It’s a shame Philadelphia still allows these types of homes. Garages are bad enough, but does the house really need to sit back so far from the street just so it can have what is essentially a parking lot in the front?

Can I ask what makes garages (and set-backs) so bad? I see these comments so often. I understand if the whole block is litered with garages, which then becomes a safety concern, but this is one on the block.

i dislike them because people tend to start parking on the sidewalk (thus blocking it) when they have a setback in front of their house. they start thinking of the sidewalk as an additional parking space/extension of their driveway.

whats going to come of the shut down school next door?

It is also easier to get a permit for another garage once there is already one cut on the block, so it can create a snowball effect of other cuts and garages.
Plus I think they are supremely ugly.

Um. I’m not sure that makes much sense. “It’s a small lot, so I’ll intentionally build on less of it.”

They reduce the consistency of the sidewalk experience, making it less pleasurable and walkable, while at the same time taking away a public amenity (street parking) and converting it to a less frequently used private one.