/CAO, City Avenue Overlay District.
Philadelphia Code § 14-509
in effect§ 14-509. /CAO, City Avenue Overlay District.
(1) Purpose.
The special land use and zoning controls of the /CAO, City Avenue Overlay district address the following specific purposes:
(a) Support new pedestrian-active and transit-friendly high density commercial, institutional, and residential uses, by requiring pedestrian-oriented access from a public street;
(b) Encourage a mix of commercial, institutional, and residential uses;
(c) Enhance the physical context of the district, for both pedestrians and transit users, by minimizing pedestrian-vehicular conflicts, by limiting the number, width, and location of driveways, and encouraging the renovation and erection of buildings that provide direct connections to the street and sidewalk;
(d) Enhance the visual character and identity of the district through appropriate design standards relating to site layout, building scale and design, landscape design, and signage;
(e) Discourage dependence on automobile use by promoting alternate modes of transportation, thereby reducing traffic congestion;
(f) Encourage the development of shared parking and attractive and convenient off-street parking facilities, to reduce on-street congestion and facilitate vehicular and pedestrian circulation; and
(g) Protect existing residential neighborhoods that abut the district.
(2) Boundaries.
The City Avenue Overlay district applies to all lots within the boundaries shown on the following two maps in § 14-509(2) (Boundaries).
(a) Village Center Area.
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(b) Regional Center Area.
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(3) Regulations.
(a) Occupied Area and Impervious Cover.
(.1) The occupied area shall be limited to eighty percent (80%) of the lot area.
(.2) In the Regional Center, impervious cover shall be limited to eighty percent (80%) of the lot area.
(.3) In the Village Center, impervious cover shall be limited to eighty-five percent (85%) of the lot area.
(b) Front Setback.
The following front setback requirements apply:
(.1) The front setback line shall be situated parallel to the street frontage lot line, within the depth of the lot.
(.2) For a corner lot, the required front setback on each lot frontage that is immediately adjacent to a residential use in a Residential district shall be at least equal in depth to the required front setback on the immediately adjacent residential lot.
(.3) In the Regional Center, buildings fronting City Avenue shall be located a minimum of 25 ft. and a maximum of 40 ft. from the street curb edge. Buildings fronting other streets shall be located a minimum of 20 ft. and a maximum of 30 ft. from the street curb edge.
(.4) In the Village Center, buildings shall be located a minimum of 20 ft. and a maximum of 30 ft. from the street curb edge.
(.5) The primary pedestrian access point shall be located on street frontage.
(.6) Surface parking areas, parking structures, and driveways are prohibited between the building and the front lot line. Driveways giving access to surface parking areas or structures elsewhere on the lot may cross portions of the front setback area on either side of the front facade of the building.
(.7) Unless otherwise required by this section, fencing, hedges, and other continuous barriers are prohibited between the curbline and the front setback line.
(.8) In the Regional Center, the location of the face of the building may be extended up to 20 ft. further from the street curb if the additional area is used as a public gathering space or for outdoor dining.
(c) Side Yards.
There is no required minimum side yard. If a side yard is provided, it must be a minimum width of 10 ft.
(d) Rear Yards.
(.1) Except as provided in § 14-509(3)(d)(.2) below, for a building used for commercial purposes located on a lot that backs up to a commercially zoned lot, a rear yard is not required.
(.2) Residential buildings shall have a minimum rear yard depth of 15 ft., except where residential uses are located above parking or commercial uses, in which case the residential portion of the building shall be setback a minimum 15 ft. from the rear lot line.
(.3) For a building located on a lot that backs up to a residentially zoned lot, a rear yard setback of 15 ft. is required. The lot must also comply with the minimum buffer requirements set forth in § 14-509(3)(i) (Buffer Area) as applicable.
(e) Lot Width.
(.1) There is no minimum lot width.
(.2) Where development is proposed on any existing lot wider than 600 ft., the developer is encouraged to provide a public access vehicular and pedestrian way through the lot such that the lot frontage between each street and the public access way does not exceed 600 ft. 501
(f) Floor Area Ratio.
(.1) Basic Floor Area Ratio.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 14-701 (Dimensional Standards) applicable to the base zoning district, the maximum floor area ratio of a building in the /CAO overlay district shall not exceed:
(.a) Three hundred seventy-five percent (375%) of the lot area for a building that contains a residential use and a retail sales, office, or commercial services use, provided that the retail sales, office, or commercial services use occupies a minimum seventy-five percent (75%) of the ground floor area of the building; or
(.b) Three hundred fifty percent (350%) of the lot area for all other buildings.
(.2) Additional Floor Area Ratio.
(.a) An additional gross floor area of up to fifty percent (50%) of the lot area may be earned for the provision of public open space that meets the criteria described in § 14-702(6)(a) (Criteria for Open Space, Public Parks, and Public Plazas).
