COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON RULES Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, November 12, 2025 3:15 p.m. PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS, CHAIR COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN GILMORE RICHARDSON
250707, 250831, 250834, 250848, 250890, 250891 - - -
Good afternoon. This is the public hearing of the Committee on Rules. Members and guests, please take your seats. This hearing is now call to order. Will the Clerk please take the roll.
Thank you, Madam Clerk. A quorum of the committee is present. The Clerk will please read the titles of the bills.
Bill No. 17 250707, an ordinance amending Chapter 19-4400, of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Development Impact Tax" to clarify the exemption for rental housing projects, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250831, an ordinance amending Section 14-602 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Use Tables" by allowing basic utilities and services without a special exception in certain special purpose districts, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250834, an ordinance amending Title of The 10 Philadelphia Code, entitled "Zoning 11 and Planning" to establish Seventh 12 District Overlay District, restrict 13 certain commercial uses and make 14 other related changes, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250848, an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Chew Avenue, Church Lane and East Wister Street. Bill No. 250890, an ordinance amending Section 10-503, of The Philadelphia Code to prohibit the unlawful training, theft and trafficking of catalytic converters and motor vehicle parts containing precious metals and to increase penalties, all under certain terms and conditions. Bill No. 250891, an ordinance to amend the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area founded by North Sydenham Street, Venango Street, North Smedley Street and West Tioga Street. There are no other bills under consideration for today.
Thank you, Madam Clerk. Are there any members who have opening statements? (No response.)
And seeing none, Madam Clerk, can we please have you call the first panel to testify on Bill No. 3 250707.
Emily Persico, Deputy Director of Development and Services in the Department of Planning and Development. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon and thank you for your patience today. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon. Emily Persico, Deputy Director of Development Services for the Department of Planning and Development. I'm here to testify in support of Bill No. 250707, introduced by Councilmember Gilmore Richardson on behalf of Council President Johnson. On September 11, 2025, as introduced Bill No. 250707, expands an exemption from the development impact tax for certain affordable housing projects. The exemption was created with the passage of Bill No. 250212 on June 12, 2025. In addition to exempting Turn the Key developments, this bill also sought to exempt affordable rental developments receiving a city subsidy. However, the bill passed last spring required a 50-year compliance period, a standard which most affordable housing rental projects do not meet. Bill 250707 will eliminate the requirement for a 50-year compliance period, paving the way for city-subsidized Low Income Housing Tax Credit and similar projects to receive the exemption. A core goal of the H.O.M.E. Initiative is to reduce the cost of developing and preserving housing in the city. By expanding eligibility for the development impact tax exemption, Bill 250707 directly supports that goal. The amendment before the committee today would include other agreements and allow Section 1 of the legislation to be retroactive to July 1, 2025, which we respectfully request be adopted. On behalf of the Administration, I appreciate the opportunity to testify today and I'm happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Are there any questions from the panel? (No response.)
And seeing none, is there anyone else here to testify on Bill No. 250707 whose name has not been called? (No response.)
And seeing none, I want to thank the witness for her testimony today. And can we have the Clerk please call the next witness to testify on Bill No. 250831.
Michael Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon, Chair Bass and members of the Rules Committee. I am Michael A. Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here to testify on Bill No. 250831, introduced into City Council on October by Councilmember Jones, 7 Jr. 8 Bill No. 250831 amends 9 Section 14-602, of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Use Tables" to allow the basic utilities and services use in the SP-CIV, Special Purpose-Civic, Educational and Medical base zoning district. The district tends to be mapped in locations such as schools, hospitals and infrastructure locations for public utilities. The major utility services use is already permitted in the SP-CIV district. The allowance of basic utilities and services is expected to have minimal new impacts on neighboring communities. This action is necessary to enable the Water Department's capital and operational needs, which supplies clean, safe drinking water, sewer services and distributed flood resiliency and stormwater management services to 1.6 million Philadelphians on a daily basis. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission will consider Bill No. 250831 at its public meeting on November 20, 2025. I would be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you for your testimony. Any questions from the panel? (No response.)
