Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Via Microsoft Teams Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Friday, September 17, 2021 10:12 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN BOBBY HENON COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Thank you, and good morning. We're going to get started. Before we begin the Council session today, I'm going to make a couple of announcements. Due to the continuing threat to public health, COVID-19, and the delta variant, City Council is currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make this remote meeting possible. Instructions for how the public may view the meeting and offer public comment are included in the Stated Meeting notice that was published in the Daily News, Inquirer, and Legal Intelligencer prior to the meeting, and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. I now note that the hour has come. The Clerk will please call the roll to take attendance, and members that are in attendance, please indicate that you are present by saying a couple of words to make sure that you are Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 screen. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Good morning, Council President and colleagues. Happy birthday, Mr. President, and it's good to be back with everyone.
Good morning, Council President, colleagues. It's so good to be back together like this, and happy birthday, Council President.
Thank you. Thank you, and good morning, Councilwoman. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Good morning, Council President, and happy birthday, 38 I guess. That's pretty good and -
I'm waking every day. Thank you, Councilman. Good morning to you.
Also, Council President, I want to thank you and leadership for changing the date to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. I really appreciate it, and I know everybody in Philadelphia who celebrates it appreciates it. So thank you all so very much. Really, thank you.
Good morning, and happy birthday, Council President.
Good morning. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Good morning, colleagues, and happy first day, everybody.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. And good morning, Philadelphia. Happiest of birthdays to you, Council President. May you have a blessed, joyous day today. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you so much. Good morning to you.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Happy birthday to you, Council President. Also happy belated birthday to our Majority Leader, Cherelle Parker. And as my wife, who also has a birthday this time period, she Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 it's Virgo season. It's good to be back with all of the citizens in the City of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Effectiveness. Good morning, everyone.
Good morning, Councilman, and thank you so much. It is so true.
Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Council President. Good morning, Philadelphia. I am looking forward to a wonderful session of City Council. Wishing you the happiest of birthdays and a really blessed year as well.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you, and good morning to you.
Good morning, Council President. Happy birthday. And good morning, colleagues.
Good Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 morning, Councilman.
Good morning, Council colleagues. Good morning, Council President. Happy birthday. It feels good to be back in City Council. It feels good to see all my colleagues virtually. Sending prayers out to all the families who have lost loved ones to senseless gun violence.
Thank you, Councilman, and good morning to you.
Good morning. I'm President -- I'm present, not President. I'm present. And happy birthday, Council President.
Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 you, Councilman. Good morning to you.
Good morning, colleagues. It's great to see everyone. Happy birthday, Council President, and looking forward to a very fruitful season.
Thank you, Councilwoman, and good morning to you.
Good morning, Council President. Felicidades to all the Virgos in addition to Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Good morning, Councilwoman, and thank you so much.
Good morning, Council President and colleagues. Honored to celebrate your birthday today with all our colleagues here on City Council, and also a belated birthday to our Majority Leader Parker, and looking forward to getting to business today. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman, and good morning to you.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. Like everybody else said, happy birthday, Council President. Happy belated birthday to my Councilperson, Majority Leader Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 be back, ready to get down to business.
Thank you, Councilman. And we forgot to do sports talk this morning, but we'll double up next week. Thank you.
Council President Clarke. And happy birthday, Council President.
Thank you. Present. Thank you, Mike. Appreciate you. Okay. We've established a quorum and now we're going to get to the business at hand. Let's start out with an invocation this morning from my good friend, very good friend, the Reverend Dr. Herbert H. Lusk, II, the Pastor of Greater Exodus Baptist Church. He is here today as my guest, and I would ask all members and guests to please bow your head for the invocation. Pastor, please.
