News & Resources
Government Affairs Update
City Council adjourned for a six-week recess and will return on January 22. The break came as Council and the Mayor continued their dispute over the specifics of how to spend the H.O.M.E. Initiative bond proceeds. The issue will be picked back up when they return in January, as a new bond authorization ordinance will need to pass before funding can be spent.
Several bills the BIA monitored last session saw movement:
Council Member Young’s Bill No. 240304 passed, requiring adjacent property owners to be added to insurance before demolition.
Bill No. 250646, Council Member Thomas’ security officer training legislation, passed after being amended to address concerns from the business community.
Council Member Gauthier’s Bill No. 250804, which creates additional requirements for the sale of university-owned properties in her district, also passed.
Council Member Squilla introduced Bill No. 251030, which improves the notification process for historic preservation nominations.
Next session, the BIA will be closely monitoring Council Member Phillips’ Bill No. 250980, which adds additional registration requirements for landlords, and Council Member Young’s Bill No. 250917, which prevents demolition in the 5th Councilmanic District without an approved building permit. We also expect movement in the spring on IECC updates in Bill No. 250644 and plumbing code updates in Bill No. 250645, as well as broader adoptions of the 2021 International Codes.
Last month at the state level, the PA General Assembly enacted enabling legislation that allows Philadelphia to create a 20-year full property tax abatement on residential conversions. The Mayor and City Council must now pass local legislation for the law to go into effect in Philadelphia. Incentives to stimulate the conversion of functionally obsolete and vacant office buildings to residential uses are a key advocacy goal for the BIA. We encourage all members to make their voices heard and let City Hall know how critical this abatement is to housing access for all Philadelphians. It is not at all certain that Council will pass the required legislation.