And seeing none, thank you very much. Is there anyone else here to testify on Bill No. 250831, anyone whose name has not been called? (No response.)
Okay. Thank you for your testimony. And seeing that there's no one else to testify, we'll move on to the next bill. Thank you very much. And will the Clerk please call the first panel to testify on Bill No. 250834.
Michael Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Hello again. Please state your name for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon again, Chair Bass and members of the Rules Committee. Again, I'm Michael A. Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here to testify on Bill No. 250834, introduced into City Council on October 9, 2025 by Councilmember Lozada. Bill No. 250834 amends Section 14-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Overlay Zoning Districts" to establish the /SEV, Seventh District Overlay District, and to restrict certain commercial uses. The Seventh Council District is located mainly in the North, Lower North and Lower Northeast Planning Districts, along with small areas of the Riverwards and North Delaware Districts. This bill takes several actions: First, it establishes a new zoning overlay district that applies to the entirety of the Seventh Councilmanic District. This action is consistent with the city's ongoing project to reorganize and homogenize the formatting of the various overlays added to the Zoning Code over the years. This new Seventh District overlay meets the new formatting established in other recent overlay revisions and restructurings such as the Fifth and Ninth Council Districts. This project is being undertaken to make the code more transparent, predictable and user friendly to the public. The legislation also proposes to require the issuance of a special exception by the Zoning Board of Adjustment for the Sundries, Pharmaceuticals and Convenience Sales use in all commercially-zoned lots within the Seventh Council District. While we understand that the intent of the bill is to address nuisances that are being felt by residents due to specific trends in retail store operations in the Seventh District and across the city, this specific option will apply to all operators who sell Sundries, Pharmaceuticals and Convenience Sales. Special exceptions require relief from the Zoning Board of Adjustment to receive a zoning permit, which also adds a significant cost to small business licensing. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission will consider Bill No. 250834 at its public meeting on November 20, 2025. I'll be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Are there any questions from the committee? Okay. Chair recognizes Councilmember Lozada.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for being with us this afternoon. We've worked extensively with different city departments while building this legislation. And I'm sure everyone is aware that smoke shops or convenience stores are not just a problem in the 7th Council District. Several questions. Does Planning have the data on the current density of convenience stores compared to other commercial establishments that serve as strong drivers of economic growth within the community for the 7th and/or other districts across the city of Philadelphia?
So to my knowledge, very few locations have actually used the new carved-out convenience sales use. But the overall sundries, pharmaceutical and convenience sales, we can get those numbers to you. We don't have them at hand right now.
With convenience stores being such a huge topic of conversation on this legislative body for a really long time and with all of the complaints that you have received or that you've heard of from this legislative body and from residents across the city of Philadelphia, why would we not have that type of information?
The information exists. I don't happen to have it at hand today because I was prepared only to answer questions on the specific action here, not the citywide problem. We are in ongoing conversations with our partners in Council and various implementing bodies and agencies across the city to investigate this problem. In fact, I believe there's a meeting going on right now talking about smoke shops that I was unable to meet because I'm here testifying, so this is an ongoing conversation. I don't have the number in front of me right now. I can get that to your office.
Madam Chair, can we request that that data does come to this legislative body, to this committee so that we're able to just see, right, these types of nuisance businesses compared to others?
And then you mentioned in your testimony that convenience stores also include sundries and pharmacies. We as an office requested a way to be able to remove pharmacies from that language. Is there an update on that? I know that we were told that you all were working on it, but we haven't heard back.
My office would be the one that deals with that and I have not heard that request to date. I don't know who that would have come through. We're definitely willing to work with your office to amend the language, if necessary, and to continue to hone the code, but I haven't heard that specific request to date.
We've been working with someone by the name of David from Planning as well as with the Law Department --
Thank you. So, Mr. Gall, you'll submit that information to the committee?
And definitely will get it out to the Councilmembers. Any other questions? (No response.)
And Chair recognizes Councilmember Isaiah Thomas has joined us. And seeing no other questions from members of the committee, we want to thank you for your testimony and ask the Clerk to please call up the panel to testify on Bill No. 2508340 -- no. We'll have the other witnesses we have to testify on Bill No. 250834.
