THIS MORNING, City Council's rules committee continues its hearings on zoning legislation for the Foxwoods casino in South Philadelphia. As Council moves forward, it's important to remember that for the first time in more than 25 years, we have a civic vision for the central Delaware River to guide our thinking about how to develop our riverfront.

On Nov. 14, more than 1,500 Philadelphians jammed the Convention Center for the public presentation of the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware. It followed a very public - at times boisterous - process that took 13 months and engaged more than 4,000 people in imagining the future of 1,100 acres of the Delaware from Allegheny to Oregon avenues, and the river to I-95.

That November night, the standing-room-only crowd celebrated a vision that reflected their hopes and aspirations for the waterfront. What is currently an ad hoc series of disconnected suburban-style developments, traffic congestion and a neglected industrial river's edge was transformed into an integrated series of neighborhoods and parks that accommodates everything from the working port to the knowledge economy. With new streets, trails, mass transit, public art and "green" infrastructure, the sparkling promise of the civic vision drew a standing ovation from the crowd.

So, how do we go from vision to reality over a landscape that was poised to be developed before one line was drawn on paper?

A coalition of riverfront community groups, in partnership with PennPraxis, the clinical arm of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania that led the public process, is creating an action plan. The alliance is made up of the 15 river ward civic associations (stretching from Port Richmond to Pennsport) that participated in the 46-member advisory group guiding the civic visioning process.

They just created a draft, and will release the action plan in June. Here are some highlights: * First, do no harm. Recognizing that the central Delaware is a work in progress with projects currently planned or under way, ensure that the civic vision is used to guide development before a new zoning ordinance and master plan is adopted for the area. The vision calls for a pedestrian-scaled extension of Philadelphia to the waterfront.

* Create a memorandum of agreement between city agencies, the state and civic associations to uphold the standards of that vision.

* Enact an interim zoning overlay that creates a 100-foot greenway at river's edge for both public recreation and the river's health. This provides public access to the river through pedestrian-oriented streets and sidewalks and protects view corridors. It also balances public investment in infrastructure with private development.

* Protect the rail lines that currently run down the middle of Columbus Boulevard/Delaware Avenue. Do not allow this right-of-way to be abandoned for additional traffic lanes. It's critical that these long-used rail lines remain available for new public transit along the improved Delaware Boulevard such as that envisioned by PATCO, and further south, for the industrial use of the expanding port.

_ Reform Penn's Landing Corp., the largest public landholder in the central Delaware. This public benefit corporation created in 1970 has many of the characteristics of a model waterfront management agency. It has the ability to acquire and develop land, implement a master plan and raise funds, but it has operated without public scrutiny for nearly 40 years and has lost the public's trust. It is time for City Hall to reform PLC and recreate its board and by-laws to make it open, transparent and accountable to the public voice that created the civic vision.

* Quickly move to create green public spaces at Penn's Landing, Pier 11 and Festival Pier - all publicly owned.

* Create and adopt a comprehensive master plan and new zoning code for the central Delaware that will guide future public and private investment, ending the piecemeal, politicized and polarizing parcel-based development negotiations that characterize civic life along the river today.

These are a few of the critical first steps toward realizing the Civic Vision for the Central Delaware. We look forward to working with Mayor Nutter's seasoned new team, including Andy Altman, planning and economic development head, and Rina Cutler, transportation and utilities chief. Both are friends of good planning, which bodes well for the city and the central Delaware. *