I move for the adoption of this resolution. (Duly seconded.) Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 88 9/28/2023 9/28/23 - STATED - 2ND READING
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
And a resolution honoring the life and legacy of David Krain for his dedication to public service and advocacy on behalf of all municipal workers in the City of Philadelphia, introduced today by Councilman Harrity.
I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 89 9/28/2023 moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you very much. That concludes that part of our Calendar. We will now move to special business, and we will now proceed. Councilman Squilla, did you need to -- you're just waiting for me? Okay. We will now proceed with the consideration of Bill No. 230410, which was passed by the Council at its Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 90 9/28/2023 14th, 2023 session and was returned disapproved by the Mayor at today's session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of the bill.
Bill No. 230410, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 14-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Overlay Zoning Districts,' to add an overlay district pertaining to injection sites for narcotics."
Councilman Jones, did you need to be recognized?
I want to make some remarks before we move this, or should I wait? I can wait. I can wait. I'll wait.
Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 91 9/28/2023 Squilla.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. We heard people speaking today about science and data and challenges along with safe injection sites. We took a trip several years back to Toronto and some people went to Vancouver where safe injection sites have been used for a really long time and the challenges associated with it. In Vancouver since 2003 when safe injection sites opened, we were told about statistics of how people who use the safe injection sites, that nobody died in those sites, which is true, but since 2008, statistics from Vancouver have showed that there's been a 20 percent increase in AIDS, 61 percent increase in homelessness, 80 percent increase in crime, and over 1100 percent increase in overdose deaths from 2008 to 2018. And as they continued to open up from one to two to three to 20 safe Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 92 9/28/2023 sites, keep opening up more, overdose rates kept increasing. Now, when we look at that, we're not saying that people who are supporting safe injection sites are forcing more people to die, sort of like they're accusing people who are opposed to them. We understand it's the best interest of the people who are in addiction and suffering from addiction and how we could get them the most help possible, but data speaks, science speaks. People could skew numbers the way they want, but we as elected officials have to look at both the people who are in addiction and how we could help them, how we could get them into treatment and how we could get them back to some type of sustainable life and also the people in the communities that will be negatively impacted by some of these places in their community. This bill allows the community Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 93 9/28/2023 have input in where these sites will be selected, what would be happening around there, and how that their input would be put in place if these sites were ever to be put up. And to be opposed to that because of illogical thinking saying we know better than you do in your neighborhood, we know that you shouldn't have a say because it's going to make it harder to do this, we need to have variances for when we put rehabs or recovery homes in places. We got to go through a variance and deal with the community for that. So the same thing we're saying here is, we need to have a variance for this option. Also, when we looked at this, there was a Mayor of Vancouver who pushed for the safe injection sites when he was there, the Mayor, Philip Owen, in 2002, and he said that in 2014, you know, understanding that we want to help and dumping money and building social housing and filling it up with people from all Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 94 9/28/2023 the region and the country to come to these areas that have safe injection sites, they all get chemically dependent, and it's just more sales for the drug dealers in the area. So this is somebody that supported them and understand that there is a challenge with them also. So we want to as elected officials give our community the ability to have input in selecting these sites. And you could oppose them and you could support them, but to not support having the ability to give input is something that we and I am against, and I will be voting to override the veto of the Mayor. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Phillips.