Good morning, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 everyone, and let us pray. Our God and Father, we do thank you for these moments, these times that we have, even though they're trying times. We pray, oh God, that you would bless this body with the wisdom and understanding that can effectively make change in such a way that will bless citizens of our city. With all the challenges that are before us politically, economically, socially, senseless death, and blind and unbridled violence, I pray, oh God, that you give these men and women great wisdom. I ask that you give them the wisdom of Solomon, the courage of David, the leadership of Moses, the strategy of Joshua, the faith of Abraham, the endurance of Nehemiah, the fire of Elijah, and the commitment of Mary and Martha. We ask, oh God, that you bless our President of this City Council, to bless our Mayor, you will bless, oh God, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 this United States of America, that you bless our President. And, oh God, we pray that you would bless the citizens of our city. And then, Lord, we bless you before we leave. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, your name is worthy to be praised. So we praise you and we bless you. We thank you, oh Father, for life and strength, for health. We ask these things in the name of our Lord Jesus, the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Adonai, El Shaddai, Elohim, Jehovah, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Tsidkenu, we bless your name. In the name of our Lord, amen. (Amen.)
Thank you, Pastor. Thank you so much for those inspiring words today. We really appreciate you being here today, and we appreciate all that you do for the City Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Thank you so much.
Our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, June 24th, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, June 24th, 2021 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, June 24, 2021 stand approved. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? (No response.) Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
The ayes have it, and the Journal is approved. And our next order of business is requests for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
Thank you, Mr. President. There is a request for a leave of absence from Councilmember Jones.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Leave shall be granted to our good friend, Councilman Jones. The Chair now recognizes Councilwoman Parker for a motion concerning certain legislative matters that may arise during the course of today's session of Council and that were not listed on the Calendar circulated prior to today's session.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that any of the following matters, if considered Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 today, may be added to the agenda for this session of Council and as required by law subsequently published on an amended agenda after the consideration of those matters: resolutions authorizing hearings, amendments to bills on first reading, the reconsideration of a bill vetoed by or re-called from the Mayor, resolutions taking substantive action to be voted on in the session, a motion to withdraw a bill or resolution that is not on the Calendar, and a motion placing a bill or resolution on or returning a bill or resolution from the Suspended Calendar that is not listed on today's Calendar. The purpose of this motion is to provide the public with notice concerning possible actions by Council that arose too late to be included on the Calendar that was published prior to today's session. Whew, Mr. President.
Thank you. Thank you. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 second? (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the legislative matters stated by Councilwoman Parker may be added to the agenda for today should those matters arise during the course of the Council session of Council. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you all very much. And our next order of business is communications, and the Clerk will please read the messages from the Mayor and any other communications that he may have in his possession today.
To the President Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Council of the City of Philadelphia from the Mayor, pursuant to Sections 4-604 and 2-307 of the Home Rule Charter, I am today transmitting to the Council the recommendation of the City Planning Commission on the following bills: Bill Nos. 210629, 210633, 210634, 210637, and 210638. And I am pleased to advise you that on June 28, July 1, July 15, August 26, and September 15, 2021, I signed all of the bills that were passed by Council on June 17, 2021, except Bill No. 210511, which I am returning without my signature; and that on June 28, July 1, July 7, July 15, August 5, September 8, and September 15, 2021, I signed all of the bills that were passed by Council at its session on June 24, 2021. And I am submitting herewith for the consideration of your honorable body an ordinance approving the 2021-2022 Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Program Statement and Budget, which addresses the expenditure of $100 million by various agencies in the first year of the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Program, and approving a Substantial Amendment to the Annual Action Plan 2021 through 2022, the City's consolidated housing and housing-related expenditures plan, to incorporate the Program Statement and Budget into the Action Plan; and An ordinance authorizing the City Treasurer, on behalf of the City, to enter into an amendment to an agreement with Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania for provision of payroll banking services to the City, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Mr. Decker. And our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions. And by way of a reminder, we are asking that all resolutions, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 including privileged resolutions, be placed on the Final Passage Calendar for the next session of Council, unless they are being referred to committee. In our current remote environment, this procedure will provide an appropriate opportunity for public comment. I want to thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation. Mr. Decker, will you please read the titles of the legislation that is being offered today by the members.
Councilwoman Parker offers four bills and three resolutions. On behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance amending Section 14-529 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "/VDO, Fifth District Overlay District," to prohibit certain bonuses; and An ordinance amending Section 14-504 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "/NCO, Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District," by expanding the existing Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Strawberry Mansion /NCO area to include an area bounded by Lehigh Avenue, 29th Street, and Sedgley Avenue; and An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by Council proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to revise the composition of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, by increasing the number of appointees, providing for confirmation by Council of appointees, and specifying qualifications that appointees must possess. And on her own behalf, an ordinance amending Chapter 9-5100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Food Delivery Services," to modify the limitation on fees charged to food service establishments.
