RCO Community Toolkit
What is an RCO?
Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) are community groups that are concerned with the physical development of their community. RCOs:
Get advance notice of projects that will be reviewed by the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Civic Design Review Committee.
Organize and conduct public meetings where community members can comment on planned developments in their neighborhood.
Get notified by the Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) whenever a:
- Zoning variance or special exception is requested.
- Development requiring Civic Design Review (CDR) is proposed.
RCO Building and Zoning Appeal Process
Click on the image below to explore the appeal process:
Community Toolkit
Your quick-link resource to additional property information and policy
Resources
Philadelphia Department of Planning and Development YouTube Channel
Property Updates
Know what is going on with the potential developments in your neighborhood
Recent RCO Notices
- 6100 Wissahickon Ave
- 13 W Abington Ave
- 216 Durand St
- 616 Westview Ave
- 7109 Ridge Ave
Recent Meeting Results
For meeting results, please refer to the coordinating RCO’s and Zoning boards:
Calendar of RCO Meetings
Join your local RCO for these upcoming meetings:
West Mt Airy Neighbors
First Wednesday, 7pm
Upper Roxoborough Civic Association
Second Wednesday, 6:30pm
Chestnut Hill Community Association
Third Tuesday, 7pm
Central Roxborough Civic Association
First Thursday, 7:30pm
Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association
Second Wednesday, 7pm
FOW’s RCO work
In service to our mission, we monitor property and land development issues throughout the lower Wissahickon watershed in Philadelphia, an area roughly bounded by Northwestern Avenue to the north, Ridge Avenue to the west, Germantown Avenue to the east, and Schoolhouse Lane to the south.
FOW’s established positions on development issues within the boundaries of the Wissahickon watershed are:
Watershed Protection
FOW uses (but not limited to) the Wissahickon Watershed Overlay [Philadelphia City Code §14-510, Wissahickon Watershed Overlay District] and the steep slopes protections [Philadelphia City Code § 14-704(Philadelphia Code Open Spaces and Natural Resources)] to review variance requests to ensure clean drinking water, and usable recreational lands. Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) supports enforcement of both general and specific land use ordinances that prioritize the health and safety of our community and waterways, and requires demonstration of best management practices.
Community Conservation
FOW believes if the local community should collectively decide through the existing civic process (impacted neighbors and associated RCOs) to allow land development in the watershed in a way that is wholly or in part non-compliant with either the Wissahickon Watershed Overlay or steep slopes ordinances, FOW believes that the community should be provided perpetually conserved land in the watershed. This conserved land should offset the impacts of development encroachment into protected areas and steep slopes.
Viewshed Preservation
FOW supports the preservation of the aesthetic aspects of our parkland, and the natural viewscapes they create for our community.
FOW Staff Involvement
Sara Stevenson, Executive Director
Ashley Velez, Executive Operations Manager
Become a Member
Consider becoming an FOW member to support this and ongoing work in the Wissahickon
Lead support for this community toolkit is provided by the William Penn Foundation