Yes. We have Kim Washington and Alma Rios from Frankford CDC; and Roberto Rodriguez Evans from Impact Services. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. Thank you for your patience today. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon, Madam Chair, Vice-Chair, members. I'm Kim Washington. I'm the Executive Director for the Frankford Community Development Corporation and I'm here to testify in support of Councilmember Lozada's Bill No. 250834. I'm always honored to be able to come and testify before City Council, because I know sometimes the way things show up when we write legislation isn't the reality that we face in some of the neighborhoods and on the ground level, so I'm always honored to come and be that ground-level person and say that this is not what it looks like, right. And so, in this case we have the very nice term of calling what we call in a neighborhood as smoke shops, what some of my business owners call them as inconvenience stores, right. We call them convenience stores and they're lumped in with businesses that provide very real services to low income folks, right. But that's not what it looks like on the ground floor. And so, again my testimony today is to really kind of give you some insight as to what we're seeing at the neighborhood level. As you are aware, Bill 14 250834 proposes to require that new convenience stores in the 7th District would be required to go through the ZBA process. We support this proposal for several reasons. Firstly, we have seen a rapid proliferation of these convenience stores in the years since COVID and most of them sell little more than cigarettes, hookah, drug paraphernalia and occasional soda. While on paper, these businesses are nicely labeled as convenience stores in the neighborhood, they are referred to as smoke shops because that is the market that they largely cater to. Few offer any true conveniences, such as deli and grocery items or household items, household odds- and-ends. They pop up seemingly overnight and seem to cluster around our transit stations, coincidentally as seen more prevalently in Kensington. This is also where those who are unhoused and suffer from substance abuse disorders also seem to gather in large numbers on our stretch of Frankford Avenue alone, which ranges from the 4200 to the 5200 block of Frankford Avenue. So if you think about it in terms of El stops, we're your first three El stops in Frankford. So Bridge, Pratt, Margaret and Orthodox Church Street stations. There are -- sorry, I kind of lost the place of where I was. Give me one second. Okay. So on our stretch of Frankford Avenue alone, we have over of 9 these convenience stores, with more 10 than half of them having over been 11 in the past four years. Others 12 have opened and closed in that 13 time. 14 Secondly, too many of 15 these businesses seem to either 16 attract or allow illicit activities 17 that happen in or around their 18 storefronts. There are even 19 several instances of these 20 businesses near our Margaret Orthodox Street Station where we have witnessed shootings, street fights and even dog fights in broad daylight. Thirdly, residents want and need a voice and shape in their communities. They deserve the chance to say no to businesses that have long contributed to an unsafe atmosphere, have caused the closure of legitimate businesses and have thwarted the community's efforts to attract quality businesses along the commercial corridor. Business owners owe it to community members to have a conversation about what their businesses will offer to the community. A responsible convenience store owner will be able to work with neighbors to ensure that their businesses is actually a convenience to the community and not a nuisance, adding to numerous quality of life issues in the community. Finally, while many of the complaints about current nuisance convenience stores could fall under existing L&I, Health or Police jurisdiction for enforcement. All three departments struggle to close and keep closed such nuisance businesses due to the volume of complaints and patchwork of regulations.
So what we often see is we'll call our police captain, we make the reports to L&I, we make them to Health, and those systems are definitely working. They're coming out. They're shutting these businesses down. I can tell you the one across the street from me has been shut down so many times, but that is temporary until you're able to clear the violations, and then they open right back up and then the activity is right back where it is. So really, what we have is we have our folks, they're just chasing their tails in the circle. And I think at some point people give up and say, look, I'm not coming out there to make arrests, I'm not coming out there to shut them down because they're just going to open up in hours. 8 I think the solution to 9 put this before the RCO and let 10 community members who see this 11 stuff on a regular basis decide 12 whether or not this business should 13 even be allowed to open up is a 14 start to addressing that issue and 15 not getting to this cycle of go to 16 this department and go to that 17 department and shut it down and 18 open it back up, you know. So stop 19 the problem before it even starts. 20 That's what putting it before the 21 RCO process does. 22 So this will serve as a 23 preventive measure and will 24 alleviate some of the red tape our city departments have to go through to respond to these nuisance businesses. It will also provide another potential violation to shut down bad faith actors. It is yet another step in the process for opening certain types of businesses in the 7th District. Yes, but we believe that it is a step that will not deter a good faith business owner who wants to support the community and be supported by the community. And honestly, those are the businesses that we want to operate along the commercial corridor. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. And please state your name for the record and proceed, whoever wants to go first.
