Proposed I-95 Condemnation Corridor

Zoning bill No. 100553 allows owners of buildings, parking lots, and other existing uses to rebuild anywhere that is within 350 feet of their former location and 200 feet from either side of the expanded highway right of way without going through the usual zoning permitting process.  This legislation stands regardless of the zoning that exist in the area the displaced property owner chooses to relocate to, unless the new site is in a residential district.

The Goal of the bill is to preserve jobs and tax revenue.  The widening of I-95 will result in the condemnation of many properties abutting the Interstate, this would mean the lost of hundreds of jobs and taxes, therefore the bill is proposed to encourage and aid in the continuation of business with minimal dislocation and interruption.  If this bill is adopted, it would create an I-95 Condemnation Corridor that would stretch the entire length of I-95 in the city and also include all arterial streets, collector streets, and ramps within the area.  Its width would be set at 200 feet from both of Penn DOT's rights of way.

The bill basically allows anyone who is condemned by I-95 to relocate within that 400 foot corridor without going through all the normal zoning notions.  The new, relocated use or structure cannot exceed the size, height or square footage of the one it is replacing.  There are a lot of questions the Planning Commission still needs to address such as the distance of the billboards, industrial, and parking structure in relation to existing and displaced residential properties and how the relocation will effect existing communities that will consume the displaced tenants.