Those four bills will be referred to the appropriate committee. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
On behalf of Council President Clarke, Councilwoman Parker offers a resolution proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to revise the composition of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, by increasing the number of appointees, providing for confirmation by Council of appointees, and specifying qualifications that appointees must possess.
And on her own behalf, Councilwoman Parker offers a resolution authorizing the Committee on Law and Government and the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold joint hearings to examine the relationship between public safety and the economic vitality of neighborhood commercial corridors, and further exploring any and all broad-based, neighborhood-focused, and inter-governmental public safety Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 initiatives that have worked in the City in the past, and have worked or are working in other cities.
And a resolution recognizing Joseph T. Ashdale, Jr., Chairman, and Karen M. Rigley upon their retirement from the Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson offers one bill and two resolutions, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions,' by adding a new Chapter requiring certain businesses or professions provide disclosures regarding tangled titles."
And a resolution Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 authorizing the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless to hold a hearing to discuss the impact of tangled titles in Philadelphia.
And a resolution calling on Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act to provide resources to Philadelphia and cities like it to combat climate change while creating jobs and fostering local economic development.
Council President? My apologies, Mr. Decker. Council President, for the record, I just wanted to note that the resolution regarding tangled titles was co-introduced by my colleague Councilmember Gauthier, who is the Chair Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 of the Committee on Housing. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Council Lady. It shall be noted. Mr. Decker, you're muted.
Thank you, Mr. President. Councilwoman Gym offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution denouncing attacks on efforts to address systemic racism in the United States and urging the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to reject House Bill 1532, which aims to prohibit instruction on the history of racial oppression and the examination of how racism functions in our law, policy, and society."
And a resolution authorizing the City Council Committees on Children and Youth and Finance to hold joint hearings on a plan to fund a Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 comprehensive remediation and modernization of Philadelphia's public school buildings to address major facilities flaws, adapt to a changing climate, and ensure public school students have the safe and modern buildings they deserve.
Thank you so much, Council President. Today I, along with ten co-sponsors, call upon our City and our City Council body to substantively tackle the crisis of our school facilities. After the most difficult school year in recent history, it's more clear than ever that ensuring safe and supportive learning environments is the most crucial work that we can do. Amid tragic gun violence, economic hardship, and COVID, our schools play a critical role in helping young people rebuild their lives in uncertain and difficult times. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Unfortunately, as we saw with the opening of school, we have been met with story after story of school buildings yet again in disrepair. We joined parents and my colleague Councilmember Brooks at SLA-Beeber where ongoing construction resulted in zero working bathrooms. Students were expected to use porta potties for the majority of the school year. If not for parent action, that would have been the reality for hundreds of students at one of the City's premier magnet schools. Beeber is the twelfth school in the past two years to experience closure due to asbestos remediation, which has interrupted student learning and is disrupting the start of the most important school year in recent memory. And we all know it's not just Beeber. Even as schools open their doors to welcome our children, parents at school after school in the City have been ringing the alarm on the deplorable Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 conditions of our school buildings, leaking roofs, 95-degree classrooms, non-existent ventilation, continuing flaking lead paint, asbestos remediation. All of us know that the list goes on and on. And that's why I'm glad that our Council bodies are coming together to talk about what it would look like to fund a comprehensive remediation and modernization process for our city's public school buildings. There is no question the School District of Philadelphia has put forward hundreds of millions of dollars, has invested and expanded their facilities in the last several years, but what we know is that this work at the margins is simply not enough. It's not enough to do repairs. We need a large-scale modernization plan. Many of my colleagues, including Councilmember Quinones-Sanchez, has highlighted the important issue of school feeder patterns that have long Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 been antiquated and are built for a city of decades ago. And it's clear that this is not the School District's responsibility actually, that this is not what major cities that are embarking on this work, they don't put it all on the School District. There are independent authorities that take a look at this work, that work in collaboration with the City, with Planning, with the School District, adjusting our neighborhood patterns, our priorities for development and, most importantly, most importantly of all, prioritizing our children, prioritizing their experiences, prioritizing their families, and recognizing that schools can anchor communities that can then anchor a city. I look forward to having this conversation. I know it's going to be long. I also know it's going to be complicated, there's no question, and it will pull us down many roads, but I believe that we cannot afford to wait. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Now more than ever, we've got billions potentially of dollars unspent at the state level, that the Biden infrastructure plan that all of us are pushing hard for opens up more opportunities, and that our city has a chance to lead on this issue, and that the leadership actually doesn't come from Harrisburg or from Washington, DC.
