COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON STREETS AND SERVICES Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, June 1, 2026 10:15 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN JEFFREY YOUNG, JR., CHAIR COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN NINA AHMAD COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS
260164, 260300, 260378, 260380, 260383, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260241, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532, 260533, 260535 - - -
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Philadelphia City Council's Committee on Streets and Services. I note that the hour has come. Mr. Johnson, would you please call the roll.
Present. Thank you, Mr. Johnson. I note that a quorum of this committee is present and this hearing is called to order. This is a public hearing of the Committee on Streets and Services considering testimony on Bill Nos. 260164, 260300, 260378, 260380, 260383, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260241, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532, 260533 and 260535. Before we get started, just wanted to see if any of my colleagues have any opening remarks to make? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you -- I note the presence of Councilmember Bass as well. And seeing none, Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the first bill to be heard.
Yes, sir. Bill No. 260164, amending Section 7 12-701 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Designation of Bicycle Lanes, to authorize bicycle lanes and the removal of travel lanes on portions of Ridge Avenue, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Will you please call the first witnesses to testify on this bill.
Nicholas Cole Appleman, Transportation Policy Analyst at the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning, everybody. My name is Nicholas Appleman. Please call me Cole. Good morning, Chairman Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you here today. My name, as I mentioned before, is Nicholas Appleman. Please call me Cole. I am a Transportation Policy Analyst with the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems. You probably know us better as OTIS. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill No. 16 260164, sponsored by Councilmember Jones. This bill amends Title 12-701 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Designation of Bicycle Lanes" to authorize a bicycle lane on Ridge Avenue and make the associated changes to remove a travel lane within the same limits, all under certain terms and conditions. This project will remove a travel lane to better protect the existing bike lane on Ridge Avenue, by adding more separation in between the bike lane and remaining travel lanes. So just to be clear, the bike lane does pre-exist. The extent of this project will go from Grakyn Lane to Bells Mill Road going north, and then from Grakyn Lane to Cathedral Road going south. These additions were planned in consultation with the Upper Roxborough Civic Association who submitted a letter of support in favor of all these changes. These roadway improvements are in line with a larger sweeping project being carried out by PennDOT in Northwest Philadelphia as well as Montgomery County. The project is known as Transform 76. It's addressing both congestion as well as safety issues on corridors that are parallel to I-76. Thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you. I'm happy to answer any questions.
Thank you, Cole. Are there any questions of this witness on Bill No. 10 260164? (No response.)
Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title -- would you please call any other witnesses to testify on this bill.
Thank you. Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on Bill 3 260164? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you so much. Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 10 260300, an ordinance Amending Section 9-208 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Sidewalk Caf s, to authorize additional locations for sidewalk caf s, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Mr. Johnson, would you please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi, and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 13 No. 260300, introduced by Chairperson Young. This ordinance amends Section 9-208 of the Code by expanding the permitting of sidewalk cafes to be maintained by-right in the 5th Council District. Sidewalk cafes consist of placing only tables and chairs on the public right-of-way. Under this bill, sidewalk cafes will be permitted by-right on both sides of Girard Avenue from College Avenue to 30th Street. The Department of Streets is not opposed to this proposed legislation, so long as the sidewalk cafes comply with the laws, rules and regulations of the city and specifically those of the Department of Streets, Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Art Commission. Maintaining accessible, walkable right-of-way is important to the Streets Department, and we encourage sidewalk cafes to comply with the latest public right-of-way accessibility guidelines and federal regulations. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you so much. Before I turn it over to my colleagues for any questions, I just have a brief statement. I just want to mention that this legislation was originally introduced by Member Landau to allow by-right sidewalk cafes throughout certain parts of the city. We are amending this legislation to add parts of Brewerytown, Girard Avenue and 29th Street into the legislation. This was after speaking with the local civic associations and the business organizations, they supported this legislation. And so, we have introduced it. There are parts -- folks have recently read in the paper about expansion of other things. We typically do it from a community-driven perspective. There are parts of our District that would love to see this happen. Hence, its happening here on Girard Avenue. There are other parts that don't. They like the process. They like to participate in that process. And so, as long as we keep it a community-driven process, I think it will reap the benefits that we're looking to have. So we're not trying to hurt small businesses in any way. Some communities just want to feel a part of that process and understand what's coming to their community, what's coming to their neighborhood. And so, as we continue to work with our communities on this legislation, we look forward to helping our small businesses as well, particularly throughout the summer as we have a lot of activity happening here in the city. With that, are there any questions by members of the committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you, Ms. Marconi, for your testimony on this bill. Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the bill 13 to be called.