I just want to thank everyone who has provided insight on this particular legislation. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 95 9/28/2023 listened very keenly to everyone's thoughts and opinions, but I want to also thank Councilwoman Lozada for being courageous to put this forth to City Council, because this is a very pertinent issue in the City of Philadelphia. I also want to thank Councilwoman Kendra Brooks for pushing all of us on Council to tour some of these safe injection sites, and I actually had an opportunity to visit with her and some of the Council colleagues, and I learned about some of the positive aspects of safe injection sites. But I want to note something that is really important. I just want to side with Councilman Squilla, that what we're doing is basically saying that a safe injection site cannot be placed in any particular District Council place until the public, our residents, the people we are accountable for, have a voice. That is the most important thing to us as legislators, especially me. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 96 9/28/2023 of the things I vowed is that I will not make major decisions without listening to the public's voice who represent our district. The office has Anthony Phillips' name on it, but it really is the office of the people of the Ninth District. So that's one. The second thing that I just really want to mention is the following: There were many questions that I had about safe injection sites even during my visit and during my studies. One of the things that really profoundly concerned me -- and a lot of Ninth District residents need to have a voice on this decision -- is how do you handle the loitering that will take place around these safe injection sites? How do you handle the fact that many safe injection sites do not have rehab programming a part of the safe injection process? How do you handle the fact that at these safe injection sites, a young person as young as 13, 14 years old can go into a safe Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 97 9/28/2023 site without having the support or permission of their parents? That's questionable. For me, the other thing a lot of Ninth District residents have said, we may not mind the idea of supporting overdose treatment for people, but this needs to be in a space that might be industrial, because the residential area, this is not something you want to promote. So this is really important to all of us on City Council. So many of us here are thinking a lot about this. We are thinking openly about this. So I think it's just important that we all know that we've listened and we appreciate the debate, but we are listening to the people of the City of Philadelphia, and before decisions are made around any particular variance, we want to make sure the people of Philadelphia are heard first, and that's why we will be voting in this particular Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 98 9/28/2023 Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. I want to thank my constituents who came out to testify today. I appreciate hearing your perspectives and I appreciate that you were passionate enough about this issue to take time out of your day to come to today's meeting. I care very deeply about a data-driven, human-centered approach to the war on drugs. We know that Black Philadelphians experience the most overdoses now. Overdoses in our community jumped 20 percent from 2021 to 2022. And so this is an emergency, period. It's also something that's very personal to me. My nephew died from a Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 99 9/28/2023 overdose in his basement. I've had friends die from overdoses as well. And so I'm not looking at this from the outside. I'm looking at this as someone who has been impacted, and I know that many others in my district in the City have been as well. Today's vote to override or sustain the Mayor's veto does not change the substance of the bill. The Third District will still not be included in the bill at this point. I will vote with the majority of my colleagues to override the Mayor's veto because I respect the right of my colleagues to legislate zoning in their districts, even though I do not believe that a zoning overlay is the right solution to a public health crisis. But despite our difference of opinion on this issue, I share my colleagues' concern about the opioid epidemic and look forward to working with them to tackle this crisis together. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 100 9/28/2023 this issue and every zoning policy, I just want to note that, you know, the community drives my decision-making. I have a track record of that over the near four years that I've served in office. Over the last several weeks, I've had numerous conversations with community leaders and constituents about overdose prevention centers, and look forward to continuing these discussions in a thoughtful way with my community and moving forward together. I want to apologize to my constituents for any confusion and anxiety that they may have felt over the past several weeks. There's a lot of misinformation going around. But I want to reiterate that overdose prevention centers remain illegal under federal law, and there are no active plans to open one anywhere in the City. I remain committed to meeting and listening to my constituents, to talk Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 101 9/28/2023 anyone who wants to talk to me about this. And I again want to thank all of my neighbors who came out today to make their voices heard. Thank you.
I had a whole speech prepared for today, and I think that it's just better for me to say that there are facts that are connected to this bill or associated with this bill or associated with the work that has gone into getting to where we are today. This Administration has had Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 102 9/28/2023 years, eight years to fix a problem that they have created. They chose not to. So I think it is disingenuous for the Mayor or anyone in his Administration to say that we need to get our heads out of anywhere, when obviously their heads have not been in the right place as it relates to this bill, to this situation, and to the Kensington community. I also think it is disingenuous for folks to say in their communities that they had two weeks to have a conversation with them to inform them about this bill. There were exactly 140 days from the day I put this bill on the floor to today to have a conversation with communities about their position. I appreciate the support of my colleagues. I appreciate the input from either side, but I don't appreciate the misinformation and the lack of work and the lack of resources that continues to go into my community. And for that, I won't apologize. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 103 9/28/2023 you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Harrity.
Hello, Council President, colleagues. You all know my stance on this subject, but, you know, everybody is talking about numbers, and the number that always stands out to me is one percent. One percent, that is the number of people who ask about recovery in the safe injection site in New York. That's their number, one percent. Okay? They are not there to push recovery. So that being said, for me I want everybody to know we are not against saving lives. I want to save as many of these kids out there as possible, but the way we do that is through long-term recovery, not giving them a space where they can continue to harm themself. If we are actually talking Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 104 9/28/2023 harm reduction, we need to make sure that we are thinking first about getting these kids into recovery so that they can actually have a life. And I share my colleague Quetcy Lozada's sentiment. I cannot understand how he can tell us to get our heads out of our ass, when he is the one that created this problem. His lack of leadership did this. And I'm tired of dancing around and trying not to offend people. You know what, he wants to take something out on me, let him. He's already holding a grudge on me. So if I got to be the one to say it, I'll stand with Quetcy 100 percent. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. Mr. Decker, read the bill again, please.