Good afternoon. My name is Robert Evans and my speech is supporting Councilwoman Lozada's legislation to restrict convenience store Bill 3 No. 250834. I've served as a Corridor Manager for Kensington and Allegheny. And every day I walk our commercial street, speak with business owner and witness firsthand the issue that our community face. I've worked closely with business owners, residents and city partners to reveal one of Philadelphia's most challenged but resilient commercial districts. In that time, I've witnessed a traveling trend. Over the last four years alone, we've seen an alarming increase in the number of convenience stores, corner stores, smoke shops along our corridor. Today there are about 15 convenience stores in a couple of blocks. What may appears to be harmless small businesses have instead became major obstacles to real economic and community recovery in Kensington. Too many of those establishments engage in illegally and harmful business practices. They sell unregulated systems, drug paraphernalia, synthetic THC product and other items like gambling or slot machines that contribute directly to the cycle of addictions and disorder in our community. Some operate with a little oversight and accountability, allow loitering, public intoxication and criminal activities to take root around their storefronts. Those practices do not strengthen our community. They undermine it. They drive away responsible entrepreneurs through the public safety and trust between resident and the legitimate business economy. Meanwhile the profit from many of those stores leave the neighborhood while the damage stays behind. Instead of supporting health, diverse commerce, those establishments often drain food traffic away from legitimate small businesses that are trying to bring positive change, like cafe, barbershop, market, professional services and family-run shops that create real opportunity for our residents. We cannot rebuild Kensington's economy when our corridors are flooded with nonsense businesses. We need to make space for responsible community center enterprise. Stores that hire locally follow the law and invest in our neighborhood's future. That's why I strongly support Bill 23 No. 250834 to restrict the opening of new convenience stores, smoke shops, whatever they call other industries in No. 7. This legislation is not anti-businesses. It's pro-community. It's about balance, responsibility and protecting the integrity of our commercial corridors so that we can attract really investment, propose safety and support business that truly serve Kensington families. We need to create a district where economic development and community well-being go hand in hand, and this bill gives us the tool to just do that. Councilmember Lozada, thank you so much for your leadership in our district and for standing with us as we work to restore pride, safety and prosperity to the Council District No. 7. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your testimony. And if you'd like to please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Alma Rios. I am a business owner at 4200 block of Frankford Avenue, and my business sits in the middle of three of these stores right now. They're currently closed during the day, but they open at 6 o'clock. It has been horrific there. I run a funeral home and these customers of these stores, they come there and they park in my parking lot. They park, they block my parking lot, making it very difficult for my families to come in or come out of my establishment. There are times that I've had to schedule funerals outside of my district just so that my families are safe, feel safe and are comfortable. It is not fair for me as a tax-paying business to have to rent a church because these stores are operating illegally. We are governed and are overseen by the State Board of Funeral Directors, where every year we have to maintain our professional licenses, pay for them, our establishment gets inspected so we do our work to maintain our licenses, to serve our community the way we were required to. But these business owners, they have no one that's overseeing them. They have no 16 accountability. So I support my Councilwoman's bill because of all the inconveniences that it's bringing to our community. And they should have someone. They should have accountability and just to make our community better, this is why I'm here and I support this bill.
Thank you so much. Thank you so much for your testimony. And thank you, Councilwoman Lozada, for your hard work on this very important issue, which I'm sure we'll be visiting in the 8th District as well. So thank you. Any additional comments? (No response.)
Okay. And if we could have the Clerk call forward the next witness to testify, if there's anyone else.