Bill No. 15 260378, an ordinance establishing parking regulations in the vicinity of: Lawrence Street between Tabor Road and Olney Avenue; Sparks Street between Front Street and Mascher Street.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Please call the witnesses for this bill.
Lester Emerson, Deputy Manager of Parking Management Operations at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good morning, Mr. Emerson. Please state your name for the record and begin with your testimony.
Good morning. Good day, Council. My name is Lester Emerson, Deputy Manager for the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Thank you for allowing me to testify before Council regarding Ordinance 260378, establishing parking regulations. The Philadelphia Parking Authority has no objection to the ordinances previously read before Council and recommends favorable consideration. Thank you again for your time. I would be happy to respond to any questions at this time.
Thank you, Mr. Emerson. Are there any questions regarding this bill by members of the committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 17 260380, an ordinance amending Section 10-710 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Dumping of Debris and Short Dumping, to change the standard for determining violations, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Mr. Johnson, please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Sanitation. (Witness approached witness table.)
Thank you. Please state your name for the record and begin us your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Sanitation. I am here today -- excuse me. I am joined today by Kyle Lewis, the city's Recycling Director. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill No. 260380, introduced by Councilmember Gauthier for Council President Johnson. This bill amends Section 4 10-710 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Dumping of Debris and Short Dumping," to change the standard for determining violations by removing the word knowingly from this section of the code. This amendment allows for stricter enforcement and holds all dumpers accountable. As currently written, the word knowingly provides a loophole where offenders can claim they were told by someone or assumed dumping was acceptable due to conditions and that they did not know they were not allowed to dump. For example, a dumper can claim that he or she was told by someone else that they could dump their -- their car was borrowed by a friend or relative and that they did not know that the friend or relative would illegally dump. As you are aware, illegal dumping is a major problem in this city that we have been trying to combat. This change in The Philadelphia Code is another tool in the toolbox to hold short dumpers accountable. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you so much. Please state your name for the record and you can begin. Do you have any testimony to offer?
Good morning. I'm Kyle Lewis, Recycling Program Director and a member of the Illegal Dumping Task Force. Just here to certainly support the bill because, you know, we don't want to have any additional loopholes for illegal dumpers.
Thank you. I do have one question. Does the city or do we have a record of I guess alleged violators getting off the hook or basically winning their court cases because of this language that we currently have in our code?
We don't have a record of it, but we do have record of violators trying to put on masks and cover their license plates and doing other things to evade the law. So we wanted to strengthen it so that there was no 17 chance of it happening.
Okay. Thank you. Chair recognizes Councilmember Harrity.
Thank you for your testimony this morning, Nicole, and thank you for coming down. Me, I'm for making it even stronger. We should be putting their pictures up on billboards. I said it before, sticking them in the paper. Delaware County, they embarrass the hell out of you. You get caught doing something stupid like that, they'll put you in the paper for a dime bag of weed where you're from. Media County, you get caught purchasing a bag of weed and it's embarrassing as hell. And we need to start doing some stuff. But I'd like to know along the same lines, the city issues millions of dollars in illegal dumping fines of 2025. What percentage of those fines were actually collected and what were the primary barriers of collection, which you already described? And of the cases that went unpaid or prosecuted, how many defendants were able to avoid liability specifically because of the current knowingly standard?
Those questions, I would have to refer to the Law Department to really look at the specific -- I would have to get those numbers from the Law Department to look at the specifics of them. And really they would give you more insight on the exact angles of the defense.
Okay. Chair, I'd like to request that we ask the legal department to give us some answers on how many were actually prosecuted, how many fines were collected, how much money we lost because of people using the term loophole.
Okay. Thank you. Yeah, that's along similar lines of my question. So it's on the record. I'm sure there are other folks from the Administration here who can help find that information for us and we'll make sure that, if necessary, we can submit a letter to our solicitor and other folks. Thank you so much, Councilmember Harrity. Are there any other questions of these witnesses on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you so much for your testimony. Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on Bill 17 No. 260380? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Mr. Johnson, please call the next title of the bill to be heard.
Bill No. 24 260383, an ordinance authorizing various encroachments in the vicinity of 2955 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets. And Sarah Chiu, Director of Development at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. (Witness approached witness table.)
