PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s housing plan inched forward again in City Council Thursday, as Council’s Housing Committee Chair Jamie Gauthier introduced three more of the mayor’s proposed bills to speed up the development process so she can meet her goal of building or saving 30,000 units of housing.
Gauthier said the bills will increase the number of units that can be built by eliminating parking minimums in densely developed areas like Center City and University City and creating a new zoning category for duplexes.
“We think that’s good too because it gets us density and hopefully affordability in a way that is not too dense for the neighbors,” she said. “Sometimes people are concerned about really large multi-family structures, but this allows us to do that in a gentler way.”
Of the five housing bills Parker sent to Council as a package last week, four have now been introduced.
The fifth is still being studied by City Council, according to Gauthier. That bill would allow property transfers to the Land Bank from other city agencies without getting council approval. The administration wants to be able to keep the process moving during the four months council is in recess, but would have trouble getting access to properties unless the bill passes.
The goal is to get everything approved by the time City Council is scheduled to recess on June 12. It means all the bills — as well as the budget — have to get through committee in the next three weeks.