Department of Planning and Development

The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) is a Philadelphia city department created in 2010 to coordinate land-use planning, preservation, zoning appeals and housing and community-development programs under one director. It is a city body; it is distinct from the state-created Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia Housing Authority, although it works closely with both.

1 Structure

DPD is best understood as a cluster. Its component bodies include the City Planning Commission (comprehensive planning, Civic Design Review, capital program), the Zoning Board of Adjustment (zoning appeals), the Historical Commission (preservation), the Art Commission (design review of public projects), and the Division of Housing and Community Development. Allied entities such as the Philadelphia Land Bank, the Redevelopment Authority and the Housing Development Corporation share leadership coordination with it.^[1] The Planning Commission and ZBA remain legally distinct bodies with their own members and rules even though they are housed in the department.

2 Leadership and the housing plan

As of 2026, the department is led by Jessie Lawrence, Director of Planning and Development, who previously served as an associate deputy mayor and as real estate director of the Housing Development Corporation. He leads work on Mayor Cherelle Parker's plan for 30,000 units of new, restored and repaired housing, described by the administration as a $1 billion housing plan.^[2] The director also chairs the Planning Commission in an ex officio capacity.^[3] The department is funded through the annual city budget and federal housing and community-development grants.

3 How a development moves through DPD bodies

A typical project touches several DPD bodies in sequence:

1. The applicant applies to L&I, which checks the plan against the Zoning Code.
2. If the plan needs a variance or special exception, the applicant files with the ZBA, notifies nearby residents and the relevant Registered Community Organization, and attends a public hearing.
3. Large or prominent projects first undergo Civic Design Review by the Planning Commission, a non-binding design critique open to the public.
4. Properties on the historic register are reviewed by the Historical Commission before permits issue.
5. Projects on public land, or using public financing, may also involve the Redevelopment Authority or Land Bank.

4 Working with residents

Residents can attend ZBA hearings, Historical Commission and Planning Commission meetings, and RCO meetings; written comments are generally accepted. Planning staff also run district and neighborhood planning processes that feed the comprehensive plan and zoning remapping. For housing programs, the Division of Housing and Community Development funds home repair, counseling and affordable development. Complaints about code enforcement should go to 311, not to DPD.

5 History and debates

DPD was formed in the Nutter administration to merge planning, development, and housing functions. Its leaders have often been at the center of disputes over density, affordability, and neighborhood input. A 2023 resignation of the prior director, Anne Fadullon, was covered by the Philadelphia Inquirer in the context of housing policy tensions with City Council.^[4] Developers and housing advocates frequently disagree with civic associations over how much weight neighborhood opposition should carry, and Council members' informal influence over zoning (see councilmanic prerogative) is a recurring subject of debate.

See also: Commerce Department, Tax Abatement and Development Incentives, Developers and the Real Estate Lobby.

References

1. City of Philadelphia, Department of Planning and Development, phila.gov/departments/department-of-planning-and-development (accessed October 2026).
2. City of Philadelphia, mayoral personnel announcements, 2024, phila.gov (Jessie Lawrence, Director of Planning and Development).
3. City of Philadelphia, "The commissioners," Philadelphia City Planning Commission, phila.gov (accessed October 2026).
4. Philadelphia Inquirer, report on the resignation of Anne Fadullon, July 2023.