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name for the record and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 4 No. 260383, introduced by Councilmember Gauthier. This bill authorizes National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the owner, to install, own and maintain encroachments at 2955 Market Street. Various encroachments including PennDOT bollards, structural bollards and planters will be located around the property footage of 1 North 30th Street. A total of 94 structural and PennDOT bollards will be located along the curbline of 1 North 30th Street. A total of 103 structural bollards will be located on the curbline of North 30th Street towards the south along the island of Arch Street. A total of six planters will be located on the curbline of 1 North 30th Street, leaving a minimum of 9 feet 6 inches of clear, unobstructed footway. The Department of Streets is not opposed to these encroachments, as the minimum unobstructed footway meets the Complete Streets policy. This concludes my testimony and I'm pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you. Ms. Chiu, please state your name and give your testimony.
Good morning, Chairman and members of the Committee on Streets and Services. I'm Sarah Chiu, City Planning Manager with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here to testify on Bill No. 260383, with amendments introduced by Councilmember Gauthier on April 23, 2026. This bill will allow various encroachments at 2955 Market Street building, including PennDOT bollards, structural bollards and planters. A minimum of feet 6 6 inches of clear sidewalk space is 7 to remain after the installation. 8 This meets the city's Complete 9 Streets policy. The City Planning Commission at its meeting on May 21, 2026 recommended Bill No. 12 260383 for approval. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you, Ms. Chiu. Are there any questions from the committee on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 5 260384, an ordinance establishing a parking regulation on Acorn Street between Hazelwood Lane and Ridge Avenue; Martin Street between Mitchell Street and Pechin Street; North 66th Street between Haverford Avenue and Media Street; Rector Street between Manayunk Avenue and Terrace Street; Lawnton Street between Fountain Street and Gorgas Lane; Scotts Lane between Ridge Avenue to 3540 Scotts Lane (Trestle).
Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Please call the witness to testify on this bill.
Lester Emerson, Deputy Manager of Parking Management Operations at the Philadelphia Parking Authority. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank you, Mr. Emerson. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good day, Council. My name is Lester Emerson, Deputy Manager for the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Thank you for allowing me to testify before Council regarding Ordinance 260384, establishing parking regulations. The Philadelphia Parking Authority has no objection to the ordinance previously read before Council and recommends favorable consideration. Thank you again for your time and I'll be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you, Mr. Emerson. Are there any questions of this witness by members of the committee on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you, Mr. Emerson. Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the bill to be heard.
Bill No. 15 260390, an ordinance amending Chapter 9-200 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Commercial Activities on Streets" to make certain changes to permissible locations for farmers' markets, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Jennifer Aquilante, Food Policy Coordinator at the Department of Public Health, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. (Witness approached witness table.)
Thank you. Good morning. State your name for the record and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairman Young, Vice- Chairman Squilla -- Jennifer Aquilante. Good morning, Chairman Young, Vice-Chairman Squilla and members of the Committee on Streets and Services. I'm Jennifer Aquilante, Food Policy Coordinator for the Department of Public Health, Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. On behalf of Commissioner Raval-Nelson and the Health Department, thank you for the opportunity to testify regarding Bill No. 260390, introduced by Councilmember Young for Council President Johnson. Due to a change in the Department of Streets' permitting process, several farmers market locations identified in The Philadelphia Code require updated language to reserve curb-lane parking for vendors on market days. This bill ensures that affected locations can continue to operate efficiently and in compliance with the code. The Department of Public Health's Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention is dedicated to creating a healthy, just, livable community for all residents and supports community- driven solutions to promote food justice in areas where access to nutritious food is needed. Farmers' markets are a great example of improving access to healthy food and neighborhoods that may be inundated with unhealthy choices. They connect urban communities to local and rural agriculture, provide access to fresh fruits, vegetables and other locally grown products, and support the local and regional farming economy. This past season, 39 farmers' markets operated in Philadelphia, most of which accepted SNAP Access Cards and Farmers Market Nutrition Program vouchers, ensuring more equitable access to fresh, local whole foods. The Health Department welcomes opportunities such as these to create a more sustainable local food system and enhance community resilience and well-being. We support this bill and efforts to promote and expand the network of farmers' markets throughout the city, especially in communities that benefit from increased healthy food options. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Thank you so much, Ms. Aquilante. I do have one question. So farmers' markets are housed -- I guess the programmatic space is housed under the Health Department?
The approval for registration is through the Health Department EHS, Office of Food Protection.
My role is more promotion and support of farmers' markets. We work with lots of partners to help with the operational process, help figure out how to start and open farmers' markets. But we work really closely with the Office of Food Protection.
Okay. So outside of an actual market, when organizations throughout our city have food distributions, is that something that is I guess overseen or managed or is it connected to the Health Department or is that another department?
