August 31, 2006 Issue                                       

©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Opinion

Bulldozed and bamboozled by a bank

This week, Commerce Bank and community leaders have finally (and allegedly) come to an agreement in which both sides will get what they want — the bank gets its bank and the community gets a bank building that will better conform to Germantown Avenue’s architecture than the structure that used to occupy the former Gap property at 8600 Germantown Ave.

The saga appears to be over.

But it’s hard to imagine that community opinion for the bank can possibly begin on a positive note given the way the bank tried to bamboozle the community and apparently the city’s zoning officials at the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

During the bank’s feud with the Chestnut Hill Community Association, Chestnut Hill District, business association, historical society, and nearly every other community organization in the neighborhood, bank officials repeatedly tried to dodge the most important zoning issues in an effort to bulldoze its original plan into place no matter what the neighborhood had to say about it.

Commerce Bank said it was renovating an existing building, which was allowed under the zoning permits it received from the city. The problem was that anyone with eyes could tell you, looking at the demolition performed at the site, that there was virtually nothing left of the building. All that remained were a few feet of wall and a section of the old roof.

The reason the bank tried to elude classification as new construction was simple. If its project were deemed to constitute new construction it would have been forced to scrap its plans to build a one-story suburban-style bank and construct, instead, a two-story structure that would conform to the older architecture that dominates much of Germantown Ave. A 1995 addendum to Philadelphia’s zoning code mandates all new construction conform to the Avenue’s colonial and Victorian stock. The Bank did everything it could to stick to its original plans; a two-story colonial/Victorian building would mute its precious brand and, yes, these days a brand is not limited to typography and logos but includes the shape of the building.

The bank was nearly successful at circumnavigating community opposition and confrontation with community leaders. That it did so should not sit well with neighborhood residents. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the members of the community who met with the bank did so only to exercise power and prolong the process. They were not trying to prevent the bank from coming to Chestnut Hill but only to get it to play by the rules.

The fact that Commerce capitulated a bit and will build something that adheres to zoning law is a victory for the community leaders who stood up to the bank and prevented them from getting around the law. It’s good to know that Chestnut Hill has institutions tough enough to prevent big business from riding roughshod over the neighborhood.

Pete Mazzaccaro
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AbZoolute Chestnut Hill Parking
By Bob Previdi

One of the major goals of the Business Association, the Business Improvement District and the Parking Foundation is to raise public awareness that there is plenty of parking in Chestnut Hill.

Many studies have been done and they all conclude that people’s perception of parking is an issue. So during the “AbZoolutely Chestnut Hill” public art project that begins September 16, animals will be taking over our parking lots in an effort to make the public more aware of the 11 off-street parking lots in Chestnut Hill.

Soon motorists will see signs letting them know where they can find the Pig Lot, the Llama Lot, the Bear Lot and the Camel Lot. This is all being done courtesy of the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation, Jane Piotrowski, (who designed the signs) and Mike Feehan (who helped to make and install them).

It is hoped that this entertaining and dramatic approach will reorient and encourage shoppers to support the Chestnut Hill business district.

Parking has historically been an issue that many communities have struggled with. But for more than 50 years, Chestnut Hill has been at the forefront of innovation. By creating and maintaining parking lots behind the stores, Lloyd Wells and the Parking Foundation helped to maintain the “Main Street,” walkable character of the business district while giving it the competitive edge with suburban malls.

At a recent meeting, a prospective retailer made an offhand comment to me, lamenting that “there has always a parking problem in Chestnut Hill.” I asked him what he meant and posed this question: If you were building a brand new mall in the suburbs that was 400,000 square feet (which is the size of our commercial space), how many spaces would you construct? He replied that for a mall that size he would create 1,600 parking spaces.

The good news is that we have 1,500 spaces, according to the Philadelphia Planning Commission. The problem is that many people don’t know where they all are. That’s why it has become a top priority for us to re-sign the 11 lots so they are easy to find.

I hope residents of Northwest Philadelphia and the adjoining suburbs will find this new, albeit temporary, signage to be a refreshing reminder that you can park in Chestnut Hill and enjoy a short walk to any of our 162 shops and restaurants. We shall gauge the public’s reaction to these signs and see what improvements we can make permanently.

Another message we want to give shoppers is: Don’t be afraid to drop off the car at any of the lots and walk a little. You will walk no farther than if you were at a mall, and — besides — walking is good for you! Isn’t that why you shop in Chestnut Hill in the first place?

Counting our eggs
by Lou Aiello
CHCA Vice President of Operations

The current financial picture at CHCA is not good, but it is very resolvable. As Vice President of Operations, I can state that we have inherited a very surprising bucket of debt. Since May 2006, juggling our cash flow, salaries, and other monthly expenses and miscellaneous bills has been an ordeal. I conclude that we must do the GM/Boeing/Ford/Merck thing, that is, cut costs wherever they exist, divest assets, increase income, and then re-visit and alter investment strategies. We are presently re-establishing communication with the Fund Trustees, and this administration must unquestionably all work very closely together, with unity of purpose.

I believe that we have, and have had, a handful of Board members who unfortunately believe in the “autonomous self” as related to financial matters. The community (that is, the CHCA), is not about “me” or “I,” but rather about “us,” and the community’s best interests. The bylaws should never be pitted against the community’s best interests; our charter tells us so.

The crunch point for all officers and Board members should be the community’s welfare and strict attention to our fiduciary responsibility, even if it offends the modern autonomous self.

We have halfway zipped closed our checking accounts for the short-term.

We plan major financial corrections, which everyone will be made aware of, and we will use due process as we proceed.

Again, it is not a rosy picture, but with diligent effort the problem shall be resolved, and our financial picture will improve substantially this year as well. We are now forced to be micro-economists because we have a responsibility to the community, a community, which has always been generous to the Association, and we hope that generosity continues. We must function as the Gnomes of Zurich rather than free-spending spirits, but I am sure we will come through this with flying colors.