The Historical Commission does NOT regulate the color of the painting of wood
trim. It generally does not allow brick to be painted, in part because its
bad for the brick, and in part because it dramatically changes the appearance
of the house.
Sorry, but we've settled this ambiguity already. Kathy Dowdell, speaking for the UCHS, made the same assertion you did in a "letter" to the UC Review -- and her misstatement has been retracted by a representative of that organization on this listserv.
Fact, not fancy, is that 14-2007 of the Philadelphia Code (which everyone on either side of this issue ought to actually read -- it's online) does give the Commission control over the color for painting of anything. The Commission says that as a "matter of policy" it does not restrict choice on this matter other than in the painting of masonry. There is a big difference between the Code and the Commission's "policies." Powers granted to a non-elected agency under the code which, while by City Council or reversible by the courts, are close to being etched in stone. Policies of that same agency can change at the drop of a hat -- say a new commissioner is appointed who has a bug about color, or some junior level urban planning grad gets hired as a staff member and starts rejecting colors that weren't common in 1902 because that's what he or she learned in Preservation 101.
Al Krigman
