COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON RULES - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, September 23, 2008 10:15 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA, CHAIR COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN BILL 080376 - An ordinance establishing a neighborhood improvement district in an area that generally includes Cheltenham Avenue with boundaries of Wadsworth Avenue on the west and Broad Street on the east... - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good morning, everyone. This is a public hearing of the Committee on Rules regarding Bill No. 080376. Sharon, would you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 080376, an ordinance establishing a neighborhood improvement district in an area that generally includes Cheltenham Avenue with boundaries of Wadsworth Avenue on the west and Broad Street on the east, Ogontz Avenue with boundaries of Cheltenham Avenue on the north and 67th Avenue on the south and Wadsworth Avenue with boundaries of Cheltenham Avenue on the northeast and Michener Avenue on the southwest; to be known as The Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District; designating Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District Incorporated, a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, as the Neighborhood Improvement District Management 3 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 Association for the District; approving a plan for the District, including a list of proposed improvements and their estimated cost, and providing for assessment fees to be levied on property owners within the District; authorizing the Director of Commerce, on behalf of the City, to execute an agreement with Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District Incorporated relating to the District; and authorizing Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District Incorporated to assess property owners within the District with a special property assessment fee to be used in accordance with the approved plan, all in accordance with the provisions of the Community and Economic Improvement Act and under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. This hearing is being held in compliance with the Community and 4 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 Economic Improvements Act, and a previous hearing was held on June the 11th, 2008. At the previous hearing, several minor amendments were proposed and adopted. Is there any further testimony that anyone would like to provide on this bill this morning? Do we have anybody to testify? Please approach the witness table, identify yourself and proceed with your testimony. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning, Council President Verna, other members of the Rules Committee and members of City Council. My name is Denise Holloway from the office of State Representative Dwight Evans. I'm here today to testify on behalf of Bill No. 080376, which establishes a neighborhood improvement district known as the Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District, or the BID. This district focuses on 5 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 revitalization of portions of the economic corridors of Cheltenham Avenue, Ogontz Avenue and Wadsworth Avenue. The Greater Cheltenham Avenue Business Improvement District is the second phase of a larger plan, the Cheltenham/Northwest Philadelphia Inter-Municipal Cooperative Planning Initiative. In the past, the commercial areas of Cheltenham, Ogontz and Wadsworth Avenues were vibrant, bustling strips catering to the many needs of those it served. However, in most recent years, these same corridors have been slow to attract high-quality merchants and are perceived as being unclean and unsafe. The BID is looking to reverse this trend. Through cooperation with Cheltenham Township, some of the benefits of the BID are: Commercial enterprises within Northwest Philadelphia and the region will increase their market share; Bids have worked successfully in a thousand communities, including 6 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 several in the Philadelphia region and a bi-municipal BID on City Avenue; BIDs help keep costs low because all owners share the cost of security, cleaning and marketing. On average, this BID will cost each property owner approximately $224 per year or about 61 cents per day; BIDs are planned and run by business people, those being assessed; BIDs increase property values for merchants and those in the surrounding residential areas; BIDs promote neighborhood beautification, they enhance public safety, improve customer experience and improve the quality of life. In addition to local business participation, the BID will also solicit financial support from local non-profit organizations that will also benefit from this partnership. And also I just wanted to let you know, we did send out letters to all 7 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 of the affected properties. It was sent out on August 13th. Thank you for allowing me to testify today.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions or comments from members of the Committee? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for your testimony. Did you mention the total number of affected properties?
Any other questions or comments? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Good morning. Good morning, Denise. I just 8 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 want to make a comment, that there's a whole collection of elected officials that's been working very closely with Cheltenham Township and many members, residents of Philadelphia shops right there in the Cheltenham Mall, and the area has come up and improved so much over the last five or six years and this is just an opportunity to continue that enhancement of that whole business corridor there. So I just want to say I, for one, am strongly in support of the BID.
Thank you. Any other questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Do we have anyone else to testify? (No response.) 9 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376
I assume that the stenographer has noted the members of the Committee that are here? I don't have to announce them. COURT STENOGRAPHER: Yes.
Thank you. All right. This will conclude the public hearing. We will now go into our public meeting, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney for a motion.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 080376 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a request made for rules suspension to allow for first reading at our next Council session. (Duly seconded.)
It 10 9/23/08 - RULES - BILL 080376 has been moved and seconded that Bill No. 3 080376 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation; further, that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. And that is the end of our meeting. Thank you all very much for your attendance. (Committee on Rules adjourned at 10:20 a.m.) - - - 11 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on September 23, 2008, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)