shouldn't.

I'll see if Hidden City can do an in depth piece on their RCO, it's just not part of NAC editorial style to focus on hyper-local stuff like these two angry ladies.

[annie]

Yeah, two or three angry people with an RCO radius of less than two blocks is about as hyper-local as it gets.

[schmoe]

http://philaplanning.org/pubinfo/RCOworkshops.pdf
page 12.