The food distributions would still be the Health Department.
Good morning. Thank you for your testimony. I wanted to understand what exactly is this legislation going to do in terms of making it easier for the farmers' market to operate, if you could (inaudible)?
Yeah, sure. So it's not really changing much about the farmers' markets as they're currently existing. It's more about the process for how they were able to get their no-parking piece. So the Streets Department sort of changed their permitting process last year. So all of these locations were already in the code and they had parking. They had streets permits for no parking. But now, they could no longer get those permits so we had to add those additions to the actual code so that they can still be -- the vendors can still be using the curb parking lane. So it's basically just adding in curb lane to the existing locations in the code. It's not really changing anything.
The reason I ask, I just wanted to see how streamlined the entire process was. So I've been hearing from other micro businesses who operate in many of these ad hoc spaces. So I wanted to know if one were like, there's an entity that comes to you to set up the farmers market and other vendors come to it, and that's their purview to get whoever comes to it. But do you have sort of a framework of who can operate as that?
Yeah. So we actually have a farmers market operator guide that we created with the partnership of Office of Food Protection that kind of goes through all the requirements because there's multiple city departments involved. So because it's Health, Streets, maybe L&I, depending on where they want to operate, we actually created a few tools. We have a farmers market planning tool, which you can put a location in online and see what's allowed. So we have a bunch of resources. That's sort of what we've been trying to do to streamline that process. And then we work with Office of Food Protection and Parks and Recreation to make sure that. But a nonprofit, an individual, a for-profit, really anyone can open a market. We sort of just help them figure out the process.
Yeah. We need to keep streamlining these resources for people to use. Finally, one last comment. Maybe you can address that. Do you work with the Food Trust in terms of their doing food bucks? You mentioned specific, you know, SNAP and Access and Farmers Nutrition Program. Is the Food Trust one of your partners as well?
Yeah, we work really closely with the Food Trust and have for several years. We actually started the Food Bucks program with them back in like 2010. But food bucks are accepted at the majority of farmers' markets as well.
Thank you. Thank you for being here today. I just had a couple of questions and I want to follow up on Councilmember Ahmad's questioning. So you said that anyone basically can open a food market --
So I'm sorry, a farmers' market. And at what point does Health come in and sort of direct, like, so let's say if I wanted to open the farmers' market and I just sort of set up shop and then Health would come in and help me organize it, get everything in order.
Yes. Well, technically you should get approval before anyone sets up a farmer's market. But there is a process for that. So there's a registration form that any market operator would have to complete that health department has and they list the vendors you have to get approval for your location. So if it's in the right of way, technically it has to be added to the code. So then we'd have to connect them to City Council or City Councilmembers to open and operate at that location. If it's on private property, there's a different process for that. So once if anyone comes to us or we know that folks are interested, we try to walk them through that process or technically not just any, I guess I shouldn't say anyone can open. There's requirements and criteria.
Yeah, sure. And do all with the requirements to operate a farmers' market, I'm assuming that all farmers' markets have the same requirements in the city of Philadelphia. So there's not one that's operating differently?
And there's a definition for what, you know, counts as a farmers market and everything as well.
Thank you so much. Are there any other questions for this witness? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Johnson, is there any other witnesses to testify on this bill?
Thank you. Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Mr. Johnson, would you please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 2 260425, an ordinance authorizing various encroachments in the vicinity of 3601-7 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. Please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets; Sarah Chiu, Director of Development at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank you. Ms. Marconi, please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 6 No. 260425, introduced by Chairperson Young. This bill authorizes Zion Baptist Church of Philadelphia, the owner, to install, own and maintain encroachments in the nature of a decorative puzzle wall, tree planter boxes and non-standard bollards. One decorative puzzle wall will be located along the property line of 3601-07 North Broad Street, leaving a minimum of 13 feet 8 inches of clear, unobstructed footway. A total of three tree planter boxes will be located along the curb line of 3601-07 North Broad Street, leaving a minimum of feet 8 inches of clear, unobstructed footway. Three nonstandard bollards will be located along the curbline of 3601-07 North Broad Street, leaving a minimum of feet 8 inches of 7 clear, unobstructed footway. 8 The non-standard 9 bollards will be spaced at the 10 following: 5 feet from the first 11 bollard to the second bollard, 4 12 feet 7 inches from the second 13 bollard to the third bollard. One non-standard bollard will be located along the curbline of 3601-07 North Broad Street, leaving a minimum of 6 feet of clear, unobstructed footway. The Department of Streets is not opposed to these encroachments, as the minimum unobstructed footway meets the Complete Streets policy. This concludes my testimony and pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you for your testimony. Ms. Chiu, please state your name and give your testimony.
