Zoning board delays decision in Woodmere case

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

The Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) postponed its decision in the case of Woodmere Art Museum and its neighbors at a special hearing last Wednesday.

The board granted a 10-day continuance at the request of legal counsel for the North Chestnut Hill Neighbors, a group of about 20 nearby households who oppose the museum's proposed expansion plans.

Lawyer David Fineman told the board he wanted more time to consult with the group's president, who was absent due to a death in the family.

With the record open, neighbors may submit further written testimony.

It was the fifth time since last October that Woodmere's embattled expansion plans have come before the board.

The neighbors are fighting Woodmere's proposed project, which involves adding a modern-style wing designed by renowned architect Robert Venturi. In past hearings, they have taken issue with the institution's parking and landscaping plans, deeming them inadequate to deal with the size of the structure and the attendance they feel it would bring.

The addition requires a use variance because of the museum's residential zoning status.

Woodmere has argued the expansion is necessary to accommodate its archives, its art and its staff. Space limitations have prevented the museum from displaying its full permanent collection. Art classes and lectures are held in the public gallery, precluding visitors from viewing paintings.

Lawyers for both sides have been resolute in building an extensive record with the testimony of expert witnesses, a situation that has rankled ZBA chairman David Auspitz. Having issued several warnings in past hearings to limit legal wrangling, Auspitz lashed out at Fineman last week.

The tirade came as an architecture expert for the neighbors, Alexander Messinger, distributed a map showing the impact of car headlights on various homes. "Let's get to it," said Auspitz, frustrated by what he called a "fumbling, bumbling" presentation.

Later, Fineman said: "I have no intention of using my time or anyone else's time in a spurious manner."

Messinger, the architecture expert, said the impact of car headlights on neighbors' homes would be "severe." Woodmere's plan raises the parking lot about three feet above ground, he said, allowing light beams to penetrate some neighbors' windows at high magnitudes.

When it was revealed that the expert's testimony was based on an outdated landscaping plan, Auspitz sought a compromise. Asked by the ZBA chairman if Woodmere would "go for" plantings that would block headlights, Peter Kelsen, the museum's lawyer, offered the idea as a proviso for the zoning variance. Fineman declined that offer.

"It doesn't matter what's in the plan," Auspitz said. "We're looking to see if one side has a problem the other side is going to cure."

Still, Fineman pressed the landscaping issue. Under Woodmere's plan, newly planted trees could cause the collapse of the property's retaining wall, Messinger said.

Holding a pile of photos and diagrams submitted by the neighbors, Auspitz told Fineman the board was unconvinced of a hardship.

"I've been asking since the beginning of these hearings if somebody could please give us the issues the neighbors are concerned about," Auspitz said. "We've been asking nicely, hoping that maybe something would surface."

"We're missing something about the great tragedy here," Auspitz added.

Submitting a photo collage of homes and institutions located on Germantown Avenue above Rex Avenue, Messinger said the Venturi-designed addition would be at odds with the residential character of the neighborhood. Also, he argued mechanical equipment would be visible to some neighbors during construction.

Under questioning from Kelsen, the museum's attorney, Messinger said about 20 of the 82 proposed parking spaces would affect neighboring homes. Kelsen also questioned the expert's credentials. A professor of architecture at Philadelphia University, Messinger said he was not a certified landscape architect.

In his assessment of Woodmere's landscaping plan, Messinger suggested excavating bedrock, a procedure that Kelsen said could worsen storm water management for neighbors.

Noise generated by mechanical equipment would register about 44 decibels at the closest neighboring home, Kelsen said, a level the Federal Highway Administration places below that of a library. "The net impact of the mechanical equipment will be negligible, if perceptible, to the area," he said.