Bill No. 230410, entitled "An ordinance amending Chapter 14-500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 105 9/28/2023 'Overlay Zoning Districts,' to add an overlay district pertaining to injection sites for narcotics, all under certain terms and conditions."
Thank you, Mr. Decker. This bill having been read on two different days and was duly approved by City Council on September 14, 2023 and was returned to Council by the Mayor as disapproved at today's session of Council, the question is shall the Bill No. 230410 pass notwithstanding the Mayor's disapproval. Please note that a vote aye is a vote to override the Mayor's veto and a vote nay is a vote to sustain the Mayor's veto. Mr. Decker, please call the roll.
Councilwoman Lozada. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 107 9/28/2023
Aye. The ayes are 14; the nays are one. Two-thirds majority of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the Mayor's veto is overridden. Thank you very much. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 108 9/28/2023 for today. And at this time, are there any speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Seeing none, speeches on behalf of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. On Saturday, 9:00 a.m. we will have a historic Crime Summit to create a blueprint to deal with gun violence and crime in the City of Philadelphia. I often said in this Chambers that if 300 whales washed up on the shores of the Schuylkill River, every marine biologist, including Jacques Cousteau from the grave, would come to figure out why. What I will promise my colleagues is I will never say that story again, because on Saturday -- Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 109 9/28/2023
Councilman, hold on one second. Folks, can you please be quiet as you leave. Thank you.
Because on Saturday, Mr. President, we will have over 150 experts coming to look at Philadelphia and the crime that happens within it, everything from the Kensington experience and all the way up to what's going on on South Broad Street, what happened the other day when people went morati (ph) throughout the City of Philadelphia. Whether it was about the court decision, whether it was about sneakers and flat screens, it happened in Philadelphia. And this is not just a Philadelphia problem. It is a national problem. Major stores are rescinding their interest in wanting to locate businesses in big cities. From the retail theft that we experience to the murder rate, you have places like Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 110 9/28/2023 have lost patronage because of the perception of safety. You have major drugstores closing because of fear of safety. So the Chamber of Commerce, down to our aunts and uncles who get their prescriptions filled, are impacted by this. So what we hope to do is create a blueprint with these experts, with the Police Commissioner, with the District Attorney, with the Defenders, with credible messengers on the ground to figure this out. Now, what one of the -- and I'm going to say her name. She was a member of this body. Cherelle Parker used to say let's not be expert articulators of the problem. Don't just point at the problem. Point towards solutions. The focus of this day-long discussion will be, yes, I want to reduce the -- I want to increase the closure rate for murders in the City of Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 111 9/28/2023 problem, so how do we fix it? Do we do it through technology, license plate readers? Do we do it through drones? Do we do it through things that we can offer by way of technology? Come up with the solutions. To my colleagues that are coming, thank you. To those who cannot attend, go online PHL and give me your suggestions. It will be included in the blueprint. When we talk about the school-to-prison pipeline, Isaiah, we're going to talk about it from a vantage point that if it's a small number of kids causing a great number of the problems, maybe a solution is year-round employment. All of them aren't going to take an opportunity to work, but if half of them do and we reduce the population at the Juvenile Justice Center, that's a step in the right direction. Often not fast enough, but it begins. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 112 9/28/2023 this document, thanks to St. Joe's University, and create a white paper blueprint that we will put in the hands of the 100th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. So those within my listening voice, please go to our website in City Council, look at that QR code, and tell us what you want us to know, what you want us to do. Let us not just point at the problem. Please help us to point at the solution. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I also want to acknowledge our Police Department for overtime work and the time they've been spending out to try to quell some of the civil unrest that was out there. Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 113 9/28/2023 was a protest, and folks who were protesting have even stated that the people who were doing this type of activity and looting weren't doing that in the name of the protest. And I want to thank the Police Commissioner Stanford for standing up and addressing that, working hard to make the arrests and work through our system to let folks know that this type of behavior in the City of Philadelphia will not be tolerated. We support protests, we support freedom of speech, but we don't support criminal activity, looting and destroying private property. So thank you to the Commissioner for -- I know it's tough. He just got into the position, but they stood up and did their job, and looking forward to working together to hope resolve these issues in the future. So thank you.
Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 114 9/28/2023 you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Driscoll.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to remind colleagues that immediately following our session today, we'll be having a short briefing in the Caucus Room to discuss the economic opportunities with the extension of the subway up the Boulevard to Bucks County. Lunch will be provided. So colleagues and key staff, you're welcome immediately after today's session.
