There are New Rules for Registered Community Organizations, Find Out What They Are

Map of RCO boundaries prior to latest amendments. 

Following months of debate in City Council, a bill passed last month will go into effect March 1st that changes the rules surrounding Registered Community Organizations (RCO).

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) is running free “clinics” to help community groups understand what the changes mean.

A RCO is a designation created in the new Philadelphia Zoning Code – in effect since August 2012 – that gives some legal status to community organizations that register with the PCPC. For example, RCOs must be notified when a development is planned within their boundaries. They also have the right to meet with the developer at least once.

The new bill was proposed in light of community feedback that said the rules were inhibiting to developers and increasingly complicated and even exclusionary of less organized groups.

The new rules try to address at least some of these concerns by changing the criteria for becoming an RCO, forcing re-registration every two years, and setting boundaries on the area surrounding a development where individuals residents must be notified.

Organizations must reapply for RCO status under the new rules by March 1st. PCPC is using six criteria to determine eligibility:

1. An adopted statement of purpose for the organization concerning land use, zoning, or related concern, AND
2. A geographic area with no more than 20,000 parcels, AND
3. Boundaries that are set forth in the organization’s governing rules, AND
4. Meetings that are publicly announced through hard copy or electronic notices, AND
5. Open meetings on a regularly scheduled basis, AND
6. Leadership chosen by the membership of the organization-at-large through an election process.

(list via PCPC fact sheet)

Neighborhood Improvement Districts, Special Services Districts and Ward committees automatically qualify as RCOs.

Register for the remaining clinic on February 10th here.