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Welcome to City Hall Roll Call, a summary of City Council’s weekly Stated Meeting. Reminder, the information provided below is not an official or complete record. City Council’s official legislative database can be accessed through Legistar.
For a full play-by-play of the Council session, including speeches and public comment, be sure to follow me on Twitter.
City Council returned from its winter recess with one fewer member in its virtual chambers. Councilmember Bobby Henon (6th-D), who represents citizens throughout the lower Northeast, tendered his resignation to City Council President Darrell Clarke prior to today’s meeting. Henon was convicted last fall of bribery and conspiracy charges related to his professional relationship with local labor leader John Dougherty and Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
With Henon’s resignation, which comes in advance of hs sentencing in February, the residents of the Sixth Councilmanic District will be without a Council representative until a special election is held to fill the vacancy. Historically, when a Councilmember resigns in the middle of a term, the district constituent services staff remain employed by Council to handle day-to-day service requests. Legislative duties are typically assigned to other members of Council to ensure necessary bills and resolutions impacting the district continue to move through the body.
There has been no official statement from the City Council President on when he will call a special election to fill the vacant seat. As reported by Clout, there is sure to be fierce competition within the northeast faction of the city’s Democratic party for the opportunity to serve out the rest of Henon’s term.
City Council today also unveiled its redistricting proposal, the result of weeks of behind the scenes meetings and negotiations amongst district council members. The bill was introduced by Councilmember Cherelle Parker on behalf of Council President Clarke.
As explained by the Committee of Seventy in its Council Redistricting primer,
With the release of U.S. Census data on August 12, 2021, Philadelphia City Council has six months to redraw the boundaries for its ten district seats. According to the Census, the population of Philadelphia is now a little over 1.6 million, meaning that there should be roughly 160,000 residents per district. But population equality isn't the only important factor. Many communities are well served by being kept whole within a district, having one elected official to represent them and attend to local issues.
While the text of the bill has been made public, Council did not release an official map of the proposed changes (at the time of publishing.) However, a big Broad and Market thank you goes out to GIS Analyst Daniel McGlone for creating an explorable map which allows users to see the new boundaries proposed by Council.
The redistricting proposal introduced at today’s Council session.
(Click to explore)
The redistricting proposal will be considered by the full body of Council at a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole scheduled for Wednesday, January 26th at 10 a.m. If approved by the Committee of the Whole, the maps could have a final vote as early as February 3rd. The new maps would not take effect until January 2024, meaning that the current boundaries would apply to the next City Council election in 2023.
Bills and Resolutions Introduced Today (By Subject Matter)
Due to the volume, ceremonial resolutions introduced by Councilmembers that honor or memorialize individuals or organizations will not be listed below, but can be found on Legistar.
🏗️ Construction / Zoning
Bill adding areas to the Affordable Housing Overlay district. (Gauthier)
Bill changing the zoning for an area located in the 4th Councilmanic District. (Jones)
Bill amending the rules providing for inspection of properties located next to construction. (Squilla)
💸 Tax / Finance
Bill requiring employers to provide notification to workers regarding the availability of certain federal and City tax benefit programs. (Domb)
Bll providing city tax credits for costs incurred for the installation of fire escape rope ladders. (Clarke)
📜 Administrative Action
Bill - Proposing new Council District boundaries. (Clarke)
Bill - Charter Change removing gender based references from the City Charter (Admin.)
Bill - Removing gender based references from Educational Supplement. (Admin.)
Resolution - Removing gender based references from City Charter. (Admin.)
Resolution - Removing gender based references from city law. (Admin.)
📛 Boards / Commissions Appointments
Resolution approving Seth Bluestein as City Commissioner. (Admin.)
Resolution confirming the appointment of the city’s Victim Advocate. (Johnson)
Resolution making an appointment to the Old City Special Services District. (Squilla)
Resolution making an appointment to the Old City Special Services District. (Squilla)
⚖️ Privileged Resolutions (Authorizing Hearings / Urging Action).
Resolution calling on the Department of Health and Human services to consider a rule change related to organ procurement. (Parker)
Resolution calling on U.S. Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. (Johnson)
Bills and Resolutions Introduced Today (By Member)
Due to the volume, ceremonial resolutions introduced by Councilmembers that honor or memorialize individuals or organizations will not be listed below, but can be found on Legistar.
Councilmember Mark Squilla (D-1st)
Bill - Amending the rules providing for inspection of properties located next to construction.
Resolution - Making an appointment to the Old City Special Services District.
Resolution - Making an appointment to the Old City Special Services District.
Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (D-2nd)
Resolution - Calling on U.S. Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Resolution - Confirming the appointment of the city’s Victim Advocate.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd)
Bill - Adding areas to the Affordable Housing Overlay district.
Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr. (D-4th)
Bill - Zoning map change in the 4th District.
Council President Darrell Clarke (D-5th)
Bll - Providing city tax credits for costs incurred for the installation of fire escape rope ladders.
Bill - Proposing new Council District boundaries.
Councilmember Cherelle Parker (D-9th)
Bill - Charter Change removing gender based references from the City Charter (Admin.)
Bill - Removing gender based references from Educational Supplement. (Admin.)
Resolution - Removing gender based references from City Charter. (Admin.)
Resolution - Removing gender based references from city law. (Admin.)
Resolution - Calling on the Department of Health and Human services to consider a rule change related to organ procurement.
Resolution - Approving Seth Bluestein as City Commissioner. (Admin.)
Councilmember Allan Domb (D-AL)
Bill - Requiring employers to provide notification to workers regarding the availability of certain federal and City tax benefit programs
Bills and Resolutions Passed by City Council at Today’s Session
Resolutions:
🗣️ 211028 (Quiñones-Sánchez): Calling for the creation of the School District of Philadelphia Building Authority Workgroup.
🏆 211030 (Thomas): Honoring and congratulating champion of the week, John Bartram High School Football team, on their successful 2021 season and winning their first District 12 4A Public League title in 45 years.
🏆 211031 (Oh): Declaring March 25, 2022 as Belarusian Heritage Day in recognition of the contributions of Belarusian-Americans in the City of Philadelphia.
Bills:
💸 210683 (Green): Continuing the Philadelphia Hospitality Improvement Levy District (the “District”) and the Philadelphia Hospitality Improvement Levy District Corporation (“PHiL DC”) to serve as the neighborhood improvement district management association for the District; approving a new plan for the District, including a list of proposed programs and services related to the development and promotion of the hotel and tourism industry in the City.
🏗️ 210922 (Jones): Amending the Philadelphia Zoning Maps by changing the zoning designations of certain areas of land located within an area bounded by Fountain Street, Umbria Street, Paoli Avenue, Ridge Avenue, Livezey Street, Valley Avenue, and Henry Avenue.
💼 210923 (Jones): Prohibiting the operation of any casino-style or skill game that accepts cash payment for the chance of a cash reward and is not otherwise regulated by the State of Pennsylvania, all under certain terms and conditions.
📆 Upcoming City Council Public Hearings
(Click on the Committee listing to download the full agenda of bills and resolutions for the meeting.)
Wednesday, January 26th
Committee of the Whole, 10:00 AM - City Council will take testimony on the proposed revisions to boundaries of the ten Councilmanic Districts. (Bill No. 220003)