The leadership is already in our communities among parents who are already activated and organized for change and justice and from young people themselves, who deserve so much better than what they have right now. I look forward to that conversation, and thank you very much, Council President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. That will be on today's Calendar.
Councilman Henon offers five bills and three resolutions, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 entitled "An ordinance amending Section 9-207 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Motor Vehicle Repairs,' to prohibit the use of City streets for the sale or storage of motor vehicles"; and An ordinance amending Title 13 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Water and Sewer," by adding a new Chapter 13-700, entitled "Conversion of Private Water, Sewer and Stormwater Lines to Public Ownership"; and An ordinance amending Chapter 9-4400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Responsible Business Operations," to revise what constitutes nuisance behavior; and An ordinance amending Section 12-2809 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Civil Penalties and Costs," to change certain penalties for parking on sidewalks; and An ordinance requiring the Water Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to convert certain water, sewer, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 and stormwater infrastructure on Wells Street between Frankford Avenue and Charles Street from private to public infrastructure.
Those five bills will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And three resolutions, entitled a "Resolution honoring Gregory Bucceroni for his dedication to community safety."
And a resolution calling on the Committee on Licenses and Inspections to hold hearings examining construction code requirements, the enforcement of those requirements, inspector caseload and inspector staffing ratios, construction working conditions, and the City's response to worker misclassification on construction sites.
Today's Calendar. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
And a resolution recognizing September 2021 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month to raise awareness about the importance of screening for and treatment of prostate cancer, to encourage cancer research, and to encourage Philadelphians to take an active role in the fight to end prostate cancer.
Council President, may I be recognized? This is Councilman Henon.
Thank you. I'd like to be recognized on the specific resolution calling on the Committee of License and Inspections to hold hearings. Over the summer, a construction worker on a job site, another job site, by the way, that is happening all too frequent, near Juniata Park was buried by Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 several tons of unstable, unsecured dirt on an Amazon construction site. The Philadelphia Fire Department personnel were able to extract this worker and transport him to a trauma center, but he died a short time after. It is clear that job site safety standards, the standards in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and international codes, were not met, not met. The failure of the site owner, Amazon, the general contractor, and the subcontractors to demand and enforce safety protocols on that site is illegal, and it cost this man his life. This isn't the first time a worker had seriously been injured or killed on a job site. In some cases, those injuries and deaths have been the result of freak accidents. Job sites are inherently risky places to be, but in many cases, the case of those injuries and death is willful and intentional failure of property owners, developers, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 and contractors to prioritize profit margins over people and the property that they're working on. The reasons why we have a Department of License and Inspections is to protect people and to protect property. When the Department allows a construction site to operate despite the fact that the workers are misclassified, taken advantage of, and do not have OSHA 10 training, as required by law, by law, working on job sites where code standards are not met, the Department is failing Philadelphians. They are failing the entire City of Philadelphia. And when a worker dies as a result, I believe that the City of Philadelphia is also culpable for that death. For several years, I've advocated for a dramatic increase in the number of L&I inspectors, to enhance training and continuing education resources for inspectors, and improve working conditions for inspectors. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Proactive, thorough, and routine inspections of construction sites and strict adherence to all, capital A-L-L, all requirements of the code will save lives and prevent unnecessary injuries. The City of Philadelphia is failing workers. They are failing the public by neglecting to enforce the law and invest resources into the Department of L&I. And I am introducing this resolution today because I've been talking about these issues for 3,544 days as I served as a member of City Council. I am tired of talking about it. It's time that this Administration makes job safety a real priority to its people, to its property, to the businesses, and to the future, and enforce the law that we have that exists on our books. So I'm asking the Mayor, I'm asking the Administration, enforce the law, staff the Department properly, and make sure that everybody is held accountable for the protection of people, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 the property, and the revenue, the revenue for programs that we all participate in, programs to help people lift out of poverty, programs to help fund our schools, programs for all of the initiatives that this body wants to see to have Philadelphia set up for the future and success is properly funded. Council President, I thank you for the time, and I hope all Councilmembers take note of this serious issue as we move forward. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you for your continued laser focus on that particular issue. We appreciate it. Mr. Decker.
Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson is offering that on the Councilman's behalf, I believe. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Thank you, Mr. President. Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson offers on behalf of Councilman Jones four bills and three resolutions, entitled "An ordinance amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,' by modifying when notice must be given regarding demolitions"; and An ordinance establishing parking regulations in the vicinity of Allens Lane and Wissahickon Avenue; and An ordinance amending Section 9-203 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Street Vendors," by permitting vending on certain sections of 49th Street; and An ordinance amending Section 21-1203 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Appointments to Citizens Police Oversight Commission," by revising the qualifications for appointment.
Thank you. Those four bills will be referred to the appropriate committee. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
And three resolutions, entitled a "Resolution authorizing the City Council Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings on an interim report issued by the 100 Shooting Review Committee."
And a resolution authorizing City Council's Committee of the Whole to hold public hearings on the status of the City of Philadelphia's Rebuild Initiative.
And a resolution supporting the National Minority Business Development Agency and recognizing October 4 through October 8, 2021 as Philadelphia Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week, which provides critical information, resources, opportunities and inspiration to the minority business community. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Councilman Johnson offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution authorizing the Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to conduct hearings to examine the shortage of trauma counseling services and its impact on victims and co-victims of gun violence."
Councilman Green offers five bills and three resolutions. On behalf of Council President Clarke, Councilman Green offers an ordinance approving the 2021-2022 Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Program Statement and Budget, which addresses the expenditure of $100 million by various agencies in the first year of the Neighborhood Preservation Initiative Program, and approving a Substantial Amendment to the Annual Action Plan 2021 Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 through 2022, the City's consolidated housing and housing-related expenditures plan, to incorporate the Program Statement and Budget into the Action Plan.
Also on behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance authorizing the City Treasurer, on behalf of the City, to enter into an amendment to an agreement with Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania for provision of payroll banking services to the City.
On his own behalf, Councilman Green offers an ordinance continuing the Philadelphia Hospitality Improvement Levy District, a business improvement district encompassing certain existing and future hotel properties within the boundaries of the City of Philadelphia, and continuing Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 the Philadelphia Hospitality Improvement Levy District Corporation to serve as the neighborhood improvement district management association for the District.
And an ordinance authorizing, generally, the continued issuance and sale by the City of Philadelphia of Gas Works Revenue Notes of the City, prescribing the forms of notes and providing for their execution and payment, pledging certain revenues of the Gas Works as security, adopting a rate covenant and directing the imposition and collection of rates and charges sufficient to comply therewith.
And an ordinance amending Subcode "A" (The Philadelphia Administrative Code) of Title 4 of The Building Construction and Occupancy Code of The Philadelphia Code, by amending Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Section A-703, entitled "Special Certificate of Inspection," to enhance building safety requirements for educational occupancies.