Good morning, Chairman and members of the Committee of Streets and Services. I'm Sarah Chiu, a City Planning Manager with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here to testify on Bill No. 260425, introduced by Councilmember Young on April 30th, 2026. This bill will allow various encroachments at 3601-07 North Broad Street, including one decorative puzzle wall, three tree planter boxes and four non-standard bollards. A minimum of 13 feet 8 inches of clear sidewalk space is to remain after the installation on North Broad Street, and a minimum of feet of clear sidewalk space is to remain after the installation on Venango Street. The City Planning Commission at its meeting on May 21, 2026 recommended Bill No. 7 260425 for approval. I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you so much, Ms. Chiu. Just for the record, I want to note that these encroachments are a part of the Leon H. Sullivan Community Impact Center along Broad Street, Broad and Venango, and this is a public- private partnership between the City of Philadelphia, Mosaic Development Partners, Zion Baptist Church to create this community hub along North Broad Street where it's going to have a health center. There's a proposed E-gaming space for young people, community resources and the like. So we're excited about this project and looking forward to its grand opening. And so, this is to help kind of protect it along that Broad Street area but also beautify that Broad Street corridor as well. Are there any questions of members of the committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you so much for your testimony. Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you for your testimony on this bill. Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the next bill.
Bill No. 24 260461, an ordinance amending Section 9-208 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Sidewalk Caf s, to authorize additional locations for sidewalk caf s, all under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you so much. Before we hear from the witnesses, we're going to hear from the sponsor of this legislation, Councilmember Landau.
Thank you so much, Chair. Appreciate you. Thank you everybody. Appreciate you for hearing this bill. This is simply a bill that would expand outdoor din -- sorry. This would expand sidewalk cafes by-right in limited sections of the 1st and 4th Councilmanic Districts. It's been worked on in partnership with Councilmember Jones as well as local community organizations. And you've got two letters of support, one from the East Falls Community Council and the other from the Old Richmond Civic Association, ORCA, again along with community all in agreement. And thank you so much for hearing this.
Thank you, Councilmember. Ms. Marconi, please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 20 No. 260461, introduced by Councilmember Landau. This ordinance amends Section 9-208 of the Code by expanding the permitting of sidewalk cafes to be maintained by-right in various locations. Sidewalk cafes consist of placing only tables and chairs on the public right-of-way. Under this bill, sidewalk cafes will be permitted by-right within the area bounded by the east side of Trenton Avenue, the southern side of the Conrail Railroad Lines, the west side of Richmond Street, the north side of Cumberland Street, the east side of Thompson Street, the north side of East Huntingdon Street, the west side of Moyer Street, the west side of Ormond Street, the south side of Cumberland Street, the west side of Aramingo Avenue and the north side of York Street, and also within the geographic boundaries of the East Falls neighborhood commercial area overlay district. The Department of Streets is not opposed to the proposed legislation so long as the sidewalk cafes comply with the laws, rules and regulations of the city and specifically those of the Department of Streets, the Department of Licenses and Inspections and the Art Commission. Maintaining accessible, walkable right-of-way is important to the Streets Department, and we encourage sidewalk cafes to comply with the latest public right-of-way accessibility guidelines and federal guidelines. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you. Ms. Chiu, please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning. My name is Sarah Chiu. I'm from City Planning Commission. I do not have official testimony for this one because this was introduced last week. And we'll consider it on this Thursday. We'll send a letter after the meeting.
Thank you. Are there any questions of these witnesses on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Mr. Johnson, please call the title of the next bill.
Bill No. 21 260506, (sic), an ordinance 22 removing the parking lane and prohibiting stopping on the south side of Cinnaminson Street from Mitchell Street to Pechin Street.
Thank you. Please call the witness to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young, members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 20 No. 260506, introduced by Councilmember Phillips. This bill regulates the direction and movement of traffic on the 6500 block of Pine Ridge Road between Cheltenham Avenue and Fariston Drive, and also removes no 3 parking any time restrictions on the 6500 block of Pine Ridge Road. The Department of Streets is not opposed to the parking regulations and signs can be posted as a trial within 30 days. This concludes my testimony and I'm pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Are there any questions of this witness on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on 260506? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you, Ms. Marconi. Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the next bill.