(.b) An additional gross floor area of up to fifty percent (50%) of the lot area may be earned for the provision of underground parking and loading that meets the criteria described in § 14-702(9)(a) (Criteria).
(g) Building Height.
(.1) The minimum height of any building shall be 25 ft. above grade.
(.2) Except as provided in § 14-509(3)(g)(.2)(.d) below, the maximum height of any building in the Regional Center shall be as follows:
(.a) The maximum height of any building not within the area identified on the Maximum Height Map shall be 120 ft.
(.b) The maximum height of any building within the area identified on the Maximum Height Map shall be 300 ft.
(.c) The maximum height of any building in the Village Center shall be 65 ft., as measured from the average grade of the parcel, except as provided in § 14-509(3)(g)(.2)(.d) below.
(.d) A penthouse for elevators, stairways, or mechanical equipment shall not be included in measuring the height of a building containing both commercial and either residential or hotel uses if the enclosed area occupies less than fifty percent (50%) of the floor area of the story below and is set back a minimum of 20 ft. from the exterior walls of the building.
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(h) Building Bulk and Spacing.
(.1) Buildings that incorporate portions of varying height are encouraged.
(.2) For buildings 45 ft. or less in height, the maximum diagonal dimension of the building footprint shall be 420 ft. The minimum spacing between the building and another building that is 45 ft. or less in height shall be 30 ft.
(.3) For buildings over 45 ft. and up to 65 ft. in height, the maximum diagonal dimension of the building footprint shall be 375 ft. The spacing between the building and another building that is 65 ft. in height or less shall be no less than the height of the lower building, but in no case less than 30 ft.
(.4) For buildings over 65 ft. and up to 120 ft. in height, the maximum diagonal dimension of the building footprint shall be 320 ft. The spacing between the building and another building that is 120 ft. in height or less shall be no less than the height of the lower building, but in no case less than 60 ft.
(.5) For buildings over 120 ft. and up to 200 ft. in height, the maximum diagonal dimension of the building footprint shall be 250 ft. The spacing between the building and another building that is 200 ft. in height or less shall be no less than the height of the lower building, but in no case less than 60 ft.
(.6) For buildings over 200 ft. and up to 300 ft. in height, the maximum diagonal dimension of the building footprint shall be 210 ft. The maximum gross floor area shall be no greater than 15,000 sq. ft. The spacing between the building and another building that is 200 ft. in height or less shall be 200 ft. Minimum spacing between the building and another building that is greater than 200 ft. shall be no less than the height of the lower building, but in no case less than 60 ft.
(.7) For an "L"-shaped building, the diagonal dimension shall be measured between the two points of the "L" furthest from one another.
(.8) Minimum spacing between buildings requirements shall not apply when the two adjacent buildings are any of the following: college or university uses or in SP-INS districts.
(i) Buffer Area.
(.1) Where a development is adjacent to a residential use in a residential zoning district, there shall be a buffer area between the development and the residential use. The minimum depth of the buffer, measured between the building and the lot line, shall be as follows:
(.a) In the Regional Center, 20 ft.
(.b) In the Village Center, 10 ft.
(.2) The buffer area shall be planted with trees and shrubs.
(.3) There may not be more than one combined vehicular entrance and vehicular exit through the buffer area to any street, except for corner lots which may have one combined entrance and exit on each street.
(j) Required Amount of Parking.
Parking for new and altered structures within the City Avenue Overlay district shall be calculated by using the values noted below.
Land Use | Minimum Required Parking | Maximum Allowed Parking
Theater | 0 | 1 / 5 seats
Hotel | 1 / 2 rooms | 1 / 1 room
Residential | 1 / unit | N/A
All Other Permitted Uses | 0 | 4 / 1,000 sq. ft. of net leasable area
(k) On-Site Parking Standards.
(.1) Surface parking and loading shall not extend more than 60 ft. in width along any street frontage.
(.2) Only one curb cut/driveway is permitted on each street frontage of each lot. Maximum curb cut/driveway width is 24 ft. Where a lot has frontage on two streets, principal access shall not be from City Avenue.
(.3) Surface parking lots and exterior loading areas shall be placed between the structure and a rear lot line, but not located in the buffer zone. On a corner lot, if the Commission determines that it would be impractical to place surface parking or exterior loading behind the buildings, the Commission may authorize placement elsewhere, but not on City Avenue.
(.4) Where a parking garage is constructed on a lot adjacent to City Avenue and there is no primary structure between that parking garage and the City Avenue frontage, the full height of the parking garage facade facing City Avenue shall be occupied by uses in the residential, office, retail sales, commercial services or public, civic, or institutional use categories.
(l) Drive-Throughs.
(.1) In the Regional Center, drive-throughs for commercial uses shall be prohibited.