Thank you, Council President. I want to thank my colleagues who have co-sponsored this bill, Councilmembers Gym, Brooks, Squilla, Henon, Bass, and Gilmore Richardson. I also want to thank some of the comments that were made earlier by Councilmember Gym as well as Councilmember Sanchez as Chair of the Education Committee, who has also been working on this issue in reference to our school buildings. This issue of asbestos is something that we as members of this body have had concerns about for some time, but it's not just as members of this body. Many of the members of this legislative entity are parents. Not that Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 long ago Councilmember Brooks pulled many of us together to rally at SLA-Beeber as well as attending a rally at Masterman regarding asbestos in those schools, and there's a number of other schools that have had asbestos and mold in those school buildings. And that also brings us back to the perspective that this is not a new issue. This is an issue that we have been dealing with for some time, going back to 2019, and we were trying to work with the School District and we were looking at joining legislation similar to this legislation to address this issue, and we were getting the perspective that changes would occur. And that legislation was based on the fact we had a teacher who was a former teacher at Meredith and Nebinger who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. So this is an issue that is important not just to members of this body but citizens all around the City of Philadelphia. And for me, it strikes a Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 very personal issue. I've talked about this in many ways about my mother teaching in the School District for 31 years, 26 years at Olney High School, and I think about the time that she had dealt with asbestos at Olney and then I think about the teacher who was diagnosed with mesothelioma. What about her children? What about her loved ones? What about our own children who are in our school buildings who are also dealing with asbestos? My son at his school, we learned about asbestos in that school building. And we've tried to put our trust in the School District, but time and time and time again that trust has not been there. So we as a city need to take an active role in addressing this issue going forward, because we don't want to be in a situation where one of our loved ones or our children come back years later and now they've been diagnosed with asbestos based on action that we should Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 have taken, and it's time that we have stepped up to take on a more active role to make sure the City is doing what we need to do to make sure that these school buildings do not have asbestos and we're providing information that parents and teachers and employees and anyone that's in any of our school buildings have the information that they need that these school buildings are safe. And it's time that we have to do what we need to do to take that action. And I want to thank all of my colleagues for being involved in this issue, for your work on this issue. I look forward to seeing all of you at our press conference at 1 o'clock with all of the various partners as part of our Fund Our Facilities Coalition. This is an issue that we can unfortunately no longer trust the School District to do what needs to be done, and we as a city need to be actively engaged and address this issue. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. That bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Councilman Green offers a resolution initiating action to continue a business improvement district encompassing certain existing and future hotel properties within the boundaries of the City of Philadelphia; and --
And a resolution calling upon the Congress of the United States to enact the ABLE Age Adjustment Act, offered by Senator Bob Casey, which would increase from 26 to 46 the age threshold at which individuals with disabilities could save into tax-favored accounts to pay for disability-related expenses.
Next week's Calendar. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
And a resolution honoring and congratulating Philly Counts for their indispensable contribution to the 2020 Census and their service to the residents and City of Philadelphia.
Councilwoman Brooks offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution urging the U.S. Congress to pass Joint Resolution 21, known as the 'Abolition Amendment,' to strike the 'Slavery Clause' from the 13th Amendment and end the loophole in the U.S. Constitution that allows forced labor to continue in United States prisons 'as a punishment for crime.'"
Councilwoman Gauthier offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution honoring the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia on the occasion of its 25th Anniversary." Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Councilman Thomas offers one resolution honoring and congratulating the Champion of the Week Imhotep Charter Girls' basketball team for winning their Philadelphia Public League Championship title games for the 2020-2021.
Councilman Squilla offers three bills and two resolutions, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Walnut Street, 9th Street, Locust Street, and 10th Street"; and An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Trenton Avenue, Cambria Street, Tulip Street, and William Street; and An ordinance to amend Section 14-502, entitled "/CTR, Center City Overlay District," all under certain terms and conditions.
Those three bills will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And a resolution recognizing and honoring the 9-11 DelVal (Delaware Valley Youth Athletic Association) girls on the occasion of them winning the Pennsylvania Little League State Championships in Williamsport, PA.
And a resolution recognizing and honoring the long-standing tradition of the Saint Neumann Goretti versus Southern Thanksgiving Day game which has been a Thanksgiving Day staple in South Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Philadelphia for over 80 years.
Councilwoman Bass offers three bills and five resolutions, entitled "An ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Old York Road, Broad Street, and 65th Avenue"; and An ordinance establishing a one-way regulation on Bryan Street, from West Mount Pleasant Avenue to Allens Lane, northbound; and An ordinance amending Title 12 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Traffic Code," by creating a new Chapter 12-3600, entitled "Tractor Trailer Parking Ban," to prohibit the parking of tractor trailers on public streets of the City of Philadelphia.
Referred to committee. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
And a resolution observing the Twentieth Anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
And a resolution observing Diaper Need Awareness Week from September 27, 2021 to October 3, 2021.
And a resolution also naming the 1100 Block of Chelten Avenue "George James Way," to recognize and honor the impact that George James, a local boxing trainer, had on his community.
And a resolution allowing the Public Health and Human Services Committee to hold hearings on the Philadelphia Promise Trust Fund.
And Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 that will be on today's Calendar.