Yes. We have William Gonzales, Executive Director of Ceiba; and Angela Villani from Mariana Brachetti Academy Charter School. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
I realize we probably lost some of our testifiers because of the length of the delay, so we thank everyone for their patience. Hello.
Hi. Good afternoon, Councilmembers. My name is Angela Villani. I am the CEO of Mariana Bracetti Academy Charter School that has been educating students and protecting the children of Philadelphia for the past years. 13 Unfortunately, we had a 14 horrifying experience with a corner 15 store bordering our school campus 16 on Kensington and Torresdale. The 17 day was August 31, 2022 and it was 18 our first day back from being 19 virtual. Early that morning I saw 20 a school-aged and shoeless child 21 standing beside grown men on the 22 corner of Kensington and Pike 23 outside the corner store. 24 Being an educator and a mother, that image made enough of a mark that I decided to walk by. As I was walking, the school's Director of Security joined me as he knew the dangers of walking the block. And as we passed the store at 9:00 a.m., two men in the store's doorway asked if we were from the city. We said, no, and stepped away a few feet away and began to speak to a community member. Seconds later, shots rang out aimed at those men. We ran straight from the gunfire and radioed the school to lockdown. And although the two men did not get hit by the gunfire, a school employee on the way to work missed the gunfire by inches as it hit his car windshield. Think about that for a minute. After being taught virtually for 14 months, our students are welcomed back to school with a lockdown and gun shooting around the corner. And as this was happening, we were told that while the school was virtual, the same store had a shooting in August of 2021. Now, one would think that this would be enough of a nuisance to shut the store down, but it was only the beginning of a long and frustrating process. Below is a quick rundown of the unbelievable events that unfolded for the next months: 15 On October 21, 2022, 16 seven weeks after the first lockdown and 15 minutes before the dismissal of 1500 students, the assailants returned for the two men and this time killed a 24-year-old inside the store. On October 26, 202l, L&I and law enforcement successfully and swiftly were able to have the store closed as being a nuisance. Yet on February 14, 2023 it reopened illegally under a new name. But thanks to our persistence, it closed on March 22, 2023. However, some time between March and August 28, 2023 the city solicitor decided to reopen the store under strict conditions. We documented conditions to 311, the DA's Nuisance Task Force and 911, three shootings tied to one corner store in 14 months. And every single time, our students, staff, parents and community were the ones absorbing the trauma. On December 7th, I made a call to the city solicitor who reopened the store, and my message to her was really simple and it went something like this: We both know if there was a shooting on the corner of your child's school and my child's school, the store never would have reopened. And on December 8, 2023, that store closed and has not been reopened. I'm here today because all the children deserve to walk to school without the fear of being killed by a random bullet. It's our responsibility to make decisions that protect our children and provide them with a thriving and nurturing environment. Bill 13 250834 is common sense. Requiring community approval before convenience stores open gives neighborhoods a voice when public safety and child welfare on the line. It would help prevent the same exact cycle we lived through. And so, on behalf of the students, the community, their families and the educators who shelter them during lockdowns, I respectfully ask you pass Bill 250834 and ensure that no community has to fight the same battle twice on the same corner. Thank you.
5 Well, thank you for your testimony 6 and I have to say that -- well, 7 first of all, I apologize on behalf 8 of the City of Philadelphia that 9 you had to endure that. No child, 10 no student, no school, no one 11 should have to endure those sorts 12 of conditions. And we've been 13 fighting for these closures for a 14 very long time. 15 I want to recognize 16 behind you, Fran Healy, Inspector 17 or is it Commissioner? I'm 18 sorry -- 19 DEPUTY COMMISSIONER 20 HEALY: Deputy. 21
22 Deputy Commissioner. Yeah, a 23 promotion, congratulations. But 24 Deputy Commissioner Healy, who we worked with on our first nuisance business bill to get it passed and have just been working nonstop. It seems as if every time that we figure out a way to shut them down there's a loophole somewhere that's really in my opinion just been allowed to exist through the legal framework. And people have been willing to say, well, we can't do this because of that and we can't do that because of this. In the meantime, it's just a war zone in our communities that we're living with. So I apologize that you had to go through that. And I'm hopeful that that will close permanently, will not reopen and that we'll be able to also address some of these other very bad actors that are operating in our city. So thank you.
