5 bills Philly City Council passed but Mayor Cherelle Parker didn’t sign into law

City contracting rules

Sponsor: Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson

The city of Philadelphia uses a procurement system for goods and services for most for-profit businesses that requires competitive bidding, but there’s an exemption for nonprofit organizations during emergency situations.

The city’s Office of Homeless Services in particular was chided repeatedly this year during City Council hearings and was the subject of an oversight office investigation for its contracting using taxpayer money and overspending.

As a result, City Council voted to change the nonprofit vendor process to match the for profit business process. This decision was not popular among nonprofit groups during public testimony or city administration officials. Despite that, the law is expected to go into effect on July 1, 2025.

Mayor Parker’s response

“The nonprofit vendor exemption allows select city departments to swiftly secure and provide health, public safety, and social services during crises, natural disasters, public health emergencies, unforeseen infrastructure failures and other time-sensitive situations,” Mayor Parker wrote in a communication to City Council.

Parker noted that this was used during a variety of situations: the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mpox outbreak, detection of measles at the Philadelphia International Airport, zero fare cards for immigrants, refugees and asylees who were ineligible for public benefits, housing emergencies for neighbors affected by building collapses, and tenants who lost their residences after a apartment fires.

Those situations “demonstrate the need for an expedited contracting process in time-sensitive situations where a lengthier competitive bidding process is not feasible or practical,” Parker wrote.

Basically, Mayor Parker asserts that the city can be a good steward of taxpayer money and spend money in emergency situations with nonprofits without the regular procurement process. She asserts that the bill is too broad, adds administrative costs for nonprofits and makes it harder for the smallest nonprofits to compete for bids.

“This administration has been committed to ensuring Philadelphia is open for business, especially our nonprofit partners that provide crucial services to Philadelphians. This bill, however, is antithetical to that vision,” Parker wrote.

Parker wants to continue negotiating with City Council to “mitigate any unintended consequences” before the law goes into effect.

Status: Bill will become law.

Zoning rule changes

Sponsor: Councilmember Jamie Gauthier

The city of Philadelphia runs a mixed-income housing zoning bonus program. It allows real estate developers who add affordable housing to existing projects a “bonus,” such as more floor area, more housing units per project or taller buildings. If a developer doesn’t plan to add affordable housing, they can pay the city extra money instead, and that money goes into a fund to support affordable housing in the future.

Under an affordable housing package, this bill requires that all of the payments made in lieu of affordable housing in new construction will be allocated to its Housing Trust Fund. That pot of money is supposed to be for funding new affordable homes, preserving existing housing stock, including repairs, and preventing homelessness.

The city’s rules didn’t require the money to be spent on affordable housing — a loophole City Council tried to close for the city to “use an amount equal to such payment within 5 years of the owner tendering payment for a project within the same council district as the development.”

Mayor Parker’s response

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission considered the change and did not recommend the bill, so neither did the administration.

Status: Bill becomes city law.

Housing Trust Fund

Sponsor: Councilmember Jamie Gauthier

The city of Philadelphia operates the Housing Trust Fund to help address affordable housing needs in the city. It was created back in 2005. During the most recent fiscal years 2022 and 2023, more than $61 million was allocated to housing programs and services from the trust fund, according to the city. For example, the city’s tangled title, eviction prevention and home repairs program is funded by the trust fund.

The bill approved by City Council would propose an amendment to the city’s home rule charter to mandate annual appropriations for the Housing Trust Fund in a special election during next year’s primary election, scheduled for May 20, 2025.

It would create a ballot question: “Should the Home Rule Charter be amended to increase the minimum amount that must be appropriated for spending on Housing Trust Fund purposes in the city’s operating budget each year?”

Mayor Parker’s response

The Parker administration told City Council in a note that the bill would “bind the hands of future mayors and city councils by requiring specific budgetary appropriations as opposed to proceeding through the normal budget process.”

For example, Parker notes that the new regulation would be in addition to the existing annual appropriation of at least one half of 1% of the city’s total general fund appropriations — which was the result of a home rule charter change in 2021.

“We agree that housing funding is essential but so are other portions of the budget such as education funding and funding for violence prevention,” Parker wrote.

The administration estimated the decision would cost about $5 million each year and $25 million over a five-year period.

“An amount that would be added to our already high level of fixed costs, further limiting our budgetary flexibility,” Parker wrote.

For example, during fiscal year 2024, about 57% of the general fund is earmarked for fixed costs, including pension and debt service.

“This proposed change would take away even more flexibility from the budget process, hurting our shared ability and responsibility to remain responsive to community needs over time,” she wrote. “It is crucial that the Mayor and City Council maintain flexibility to respond to unanticipated changes and provide the best possible mix of services to the residents of Philadelphia.”

Status: Bill becomes city law.

Neighborhood zoning change

Sponsor: Councilmember Cindy Bass

The city of Philadelphia allows the creation of Neighborhood Conservation Overlays, which are zoning districts that allow neighborhood groups greater influence over design and materials used by real estate developers. That means some types of exterior materials used in more modern construction aren’t allowed to preserve the community’s look and feel. The concept was created back in 2004 and it only applies to residential communities. Similar to a historic district, it does not have interior design rules and does not stop any demolition work of buildings.

In the Chestnut Hill neighborhood, the East Mermaid Lane Neighborhood Conservation Overlay sits just west of SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line near Cresheim Valley Drive and Germantown Avenue.

Mayor Parker’s response

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission considered the change and did not recommend the bill, so neither did the administration.

Status: Bill becomes city law.

Neighborhood health clinic

Sponsor: Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr.

Since the 1970s, the city of Philadelphia has leased a building along the 2100 block of West Girard Avenue from the state of Pennsylvania. It was once a 402-bed long-term care nursing facility known as the Philadelphia Nursing Home until it closed in 2022.

The bill prohibits the city from extending its lease with the state past June 2026.

A proposal by Mayor Parker to spend $100 million for a network of triage health centers in an effort to curb the drug epidemic in Kensington prompted neighborhood groups to petition against such use for the property.

Mayor Parker’s response

The Parker administration opposes the City Council decision.

“This administration is committed to making Philadelphia safer, cleaner, and greener, with economic opportunity for all,” she wrote. “[The bill] does not align with that vision nor the administration’s commitment to providing long-term care, treatment, and housing to our most vulnerable residents who are struggling with homelessness and addiction.”

Status: Bill is city law.