And a resolution rededicating Allen Lane in West Mount Airy to the memory of Richard Allen, in honor of his contributions to racial justice in Philadelphia and beyond.
Councilman Oh offers six resolutions, entitled a "Resolution authorizing Council to hold public hearings on the history of asbestos cleanup and abatement practices in Philadelphia public schools."
And a resolution recognizing September 2021 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Philadelphia in honor of childhood cancer patients, care givers, survivors, and those children who have succumbed to the disease.
Next week's Calendar. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
And a resolution recognizing October 2021 as Filipino American History Month in the City of Philadelphia.
And a resolution recognizing and honoring the 211th Anniversary of Mexico's Independence Day.
And a resolution recognizing September 2021 as National Recovery Month in Philadelphia and celebrating the 20th Annual PRO-ACT Recovery Walks! to promote recovery and work to end the stigma surrounding drug and alcohol addiction.
And a resolution recognizing, honoring, and celebrating the Philadelphia Second Alarmers on the occasion of their 100th Anniversary. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 2ND READING
There are no other bills or resolutions being offered today by the members, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. We have no reports from committee today, so our next order of business is the consideration of the Calendar. There being no bills on the First Reading Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker for the purpose of calling up resolutions and bills on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar.
Thank you, Mr. President. The following resolutions and bills are being called up from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today. They are Nos. 210642, 210645, 210656, and 210658. All other resolutions and bills are being held, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Before we consider, we will have our public comment session. We will now take a brief five- to ten-minute recess to give our technology professionals an opportunity to connect everyone so they may speak on the public comment session. Take a brief second. Thank you. (Short recess.)
Thank you, and good morning again. We're going to proceed with our public comment session. Now that everyone is connected to the meeting and before considering the resolutions and bills we have before us today, we'll consider our public comment. It will go as follows: Public comment must concern Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars for possible action at a session of Council. A speaker on any of those matters must sign up in order to testify. You must call 215-686-3406 by 3:00 p.m. the day before the session to sign up for public comment. When you call, we will take your name, phone number, the number of the legislative item that you are commenting on and whether you are in support of or against the legislation, and add your name to the list. We will then telephone each person on the list during the Council session and invite them to our remote meeting. Today we will have three minutes for you to speak, but just for purposes of making a note, from time to time we may adjust that based on the volume of callers, but we will have three minutes today. In order to be fair, though, to all those wishing to speak, I intend to Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 hold faithfully to the established time limit. Once invited to the meeting and asked to begin your testimony, a timer will be started. We will monitor your remaining time throughout your testimony, and when there are 30 seconds remaining to your time, you will be reminded of that, and once your allotted time has passed, you will be asked to conclude your remarks and shortly thereafter you will be muted and disconnected from the remote meeting. I also reserve the right to limit the number of speakers where repetitious comments are being made on the same subject matter and to limit the scope of testimony to only certain items on the agenda during the emergency, which could affect callbacks for public comment at the meeting. Please be aware that this public meeting is being recorded, and because the meeting is public, Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. So by continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. I will now ask the Chief Clerk to please read the name of our first speaker.
The first speaker, Mr. President, is Queen Judith Robinson, commenting on 210205.
Good morning. QUEEN ROBINSON: Good morning, and happy birthday, Council President.
Thank you. Just state your name for the record. QUEEN ROBINSON: Yes. Judith Robinson, Queen Judith Robinson here, to comment on Bill 210205. Welcome back, Councilmembers. I just want to preface my statement by saying freedom of speech is Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 very important to me. So I just want to put a plug in for making certain that everyone who is interested in speaking in this virtual pandemic environment has an opportunity. I understand the challenges that we face with technology, et cetera, but I just want to make certain that we make every effort to get anyone on, everyone on who wants to speak. As relates to Bill 210205, I think there's a great opportunity. I support that bill. Unfortunately, folks don't have resources sometimes to repair their homes. As we all know, we live in a city of older homes. In that regard, I want to shine a light on 2908 West Diamond Street. That's the home of Henry Ossawa -- or former home, I should say, of former artist, world famous artist, Henry Ossawa Tanner. Also has a lot of history with his niece, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander, also her husband, Raymond Pace Alexander. Very historic property, has a lot of history as relates Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 to it. But it's now with a tarp on the roof. I want to shout out to some of our union brothers and sisters, some folks who might volunteer to support refurbishing, getting a roof on that property. We all know the damage water can do to a property. So I would like to just put a focus on that property as it relates to this bill and maybe doing repairs. There is a License and Inspection violation sign on the property, and I'm very much concerned of the damage that water will bring. So with that, I just want to shout out and put a shine on that building, and hopefully I can get some feedback if someone is willing to help. Thank you very much for the time.
