Former Councilman Frank DiCicco Takes Charge Of Philadelphia's Zoning Board
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has filled the vacancy at the top of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, created when the former chairman resigned after being targeted in a federal investigation of the electricians union. A former city council colleague of the mayor has taken the job.
Frank DiCicco has been involved in zoning issues since he started what was then the "Italian Market" civic association in 1989.
"A developer was proposing to take a small abandoned factory at 11th and Federal [Streets] and converting it into 34 apartments with four parking spaces," DiCicco said.
DiCicco helped scotch that deal and took the knowledge gained to council seven years later. Before he left in 2011, he'd helped create the commission that modernized the zoning code. So, though he didn't seek the job, he's happy to take it.
"Being a former elected official, you always say 'boy, if I were there this wouldn't be happening' or, 'if I was there I would make this happen,'" he said.
DiCicco now has a consulting business where he sometimes represents developers. He says he'll recuse himself if there's a conflict. He replaces James Moylan, a close friend of electricians' leader John Dougherty. Moylan stepped down after his home and office were raided in connection with an investigation of the union.
