Last week, the Fishtown Zoning Committee heard an application for a new single-family home at 1412 Frankford Ave., and the community did not give its support.

While we weren’t at the meeting, we can think of a couple of reasons why the community probably wasn’t on board. The zoning application is for a fairly standard three-story house with a roof deck, except it includes an open-air parking space, ostensibly in the front. Not really something you see on Frankford Ave., right?

In addition, the lot in question is immediately adjacent to a garden space that’s used by the public but owned by the Lutheran Settlement House down the street. It’s no surprise that neighbors aren’t excited to lend their support to a new building that’s going to crowd the park.

The garden

Now, we’re not questioning the developer’s right to build on this plot- it’s privately owned and anyone can build on land that they own, whether it’s next to a park or next to the beach. What we are questioning is the wisdom of going through the zoning process in the first place for a parcel that the developer surely realizes that people are not thrilled to see developed. Probably would have been a good candidate for a conforming single-family home, no?

The application is being heard by the ZBA next week.