Sir, please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Buenas tardes. My name is Will Gonzalez. I'm the Executive Director of Ceiba, a coalition-building organization in Philadelphia's Latino community, and we're also the backbone to the Ceiba Latino equitable development collective that brings together the top 10 Latino nonprofits in Philadelphia to work together. All of them are located in the 7th District. Thank you, members of City Council, for giving us the opportunity to testify in this important matter. Bill 250834, amending The Philadelphia Code in terms of zoning and planning. We are in total support of this bill. I don't want to belabor the point, the testimony prior to mine. It was amazing, especially from the previous panel and the stories that were relayed by the charter school here. And so, it's obvious. And the way that I can summarize the matter further is the old saying that prevention is worth more than a pound of cure, the challenge here is that it's been really tough to get enforcement, to get these places closed, as the prior testimony mentioned, and that this is a matter of giving community control at the front end and involvement. It is not anti-business. I think the gentleman also mentioned that it's costing business, and it's making us lose opportunity costs with other more productive businesses. It also is affecting the quality of life and the health and safety of our community. So we hope that you can pass this measure quicker rather than later and look forward to working with you on this and other matters. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you for being here and for your patience today and your testimony. Thank you. Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.
I just want to make closing remarks if this is the last panel. Madam Chair, may I?
Yes, I believe this is the last panel. Is there anyone else here to speak on this particular Bill 250834? (No response.)
And seeing none, Chair recognizes Councilwoman Lozada.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to thank everyone that came today to testify in support of Bill No. 250834 to further protect the safety and quality of life of the residents living in the 7th Councilmanic District. Throughout the district we have seen convenience stores, and I find it ironic that we call them convenience stores because they are actually destructive stores popping up one after the other, sometimes just a few blocks, a few feet apart from each other as we heard in some of the testimony today. Most of these businesses become hot spots for nuisance behavior. My residents, including children and families, are too often forced to face drug use and loitering as well as gang and gun violence just steps from their homes and it is no coincidence that this activity is even higher near these establishments. We've seen underage youth being sold and offered tobacco and drug paraphernalia. And despite their efforts to protect their neighborhood, the people who live there feel powerless and unheard in the decisions that affect their own blocks. Like many other districts throughout the city, the 7th Councilmanic District is full of hard-working families, community leaders and business owners who care deeply about where they live. They deserve economic opportunity. The economic opportunity that we often talk about in this chamber. The 7th Councilmanic District residents deserve the same opportunity, opportunity that reflects their needs and respects their values, not businesses that show up without their input and disrupt real business opportunities and growth. Other major cities like New York take strong steps to address this same issue. In New York City, officials launched a citywide effort to shut down unlicensed and nuisance convenience stores, many of which were selling illegal or age-restricted products. They made enforcement a priority, held landlords accountable and sent a clear message that businesses cannot profit at the expense of community safety. As a result, many of those businesses have started seeking new places to set up shop, and Philadelphia has become one of the easiest markets for them to enter. That is why we are now seeing a surge of pop-up convenience stores across the city of Philadelphia. My convenience store bill is about giving power and voice back to the residents who live with nuisance activity these establishments bring. It makes sure new convenience stores can no 12 longer open without community input and support. This is about putting control back in the hands of the people, reducing the excessive openings of convenience stores and making sure our neighborhoods reflect the priorities of those who actually live there. While my bill focuses on my district, this problem is not unique to my community. Convenience stores are appearing across the city, often concentrated in low-income neighborhoods. This legislation is the first step towards revitalizing neighborhoods throughout the city of Philadelphia. We must protect our neighborhoods by making sure that the voices of our residents guide the future of our communities. I ask the Planning Commission to seriously consider supporting and passing this bill in their next meeting, and I ask this committee to vote in support of this bill 15 with a favorable recommendation to create real, driving opportunities in the 7th Council District and beyond. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for your words, Councilwoman Lozada, and for this bill. Very informative, very important. And I think that this will serve as a model for other District members as well. Thank you.