Bill No. 3 260522, an ordinance amending Title 12 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Traffic Code, to designate East Memorial Hall Drive and West Memorial Hall Drive in Fairmount Park as one-way streets, under certain terms and conditions and authorize and/or empower the Department of Streets for the City of Philadelphia to take any and all necessary actions to enforce this Ordinance pursuant to Chapter 15 12-600 of The Philadelphia Code.
Thank you. Will you please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 10 No. 260522, introduced by Councilmember Jones. This bill amends the Traffic Code to designate East Memorial Drive and West Memorial Hall Drive in Fairmount Park as one-way streets. This change is being requested by the Fairmount Park Conservancy. Construction will begin in 2027 and directional sign changes will be completed by contractors hired by the Conservancy. The one-way changes are part of Fairmount Park Conservancy's project to improve pedestrian accessibility around the Welsh Memorial Foundation. The project includes vertical deflection, bump-outs and new crosswalks. The Department of Streets supports this bill. This concludes my testimony. I'm pleased to answer any questions.
Thank you so much. Are there any questions of this witness on this bill? (No response.)
I do have one question. So each drive will be a different direction. Instead of being two lanes, it'll go down to one direction -- instead of being a two-way, each drive now would be a one-way for each one?
I believe so, but I have not seen any of the plans because this was requested by the Conservancy. So we actually had to reach out to them to understand what the plans were. And this was the information that we received back. This is what was included in the testimony. So I can follow up and see if we can get that answered from the Conservancy.
Thank you. I'm just very familiar with this because my son goes to school on Parkside Avenue. So this is the way I take to get to work after dropping him off in the morning. So just curious to see what that looks like. But thank you so much. Are there any other questions by these witnesses? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on 260522? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Johnson, please call the title of the next bill.
Bill No. 5 260524, an ordinance authorizing the revision of lines and grades on a portion of City Plan No. 120 by striking from the City Plan and vacating Cleveland Street from Girard Avenue northwardly to Stiles Street, and striking from the City Plan and vacating Stiles Street from 18th Street westwardly to 19th Street, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Please call the witnesses to testify on this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets; and Sarah Chiu, Director of Development at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good afternoon, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 14 No. 260524, introduced by Chairperson Young. This is not an administration ordinance, but an ordinance requested by Meredith Trego of Ballard Spahr, LLC on behalf of St. Joseph's Preparatory School. The purpose of this proposed ordinance is to authorize the striking from the City Plan and the vacating of Cleveland Street from Girard Avenue to Stiles Street and Stiles Street from 18th Street to 19th Street. These actions will facilitate a project to clear land and assemble parcels for redevelopment. The party in interest plans to construct a partially underground accessory parking garage with rooftop athletic facilities. The Department of Streets has no objections to this proposed ordinance and recommends it to the committee for favorable action. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I'm pleased to answer any questions.
Thank you. Ms. Chiu, please state your name and begin your testimony.
Good morning, Councilmember Young and members on the Committee on Streets and Services. I'm Sarah Chiu, City Planning Manager with the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here to testify on Bill No. 260524, introduced by Councilmember Young on May 14, 2026. This bill will strike and vacate Cleveland Street from Girard Avenue to Stiles Street and Stiles Street from 18th to 19th Street from the City Plan. This bill, along with the zoning Bill 14 No. 260462, enables the development of St. Joe's Prep School's parking garage and athletic field development. This action is consistent with the Philadelphia 2035 Citywide vision recommendations to encourage institutional development and expansion through policy and careful consideration of land resources and to provide ample resources to cultural institutions to enrich the city's quality of life. The Planning Commission at its meeting on May 21, 2026 recommended identical Bill No. 8 260463 for approval as well as the approval of a companion zoning bill 10 for this property. The Planning Commission will consider the current Bill 260524 on June 4th at its meeting with the staff recommendation for approval. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.
Thank you so much. Are there any questions of these witnesses on this bill? (No response.)
I just want to state for the record, this is a legislation I introduced, I do see representatives from St. Joe's Prep here. I just want to ask if you can come up on the record for this question I have to ask. I just essentially ask will there be any privately-owned or other properties impacted by this legislation other than properties that's owned by St. Joe's Prep? Please state your name and then you can proceed to answer.
Good morning. My name is John Marinacci. I'm the President of St. Joseph's Prep. MR. McCLURE: Matthew McClure from Ballard Spahr, counsel for St. Joseph's Prep.
