Photo:Retail businesses in residential buildings help New Hope, PA thrive with sidewalk traffic making the area attractive to residents and visitors alike.Neighbors Chime In On Zoning
Respondents to a recent City Home News survey like the idea of having small shops and other businesses being opened in residential buildings. From Greenwich Village to Savannah, small shops and offices in residential buildings help to keep a city healthy and vibrant. Good examples here are Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside as well as Craig Street and Atwood Street in Oakland.
Eighty-eight percent of readers responded "yes" to the question of "Many cities have small shops mixed into urban neighborhoods, sometimes with boutiques in old houses. Should this be encouraged/allowed in Pittsburgh?" Just eleven percent responded "no."
Opposition to commercial uses in Pittsburgh partially comes from the idea that an existing commercial business would buy up houses and tear them down for parking if the houses were zoned for commercial uses. There are many examples of this happening. The solution may be to create a new zoning category for small retail businesses that don't occupy more than the typical ground floor square footage of a typical house, say 1,000 SF. They should not allowed to accomodate for parking, with the business relying primarily on foot traffic.
Another possibility could be an ordinance allowing artists who work in their home to hang a shingle and sell their products from their living room. This could apply to the entire city or just specific districts.
Also creating additional historic districts and protecting buildings from demolition could allow for commercial uses, encourage lively neighborhoods and prevent a suburbanization effect when properties are demolished for parking. I agree with the majority of respondents when they say shops should be able to open in residential buildings, because single-use neighborhoods--places where there is primarily or exclusively housing-- is a suburbanizing affect of another sort. Photo: Imagine how Chestnut Street could benefit from small shops and galleries in the homes...
1 comment:
Artisits are the seminal influence in many revitalization success stories. Many historic neighbrhoods were BUILT mixed-use. So an artist selling a few paintings from their living room, with a beautiful approved small sign out front, lets passers by know that this is an area that is happening, or at least is starting to. This in turn inspires more artists and more investment - the beginings of a revitalization success story. There are so many examples areound the country, that it is almost absurd that Eric Miller has to point this out in his
insightful blog. Thanks to Eric for doing so.
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