(.2) In the Village Center, drive-throughs for commercial uses shall be prohibited, except where the drive-through is located at the rear of the building, and ingress/egress to the lot is limited to one curb cut.
(m) Off-Site Parking.
Off-site parking as an accessory use is permitted in the City Avenue Overlay district subject to the regulations set forth below.
(.1) When land uses on adjacent lots within the district create shared parking areas with circulation paths and access points that are under common ownership or controlled by a reciprocal easement agreement, the collective parking requirements for development on those properties may comply with the required parking values listed in § 14-509(3)(j) (Required Amount of Parking). Documentation confirming the ownership and/or management arrangement shall be submitted to L&I at the time of zoning application. The documentation must demonstrate a commitment for the use of the off-site shared parking and the zoning permit or other City approval may be limited to the duration of that commitment.
(.2) Required parking may be provided off-site, provided:
(.a) Off-site parking must be within 1,000 ft. of the development using a sidewalk or other public pedestrian way continually accessible to the public, measured from lot line to lot line;
(.b) Both the development and the parking facility comply with the design standards within this section;
(.c) An easement agreement or other documentation that the private parking facility owner agrees to make the spaces available to the proposed off-site development shall be submitted to L&I with the zoning application. The off-site parking spaces may not be designated as required parking for some other use. The documentation must demonstrate a commitment for the use of the off-site shared parking; and
(.d) The off-site parking must be otherwise permitted as a principal use by this Code on the lot where it is located.
(n) Auto-Share Parking Spaces. 502
Auto-share parking spaces shall be provided for all developments containing over 100 residential units or 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space at the rate of at least one auto-share space per 100 units or one auto-share space per 100,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Such auto-share space may be counted toward meeting total parking requirements under § 14-509(3)(j) (Required Amount of Parking). For every auto-share space provided for a residential or hotel use, the total required parking under § 14-509(3)(j) (Required Amount of Parking) may be reduced by four spaces, up to forty percent (40%) of the total required spaces.
(o) Loading.
Areas used for loading or trash collection purposes shall either be:
(.1) located indoors; or
(.2) located no closer than 50 ft. from any residential zoning district and located outside of the buffer zone, provided that the area shall be screened from public view.
(p) Awnings.
These standards apply to awnings.
(.1) Length: Awnings shall not exceed 20 ft. in horizontal length and be centered within architectural elements, such as doors or columns.
(.2) Projection: Awnings shall not project more than three to six ft. into the public right-of-way. All awnings must be a minimum of three ft. from the curb line.
(.3) Mounting Height: The bottom of awnings shall be at least eight ft. above grade or sidewalk.
(.4) Design. On multi-tenant facades, awning heights, projections, and style of awning shall be similar.
(q) Signs. 503
(.1) Accessory wall and projecting signs shall be limited to one sign per tenant and be of the following maximum size along each building frontage:
(.a) Wall sign: 65 sq. ft. The total area of all wall signs per building on any property within the District may not exceed the limits established for CMX-2 and CMX-2.5 zones delineated in Table 14-904-1.
(.b) Projecting sign: 25 sq. ft.
(.2) Accessory Freestanding signs shall be limited to one sign of a maximum size of 50 sq. ft. along each building frontage.
(r) Development Design Standards. 504
No building permit shall be issued unless the site layouts and landscape plans have been reviewed and approved by the Commission for conformance with the development design standards set forth in this § 14-509(3)(r) (Development Design Standards). The Commission may grant exemptions from a strict interpretation of the design standards, where the Commission finds that conformance with the design standards is impractical. The Commission shall have 60 days to approve or disapprove the application, after which its approval shall be presumed. The Commission shall not issue any approval under this subsection unless the Art Commission has first issued any approvals required under applicable law.
(.1) Applicability.
All new, expanded and rehabilitated buildings (where such expansion or rehabilitation is equal to or exceeds fifty percent (50%) of the existing area of the building) shall comply with the design standards.
(.2) Public Walkways.
Public walkways shall have a minimum width of 14 ft. and may be provided both within the street right-of-way and within the lot line.
(.3) Street Trees.
All development in the /CAO overlay district shall satisfy the street tree requirements of § 14-705(2) (Street Tree Requirements), if applicable.
(.4) Utilities.
For all new developments, electric, cable, and telephone service connections from the main utility line shall be installed underground, from the nearest existing utility pole, unless the Commission determines that underground service would be impractical.
Notes
501 | Amended, Bill No. 120774-A (approved January 14, 2013).
502 | Amended, Bill No. 120774-A (approved January 14, 2013).
503 | Amended, Bill No. 120430-A (approved January 14, 2013); amended, Bill No. 130879 (approved November 12, 2014).
504 | Amended, Bill No. 120774-A (approved January 14, 2013).
Source: City of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Code and Home Rule Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-291088Fetched: 10/27/2026