Rough seas ahead for waterfront plan

Philadelphia’s Planning Commission is expected to accept the waterfront vision developed by Penn Praxis and the Central Delaware Advisory Group today. But the move makes landowners along the waterfront nervous.

Philadelphia’s Planning Commission is expected to accept the waterfront vision developed by Penn Praxis and the Central Delaware Advisory Group today. But the move makes landowners along the waterfront nervous.

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[audio: 090421sppraxis.mp3]

The Planning Commission says it will use the vision as a “working guideline” for future development along the waterfront. It calls for extending walkable streets to the river, creating 100-foot setbacks and a 24/7 public access trail along the Delaware.

But the vision is not necessarily shared by developers and owners of waterfront land, who are worried about compensation. Michael Sklaroff is a real estate attorney at Ballard Spahr.

Sklaroff: This access way has not to this date been mapped out, it hasnt been priced, both in terms of acquiring the land, the cost of the public infrastructure, the cost of insurance and so forth.

Sklaroff says the property owners have been left out of the planning process.

But the authors of the vision and Planning commissioners say that process is far from over.