A City Council committee on Friday moved forward a bill
that would make Philadelphia more developer-friendly, and another to force
earlier disclosure of money spent by super PACs during elections.
The development bill progressed after months of
wrangling. If approved by Council and later by voters, it would create a
cabinet-level department to take over functions now handled by a host of bodies
that include the Planning Commission, Historical Commission, Housing Authority,
Art Commission, and Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who introduced the
legislation in September, said the new Department of Planning and Development
would create efficiencies. During Friday's hearing, he called the long revision
process well worth it.
"It gave us an opportunity to not only come up with
what I believe is personally a pretty good conclusion, but it gave us the
ability to understand that this is going to be a working document," he
said.
The new department would have three divisions. One would
handle zoning and planning. A second would oversee housing and community
development. The third, the Division of Development Services, would help real
estate developers navigate the approvals needed for their projects.
While an earlier version also sought to include the
duties handled by the Department of Licenses and Inspections, Mayor Nutter's
administration and the development and construction communities opposed that
move.
Clarke had additionally wanted Council to have say a over
the mayor's appointment to lead the department and the transition plan. But
those provisions were removed after negotiations with the Nutter
administration.
Despite previous concerns, the bill received general
support at Friday's hearing, including from the administration and developers.
Luke Butler, chief of staff for Deputy Mayor for Economic
Development Alan Greenberger, said the city wants a "coordinated,
predictable process" for real estate development.
"We believe that this proposal contributes to these
goals," Butler said.
Some who had wanted L&I removed from the bill
expressed concerns Friday about that department's future.
"L&I really needs help. L&I really needs
reform, and L&I really needs more funding to do their job well. And that's
not in this at all," said Kiki Bolender, an architect who has followed the
bill's progress. "I'm kind of scratching my head about why they
prioritized this . . . over that."
The committee on Friday also approved - with little
discussion and no opposition - a bill to require independent groups that make
big ad buys during an election season to disclose the identities of their
financial backers more often.
Super PACs became an important part of this year's
mayoral Democratic primary due in large part to a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that campaign spending by independent groups is a form of free speech
and cannot be regulated. A PAC, the court ruled, can spend as much as it wants
to on a campaign as long as there is no coordination between it and the
candidate it supports.
The ruling allowed individuals, unions, and other groups
that were otherwise restricted by Philadelphia's strict limits on campaign
contributions to back super PACs. The three super PACs most active in the
campaign, one supporting State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, the others former City
Councilman Jim Kenney, raised $9.1 million with two weeks left until the
primary. In those final two weeks, the super PAC supporting Williams, American
Cities, spent $2 million, more than any individual candidate raised in the
entire Democratic primary.
Super PACs are currently required to disclose their
donors infrequently. In the mayoral primary, they filed in February, three
months before the primary, then not again until 11 days before the election.
Under the bill approved Friday, the super PACs would have to disclose the names
of their donors six weeks before an election and every two weeks until election
day.
Both bills will likely go before full Council for a vote
next month, and then to Nutter's desk.
The development bill, which requires a change to the
city's Home Rule Charter, would have to be approved by voters in November.
Source: Philly.com
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