And now, will we have the Clerk please call the first panel to testify on Bill No. 250848.
Michael Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.
Good afternoon again, Madam Chair and members of the Rules Committee. I am Michael A. Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I'm here today to testify on Bill No. 250848, introduced into City Council on October 9, 2025 by Councilmember Bass. Bill No. 250848 amends the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by remapping the entire area bounded by Chew Avenue, Church Lane and Wister Street in the 8th Councilmanic District. This location is in the East Germantown neighborhood in the Upper Northwest Planning District and is located across the street from La Salle University's campus. The largest section of that property that fronts on Chew Avenue is operated and does business as the shops at La Salle, with a small public safety office at the corner of Chew and Wister. The rear of the property houses a church-owned residential building and some telecommunications equipment. These parcels were formerly one large institutional property, one of a number in the area, operated for nearly a century as St. Joseph's Orphanage. The current zoning designation of RSA-1, Residential Single-Family Attached, reflects the former low density residential scale of the area. The Philadelphia 2035 Upper Northwest District Plan recommended this area for remapping into SP-INS, Special Purpose Institutional, to reflect the plans at the time for La Salle University to expand its campus there. But La Salle opted not to add this location to its master plan for their campus, so the district plan recommendation is outdated. This bill, as introduced, proposed to change the zoning designation of this area to CMX-3, Commercial Mixed-Use, given the large parcel sizes in this area and the high density levels allowed by the CMX-3 zoning district. The Planning Commission staff worked with the Council office, thank you, on an amended set of maps that would reduce the allowable scale of development from the original bill. The amendment would instead propose a slightly more scale-appropriate zoning designation of CMX-2, Commercial Mixed-Use. This will better integrate with the surrounding communities while still allowing the site's useful redevelopment. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission will consider Bill No. 250848 at its public meeting on November 20, 2025. I'll be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Any questions? (No response.)
Seeing none, is there anyone else here to testify on Bill No. 250848? (No response.)
And seeing none, Madam Clerk, will you please call the next person to testify on Bill No. 250890.
Francis Healy, Deputy Police Commissioner for the Philadelphia Police Department. (Witness approached witness table.) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Good afternoon.
Good afternoon. Please state your name for the record and proceed with your testimony. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Good afternoon, Chair Member Bass, Vice-Chair Squilla and other members of the Committee on Rules. My name, as been mentioned, is Fran Healy. I'm Deputy Commissioner for the Philadelphia Police Department. On behalf of Commissioner Bethel, thank you for allowing the department to comment on Bill No. 250890 relating to catalytic converters. As you may recall, I previously testified in 2022 in support of then Bill 2209-3, which amended Philadelphia City Section 16 10-503. As such, the Police Department supports the bill here today which strengthens the existing ordinance by extending its provisions to not only include the theft of catalytic converters, but also the individual pieces or components. This bill recognizes that the catalytic converters are being stolen primarily for the precious metals inside, not necessarily for the catalytic converters themselves. Together with these changes and Sections 9-613 and 615, which tighten identification requirements for precious metal dealers and for junk dealers, this measure will further deter theft and aid law enforcement. As such, the Police Department appreciates the ongoing commitment of City Council to strengthen our local laws and provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to effectively address crime and disorder through our communities. These efforts make a real difference in helping us respond more efficiently to public safety concerns and improve the overall quality of life for our residents. This concludes my testimony. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Well, I just want to thank you for your testimony and thank you for your help. You have been working with us all along to address the theft of catalytic converters here in the city of Philadelphia. And it was only a few years ago that I think the number was in the 5000 range that these thefts were happening every year. Year-in and year-out these thefts were basically causing people to, you know, it was almost disabling their cars and their transportation and it was just such a problem here in the city. And working together, I'm just so excited because we were able to reduce that number to about 75%, 80% of that. And now, we believe that this legislation will close the existing loophole that exists so that you really just cannot sell these products here in the city of Philadelphia and making it absolutely unmarketable for anyone to want to steal these car parts. So thank you so much for your testimony here today. Any questions from members of the committee? (No response.)