The next speaker Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 is Susan Nam, commenting on 210474-A.
Good morning. Just state your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
Good morning. Susan Nam, and I'm here to oppose Bill No. 210474-A for the reasons of especially that this is a citywide zoning bill, that it should have had far more community engagement. As we are experiencing these days, a lot of our community RCOs, our voices and our involvement and our powers as an RCO are, some would say, purposely being diminished. Citywide zoning bills especially I feel should be shared through each Councilperson's RCOs and we should have some sort of say in it. We see this bill as further incentivizing really unaffordable multi-family housing that we're seeing pop up all over the City. We want to see this term that's being thrown around Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 everywhere, "affordable." How is this being defined? Which income medians are we using? The Philadelphia median income is $38,000 with -
Could you pause your testimony briefly. Mr. President, I've gotten a message that we've lost the feed, the Channel 64 feed, so there's no public engagement at this point. The public cannot view the meeting. Is it possible to pause briefly while we attempt to effect a fix?
Yes. Let's take a brief recess until we can get the technology straight. (Brief pause.)
Okay. Ms. Nam? Stated Meeting September 17, 2021
Okay. This is Susan Nam. I'm here to oppose Bill No. 210474-A. I'm opposing this bill purely on the complete lack of community involvement in the bill. Especially as this has to do with a citywide zoning bill, this should be actually something I feel as though every Councilperson should be bringing to their respective RCOs, as we're seeing as of late many of our RCOs are -- our voices are being diminished. Our involvement is being irrelevant. I feel like this would be a great way to combat those efforts of our voices being diminished. I just believe that this bill is further incentivizing unaffordable multi-family housing that we're seeing pop up all over our city, and that we need to really put into question this term "affordable" that's being thrown Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 around and what parameters are we using. Are we using the Philadelphia actual median income, which is at 38,000, as opposed to the HUD median income, which stands at a little over 94,000. I do not believe this bill is addressing the over 60,000 housing insecure Philadelphia residents at this current time. So I'm here to oppose the bill today. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you so much for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
Good morning. My name is Valarie Ross. I'm VP of West Philadelphians for Progressive Development and I'm also one of the organizers of the Citywide RCO Coalition. Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 I'm here to object to Bill 210474-A. First, I agree with Susan Nam's concerns about the lack of public engagement with this bill and with most everything these days concerning development. Secondly, I'm concerned that the bill and amendment are set up to continue to incentivize wealthy developers to continue their callous exploitation of our neighborhoods. It's time for us to end these bonuses and abatements for rich people, one of the wealthiest industries in the world. They don't need help. The rest of us do. One out of six homes purchased are now by real estate investors, and that's going up by the minute. We're in the midst of a land grab, and the market needs to be disciplined, not incentivized. Our neighborhoods are not the investment portfolios and tax shelters of the rich. We'd like to see the bill Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 amended so that it protects rather than incentivizes our vulnerable communities and our naturally affordable housing. The SB-50 amendment that they have put forward in California is a good starting point for thinking about what we might do here and perhaps amending the bill accordingly. We've already lost 30,000 Black people in Philadelphia in the last ten years. We have a huge housing crisis with 60,000 people in need of a place to live or nearing homelessness. Private developers can't save us. We can't wait for White saviors from New York City to come in and flood us with money. It's time to look to our own house treasure and cultivate our unique historic city of neighborhoods, and if we do that, we'll attract tourists and newcomers alike. Just one last thing. I'd like to thank President Clarke on behalf of the Coalition for introducing the referendum for much-needed reform of the Stated Meeting September 17, 2021 ZBA, and we're really looking to our City Councilmembers to support it as well. Thank you so much. Happy birthday. Thank you for the great work that you're doing. Bye.
Thank you. Thank you very much for your testimony. We appreciate it.