Philly City Council has signed off on the first phase of Parker’s big housing plan — but not the version she wanted

Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover.

During its final regular meeting of the year, City Council approved funding for the first phase of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s $2 billion housing plan, a multifaceted initiative rooted in creating and preserving 30,000 units of housing.

The vote came amid intense pressure from the Parker administration, which strongly opposed changes made to the budget measure to prioritize Philadelphia’s lowest-income households.

The amended resolution is the product of a protracted legislative process. It calls for roughly $277 million in funding during the first year of the Housing Opportunities Made Easy, or H.O.M.E., initiative. Those dollars will be spread across dozens of programs to help renters and homeowners keep a roof over their heads.

The measure does not need the mayor’s signature to take effect.

“It’s a win-win for the city of Philadelphia and we’ll continue to work in partnership with the administration to address their issues and concerns, as well as members of City Council,” said Council President Kenyatta Johnson.

“I’m pretty confident that … the full impact of this program will be felt by all constituencies.”

What changes were made?

The first annual budget for the plan initially totaled nearly $195 million. Lawmakers then amended the legislation to include an additional $82.6 million in spending.

The measure now calls for $43.5 million for the Turn the Key program, which uses public lots to build new houses for first-time homebuyers who would otherwise be unable to become homeowners, including city workers. The original proposal did not include funding for the popular program.

In a major win for progressives and housing activists, the updated resolution also increased funding for affordable housing preservation and production, a popular home repair program and an effort to help tenants facing eviction and homelessness.

The measure additionally changes how funding will be allocated for two of the city’s most in-demand housing programs.

Under the legislation, 90% of funding for the Basic Systems Repair Program and the Adaptive Modifications Program will go to households earning up to 60% of area median income, or about $71,640 a year for a family of four. The data point includes places outside of Philadelphia.

The remaining 10% will go towards households earning between 60% and 100% AMI. A hundred percent of the area median income translates to $119,400 for a family of four.

“Think about it this way. Emergency room doctors must make tough calls to help a patient having a heart attack before someone with a broken bone. And none of us like that. There’s nothing worse than waiting hours and hours in an emergency room to be seen by a doctor,” said Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who chairs the body’s housing committee, during a hearing on Wednesday.

“But we all do it anyway because this is the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. And we understand that if our neighbor having a heart attack does not get help immediately, they might not make it,” she said.

About 200,000 households earn less than 30% of area median income, according to research published this year by the Housing Initiative at Penn. That translates to about one in three renters and one in five homeowners in the city.

Those numbers drove housing activists to push hard for changes to the H.O.M.E. budget.

On Thursday, activists applauded Council for listening to their pleas to support Philadelphia’s most vulnerable households.

“Prioritizing housing for the poor is not just a moral imperative, it is sound public policy,” said Dianna Coleman, an activist with One Pennsylvania.

Why does the Parker administration oppose the changes?

Since the start, the mayor has been adamant about the H.O.M.E. initiative serving everyone who needs help with housing — from low-income renters to middle-income homeowners. And she vowed to never engage in policymaking that pits the “have-nots against those who have just a little.”

During a tense public hearing last month, administration officials reiterated that stance as lawmakers urged them to prioritize the city’s most vulnerable and cost-burdened households.

They argued the mayor’s plan has always aimed to help that population but rejected calls to codify that objective.

“Historically, the numbers have shown that we meet those numbers regardless,” said Angela Brooks, the city’s chief housing and urban development officer. “And at the end of the day, we wanna have some flexibility as the need shifts and changes. It’s really that simple. It’s not some nefarious thing that seems to be implied.”

In the days leading up to Thursday’s vote, Parker and her administration actively lobbied lawmakers with hopes of changing the outcome. She spent hours on Sunday pushing her vision for H.O.M.E. while visiting nearly a dozen churches in middle-income neighborhoods across the city.

She told constituents that Council’s amendments would hurt working Philadelphians, particularly those in need of basic home repairs. The mayor’s initial budget proposal did not specify how funding would be allocated for individual programs, only income eligibility.

“We cannot penalize working Philadelphians,” said Parker in a release. “It’s important to help those city residents who most need our help, absolutely. But we cannot and should not do so by excluding all those working Philadelphians who are just over that 60% AMI income restriction.”

When will bond funding start flowing for H.O.M.E.?

The H.O.M.E. initiative is backed by $800 million in city bonds. The initiative’s first bond issuance is expected sometime next year, in part because Council still needs to approve an amended version of an ordinance authorizing the borrowing.

A Council committee on Wednesday advanced the bond legislation — the centerpiece of the H.O.M.E. initiative — following a combative public hearing.  But there isn’t enough time for the measure to get a second and final vote before the end of the year.

The bond ordinance and first annual budget for H.O.M.E. must be passed before the city can start borrowing for the initiative, according to a city spokesperson.

Parker has argued the amended budget could delay borrowing until at least March 2026.

Finance Director Rob Dubow has said the city will borrow funding for H.O.M.E. in two equal chunks of $400 million.

It’s unclear if that remains the case.

How did we get here?

Thursday’s vote came nearly a year after Parker formally launched the H.O.M.E. initiative with an executive order creating an advisory group to help guide the plan.

About a month later, the mayor outlined the initiative during a special session of City Council, calling housing the most important issue facing Philadelphia after public safety.

“I am committed to working with our legislative body, this City Council, to put people on a path to self-sufficiency and will not engage in policymaking that breeds class contempt,” Parker said.

In mid-June, during the final regular meeting before summer recess, lawmakers approved a measure that essentially authorizes the city to borrow the $800 million in bonds. Council also passed a group of related bills.

The votes followed a public hearing where lawmakers asked pointed questions of administration officials — about the plan’s timing, how programs would be funded and the private sector’s role in funding the initiative.

The back-and-forth included questions about funding and eligibility requirements for the Basic Systems Repair Program, as well as whether it was prudent to authorize the initiative before summer recess given the plan’s complexity.

Officials pushed back, insisting that time was of the essence given the great need for housing in Philadelphia.

“We have a crisis and we want to address it now,” said Tiffany Thurman, Parker’s chief of staff. “We don’t want to be paralyzed by inaction.”

She also reiterated that the mayor’s housing proposal is about helping residents living on a range of incomes.

“We’re thinking about all Philadelphians across the spectrum,” Thurman said. “We’re thinking about teachers, police, firefighters that would not have access but for the provisions in this program.”

By early October, council members were poring over the details of the administration’s proposed budget for the first year of the H.O.M.E. initiative.

It would be another two months before lawmakers would advance the legislation.