Thank you. So I guess I'll defer to counsel. Are there any impacted properties for the street striking other than properties already owned by St. Joseph's Prep? MR. McCLURE: Mr. Chairman, if you look at Section 1 -- 2(a) of the ordinance, there are properties that we are currently acquiring that we do not have any title for yet, but have agreements with. So we are hoping that obviously this legislation is completely contingent upon us having fee title to those properties. So in order to move the process forward, we're being transparent with the city. Obviously, we can't strike a street and the city can't strike a street unless all properties are owned by the City of Philadelphia are on board. So the legislation takes that into account and nothing can happen until that occurs.
Thank you. I just want to get that on the record. Are there any other questions from members of the committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you for your testimony. That's all I have for you.
Is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on Bill 14 No. 260524? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 20 260532, an ordinance authorizing various encroachments in the vicinity of 1639 South 10th Street, under certain terms and conditions.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson. Please call the witnesses for this bill.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and proceed with your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 21 No. 260532, introduced by Councilmember Squilla. This bill authorizes Michael Varallo and Rosa Varallo, the owners, to install, own and maintain an encroachment in the nature of a sidewalk cafe at Varallo Brothers Bakery, located at 1639 South 10th Street. A total of one table and two seats for the sidewalk cafe will be located along the curbline of 1639 South 10th Street. The Department of Streets is not opposed to this proposed sidewalk cafe, as it will leave a minimum 5 feet 10 inches of clear, unobstructed footway. This concludes my testimony and I'm pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Are there any questions of this witness on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you, Mr. Johnson. Please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 9 260533, an ordinance amending Section 9-208 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Sidewalk Caf s," to revisit -- excuse me, to revise remedies and provide for enforcement of sidewalk caf s provisions, all under certain terms and conditions.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin with your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 12 No. 260533, introduced by Councilmember Squilla. Bill No. 260533 amends Section 9-208 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Sidewalk Cafes," to revise remedies and provide for enforcement of sidewalk cafes. This bill adds provisions to allow any person who has applied for a sidewalk cafe in the 1st Council District by June 1, 2026. It is still awaiting initial Streets Department review and approval of their plan to operate a sidewalk cafe. This bill also amends the penalties to allow for operation and institutes a fine of $75 per quarter. The Department of Streets does not object to this ordinance so long as the applicant maintains tables and chairs on the sidewalk and does not erect any structure as in ADA compliance, and these temporary enforcement provisions sunset on October 1, 2026 so that ordinary enforcement may resume at the conclusion of the grace period this ordinance offers. This concludes my testimony and I'm pleased to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. We're just discussing how this bill could be applied elsewhere in the city. So are there any questions of this witness on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on Bill 260533? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you so much. Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the bill to be heard.
Bill No. 14 260535, an ordinance authorizing various encroachments in the vicinity of 2101 South 3rd Street, under certain terms and conditions.
Noelle Marconi, Director of Legislative Affairs at the Department of Streets.
Thank you, Ms. Marconi. Please state your name and begin with your testimony.
Good morning, Chairperson Young and members of the Streets and Services Committee. My name is Noelle Marconi and I'm the Director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Streets. I'm here today to offer testimony on Bill 13 No. 260535, introduced by Councilmember Squilla. This bill authorizes Lawrence Polanski and Ping Zeng, the owners, to install, own and maintain an encroachment in the nature of a sidewalk cafe at Katrina's Cafe located at 2101 South 3rd Street. A total of 5 tables and 30 seats for a sidewalk cafe will be located along the south sidewalk of Snyder Avenue, along the curbline of 2101 South 3rd Street and the east sidewalk of South 3rd Street along the curbline of 2101 South 3rd Street. Four tables and seats 6 will be located adjacent to the 7 curbline on Snyder Avenue. One 8 table and six seats will be located 9 adjacent to the curbline of South 10 3rd Street. The Department of 11 Streets is not opposed to this 12 proposed sidewalk cafe, as it will 13 leave a minimum 6 feet of clear, 14 unobstructed footway. This 15 concludes my testimony. I'm 16 pleased to answer any questions you 17 may have. 18
Thank 19 you, Ms. Marconi. 20 Are there any questions 21 of this witness on Bill No. 260535? 22 (No response.) 23
24 Seeing none, is there anyone else in chambers wishing to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, Mr. Johnson, please read the title of the bill to be heard.
Mr. Chairman, there are no more bills for the committee's consideration today.
Thank you so much. We will now transition into our public comment session. Mr. Johnson, would you please call the first speaker for public comment.
