The Design Advocacy Group (DAG) wants you to know that Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) is requiring that all new homes have gas meters installed on the front of the building!

Many new houses have already been built with these unsightly meters on their front facade. Just take a trip to the new townhouse developments in Brewerytown or on the 2300 block of Fairmount Avenue in the Art Museum Area to see the terrible visual impact of a row of these meters on the public streetscape.

Consider the following:

Houses must be set back farther to provide required clearance for the meters, creating unnecessarily wide sidewalks.

The meters are potentially dangerous in a public environment.

PGW mandated this requirement without permission of the Zoning Board of Adjustment or the Philadelphia Historical Commission. In fact, this requirement violates the spirit of current zoning regulations and historical precedents. There are many alternative placements for gas meters. Other Northeast cities, like Baltimore, allow different meter configurations. Why can't PGW do that here in Philadelphia?

A group of concerned citizens have suggested alternate design options. We are concerned that PGW will remain inflexible in its requirements. If you care about the built environment, click on the DAG link below to express your concern to PGW!

Tell PGW that requiring meters on the front of new homes hurts the aesthetics of our urban neighborhoods and makes our sidewalks unsafe!