Thank you, Councilman. Quite an interesting idea. It will help people eliminate getting red light camera tickets on the Boulevard. Just take the subway up. Thank you. Thank you. Real quick to note, following up on Councilman Jones, tomorrow at 2 o'clock we have a hearing Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 115 9/28/2023 presentation, live presentation, on some very interesting technology. It will be quite interesting. Thank you. So with that, that concludes the speeches on behalf of the minority and the majority, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 5th, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 5th, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 116 9/28/2023 (No response.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you all very much. ) Stated Meeting 09-28-2023 117 9/28/2023 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. org 64:7 96:13 109:22 63:7 worst 49:21 visitors 2:19, wants 3:9 willing 65:7 wound 56:22 47:5, 21 101:2 withdraw 9:2 57:7 voice 23:14 104:13 witness 2:8 wounds 56:11 46:10, 11 war 58:11, 12 42:6 45:20 57:3, 13 72:14, 75:17 95:24 98:18 49:5 52:15 20 96:4, 16 112:8 wares 53:18 55:18 57:24 wow 43:21 voices 101:5 warrior 70:23 60:3 63:3 44:14 volume 41:13 washed 108:19 65:22 70:9 wrist 61:13 vote 38:10 watched 51:9 71:19 75:10 writes 28:9 44:23 76:20 water 54:18 woman 53:18 written 28:20 99:9, 14 67:24 68:6 women 27:25 wrong 15:9 105:16, 17, 18 way 15:16 43:12 76:2 wrongs 64:4 voted 8:25 29:9 35:21 wonderful 107:23 46:19 53:12 33:16 34:8 <Y> voting 44:22 56:16 60:16 words 28:13, Y'all 44:17 85:7, 13 94:17 61:4 66:23 14 54:4, 20 year 25:17 97:25 80:3 92:16 work 3:19 44:20 68:25 vowed 96:2 98:2 100:12 5:25 15:11, 19 76:3 VP 20:22 103:22 109:11 19:17, 22 year-round vulnerable 111:6 21:14 29:5, 21 111:19 28:25 ways 29:15 33:18 42:21 years 18:22 website 112:8 46:18 47:14 20:13 24:14 <W> week 19:7, 9 48:4 55:25 42:21 43:7 wait 90:23, 24 64:22 58:19 59:4 45:25 46:4 waited 19:9 weeks 100:8, 67:8, 14 68:18, 49:19 51:4, 5, waiting 89:21 18 102:13 21 69:12 71:3, 6 56:4 60:13 90:17 week's 25:10 8 75:12 79:4 61:7, 15 81:6 wall 16:21 37:19 101:23 102:22 83:5 91:8 17:9 18:5 welcome 111:21 112:22 96:25 100:6 46:22 69:20 76:5 113:10 102:2 walls 13:23 101:17 114:15 worked 33:20 yellow 41:9 16:16, 18, 23 well 21:8 68:10 York 11:16 17:4, 19, 21 34:13 47:14 worker 23:16 27:21 37:16 18:3 67:4, 11 71:23 workers 21:4 42:20 103:15 want 19:6 73:13 99:3, 8 30:19 67:8 young 28:6 22:6, 20 23:6, well-being 67:7 68:24 79:3, 5 29:23 33:22 41:18 Wendy 26:19 88:17 96:24 46:19, 23 went 15:8 workforce Youth 25:25 47:15, 16, 17 91:9 109:13 66:9 69:18, 22 27:2, 11, 18 51:18 52:4 We're 2:6 working 18:10 85:18 87:16 61:24 66:9 31:7 32:14 19:13, 14 69:7, 8 72:10 40:16 41:14 46:13 47:14 <Z> 73:18 74:9, 22 47:20 50:9 66:10 67:2 zip 47:12 90:21 92:16 92:5 93:16 75:14 99:24 zone 59:12 93:23 94:10, 95:19 111:15 113:9, 22 Zoning 34:22 95:3, 8, 16, 112:2 works 43:18, 35:5, 6 38:21 96:10 West 22:24 23 47:24 90:10 99:17, 97:11, 23 72:4 74:10 78:19 19 100:2 98:10 100:3, Westminster world 43:5, 6 105:2 15, 19 101:3 35:8 53:14 54:10, 103:19, 20 We've 58:15, 14 75:21 110:23, 24