Good morning, members of the Committee on Streets and Services and Chairperson Young. My name is Meredith Ellison and I am the Community Business Manager at the nonprofit Park to Abroad, where I support 150 small businesses in Brewerytown. I am here today in support of Bill No. 260300 to add West Girard Avenue between West College and 30th Street, and 29th Street between West Girard and Thompson Street as by-right sidewalk cafe geographies in our city. This bill will save Brewerytown food businesses time and money in the pre-approval process for sidewalk cafes, which help animate our streets, grow the local economy, create neighborhood jobs and amplify community safety. This bill is especially timely given Brewerytown's proximity to Lemon Hill, the location of FIFA Fan Festival for 40 days this June and July. Eight restaurants located on the streets proposed in this bill have sidewalk cafe site plans ready to go. All these businesses need to obtain pre-approval from the Streets Department Right-of-Way Unit for Bill No. 260300 to be signed. This legislation will also help Brewerytown restaurants capture more customers and visibility for years to come. Brewerytown's proximity to major road races, concerts and festivals on the Parkway and Fairmount Park present an opportunity for businesses to attract more outside dollars. Removing barriers to outdoor dining is an excellent way for City Council to help restaurant leaders in Brewerytown and across the city expand their capacity for both routine service and special events. My organization Park to Broad has dedicated funds to help Brewerytown restaurants purchase high-quality mobile, outdoor dining furniture that would only be present outside during the hours when the business is open. I urge you to report Bill No. 260300 favorably today. This legislation would remove a significant barrier to create a safer, more vibrant and welcoming environment for neighbors and business owners in Brewerytown. Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you so much for your testimony on this. And just for the record, I just wanted to state the original legislation did not include 29th Street. However, we are amending that today to make sure that those businesses on 29th Street are also included in the legislation. Thank you so much for your comment today. Mr. Johnson, is there anyone else here for public comment?
There are no 7 other speakers on the public comment list, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. I want to thank all of our witnesses for joining us today. We will now go in the public hearing and go to a public meeting. We're going to wait until we can get this quorum so we can have the public meeting. We are working on some amendments to a bill that we would like to see passed out to expand sidewalk cafes, so please bear with us for a moment -- oh, I just want to note for the record that this committee is in recess. (Brief recess.)
Okay. We are now resuming our hearing. And I note for the record that a quorum of this committee is present. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion to withdraw Bill No. 260463.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that Bill No. 11 260463 be withdrawn. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill No. 260463 be withdrawn. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries and Bill No. 260463 has been withdrawn. Mr. Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 2 --
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 260300. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. The Chair recognizes -- I will now move that the amendment to Bill 19 No. 260300 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. The motion has been properly seconded. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Ayes have it. The amendment to Bill No. 8 260300 has been adopted. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 260383. On behalf of the sponsor, a copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the Committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 260383 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill 24 No. 260383 be adopted. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Ayes have it. Bill No. 260383 has been amended. The Chair recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion to amend Bill No. 260533.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 260533. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill 20 No. 260533 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill 1 No. 260533 be adopted. All those in favor signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Ayes 9 have it. And I just want to note 10 for the record that this amendment 11 for Bill No. 260533 includes the 12 1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th Council 13 Districts to allow for a lower 14 penalty for sidewalk cafes who have 15 applied for their licenses prior to 16 June 1st and their application is 17 still awaiting initial review by 18 the Streets Department. And the 19 city is in possession of a duly 20 signed indemnification statement by 21 the applicant and other terms and 22 conditions. 23 The Chair now recognizes 24 Councilmember Squilla for a motion on Bill Nos. 260164, 260300 as amended, 260378, 260380, 260383 as amended, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260461, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532 and 260533 as amended, and 260535.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Bill Nos. 260164, 260300 as amended, 260378, 260380, 260383 as amended, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260461, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532, 260533 as amended, and 260535 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended and permit the first reading of these bills at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that Bill Nos. 260164, 260300 as amended, 260378, 260380, 260383 as amended, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260461, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532, 260533 as amended, and 260535 be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of the bill at the next session of the Council. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Ayes have it. The motion carries. Bill 21 Nos. 260164, 260300 as amended, 260378, 260380, 260383 as amended, 260384, 260390, 260425, 260461, 260506, 260522, 260524, 260532, 260533 as amended, and 260535 will be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation with a request that the rules of Council be suspended to permit the first reading at the next session of Council. This concludes the public meeting portion and the business before the Committee on Streets and Services. Thank you all for your attendance today. - - - (Committee on Streets and Services concluded at 11:26 a.m.) - - - C E R T I F I C A T I O N I, hereby certify that the proceedings and evidence noted are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me in the foregoing matter, and that this is a correct transcript of the same. _______________________________ TANEHA CARROLL