No, okay. Is there anyone else who would like to testify on Bill No. 17 250890? (No response.)
No, okay. And seeing none, thank you very much for your testimony today. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER HEALY: Thank you.
And will we have the Clerk please call the first panel to testify on Bill 3 No. 250891, our last panel today.
That'll be Michael Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Department. (Witness approached witness table.)
Thank you so much. State your name for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon again, Madam Chair, members of the Rules Committee. I'm again Michael A. Gall, Senior Legislative Planner for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission staff. I'm here today to testify on Bill No. 250891, introduced into City Council on October 16, 2025 by Councilmember Bass. Bill No. 250891 amends the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by remapping a certain area of land bounded by Venango Street, Sydenham Street, Tioga Street and Smedley Street in the 8th Councilmanic District. This location is in the Nicetown Tioga neighborhood of the North Planning District. This bill will change the zoning designation of a series of currently vacant parcels that front on Venango Street on either side of North 16th from their current RSA-5, Residential Single- Family Attached, to a slightly less dense RSA-6, Residential Single- Family Attached. This relatively new district, only mapped in a handful of locations citywide so far, is intended to reflect attached rowhouses living in a slightly smaller scale. The Philadelphia 2035 North District Plan also recommends this area for remapping but with a suggested designation of RTA-1, Residential Two-Family Attached. RTA-1 is a twin semi-detached residential zoning district that has limited representation in the existing housing stock, especially in this area. The proposal in Bill No. 10 250891 largely still meets the District plan's goal of returning residential life to a predictable low intensity scale along this stretch of Venango Street. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission will consider Bill No. 17 250891 at its public meeting on November 20, 2025. I'll be happy to answer any questions at this time.
Thank you for your testimony today. Are there any questions from members of the panel? (No response.)
Seeing none, Madam Clerk, is there anyone else here to testify on Bill 5 No. 250891?
Okay. Well, thank you very much. And is there anyone else here to testify on any of the bills whose name has not been called today? (No response.)
And being that there are no further witnesses, we'll now proceed with public comment.
That now concludes the public hearing and we will now go into a public meeting to consider the action to be taken on the bills before the committee today. Madam Clerk, can we have a quorum check.
Thank you, Madam Clerk. I note for the record that a quorum of the committee is present. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion on the amendment to Bill No. 13 250707.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 250707. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 21 250707 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 250707 be adopted. All of those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. And the amendment to Bill 14 No. 250707 has been adopted. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion on the amendment to Bill No. 18 250848.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 250848. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 2 250848 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded the amendment to Bill No. 250848 be adopted. All of those in favor of this motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, the motion carries and the amendment to Bill No. 18 250848 has been adopted. The Chair now recognizes Councilmember Squilla for a motion on the amendment to Bill No. 22 250890.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 250890. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 6 250890 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 250890 be adopted. All of those in favor of this motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, the motion carries and the amendment to Bill No. 23 250890 has been adopted. Chair now recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion on the amendment to Bill No. 250891.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I offer an amendment to Bill No. 250891. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of the committee. I move that the amendment to Bill No. 10 250891 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the amendment to Bill No. 250891 be adopted. All of those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, the motion carries and the amendment to Bill No. 3 250891 has been adopted. Chair now recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion on Bill Nos. 250707 as amended, 250831, 250834, 250848 as amended, 250890 as amended, and 250891 as amended.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill Nos. 250707 as amended, 250831, 250834, 250848 as amended, 250890 as amended, and 250891 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit the first reading of this bill at the next session to Council. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded that Bill Nos. 250707, as amended, 250831, 250834, 250848 as amended, 250890 as amended, and 250891 as amended be reported from this committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at the next session of Council. All those in favor of this motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. And if there are no 22 further comments or remarks from this committee or our guests, this concludes the business of this Committee on Rules today. Thank you very much for your attendance. (Committee on Rules concluded at 4:10 p.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