City Council President Darrell L. Clarke's proposal to
put the duties of Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections and six
other agencies under a new department received some pushback Tuesday from
people in the development and building community.
Despite the concerns raised, Council's committee on law
and governance unanimously approved the bill for a full Council vote.
Clarke's bill would create a cabinet-level Department of
Planning and Development to take over functions now handled by seven entities,
including L&I, the Planning Commission, the Historical Commission, and the
Housing Authority. Creating such a department requires voters to approve a City
Charter change.
Because of Council's winter break, the soonest the bill
could pass is Jan. 29 - plenty of time to get the issue on the May ballot,
which Clarke wants.
Most of the seven witnesses who testified Tuesday said
they agreed with Clarke's call for streamlining the development and planning
agencies, but had issues with his bill as written. Suggestions ranged from
including community development in the proposed housing division, to having a stand-alone
buildings unit under a public-safety umbrella.
All seven said more discussion was needed on the plan's
details.
"A change so dramatic should not be put into place
without the informed input of all stakeholders," said Craig Schelter,
executive director of the Development Workshop, an advocacy group.
Clarke called the testimony "encouraging" and
said he would consider the issues raised. But it was hard to gauge what, if
anything, might change in the bill.
Some testimony said L&I "should not be part of
this proposal, and there was other testimony that they are supportive of
L&I being part of this proposal," Clarke said afterward. He said he
still believes L&I should be under development and planning.
A witness who differed with that view was City Treasurer
Nancy Winkler, whose daughter, Anne Bryan, was one of six people killed in the
June 5, 2013, Center City building collapse that triggered intense scrutiny of
L&I.
"Development trumped public safety on June 5,"
Winkler testified. "This tragedy underscored . . . how the city's building
safety oversight is in need of reform."
Winkler supports recommendations made by a blue-ribbon
panel Mayor Nutter formed after the collapse to study L&I. Nutter has yet
to act upon many of the panel's recommendations, such as splitting L&I into
two. Said Winkler, "It's time for us to hear from the mayor."
Lawyer Peter Vaira, who led the panel, said Clarke's bill
goes against its finding that L&I should have a public safety agenda as
opposed to a development focus. Following the panel's recommendations, Nutter
moved L&I from the oversight of his deputy mayor for commerce and economic
development to his deputy for public safety.
Clarke's bill "would take the city back into the
inherent conflict of combining development and building safety," Vaira
testified.
Clarke - who has opposed numerous Nutter initiatives -
said many cities put licensing, inspections, and code enforcement under
planning and development.
The deputy mayor for economic development, Alan
Greenberger, says the city is open-minded about the bill but wants further
discussion. Clarke said he will follow up with the administration to try to
sort out issues and get the measure on the May ballot.
"At the end of the day I think it's important for us
to move on this," he said.
Source: Philly.com
No comments:
Post a Comment