PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A bill introduced Thursday in Philadelphia City Council would allow retailers to charge customers 15 cents for paper bags at checkout. Another would lease a portion of the Ben Franklin Parkway for use as a museum devoted to art by the Calder family.
They were among several notable pieces of legislation that Council received for consideration.
Also Thursday, Council approved members of the long-awaited Civilian Police Oversight Commission.
The bills amending Philadelphia’s plastic bag ban may seem hasty, considering that the ban took full effect just this month following a pandemic-related delay and then a long, multi-stage phase-in.
But its sponsor, Councilmember Mark Squilla, is impatient to see results.
“The goal of the bill was always to have an 80% reduction in single-use bags,” he said. “It should be bringing your own bags.”
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Unlike other places that banned single-use plastic bags, Philadelphia did not allow retailers to supply alternatives for a fee. Squilla said the city has been doing research to see if the ban is working without the fee and, if it is, the fee would not take effect.
“If after the study comes back and we see that we didn’t reach our goal, the fee would then be added to single-use bags,” he said. He added he is open to negotiations on the amount of the fee.
The bill also clarifies that there are no plastic bags acceptable under the ban. Some retailers had been bagging purchases in heavier-weight plastic, on the theory that it could be used again. Squilla said he wants the law to be clear.
“It’s a ban,” he said. “If it’s plastic, you can’t use it.”
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The delay in the plastic bag ban is minor compared to the delay in the creation of a museum dedicated to the Calders.
The Calder Museum was first proposed during the Rendell administration in the 1990s.
Supporters noted the already sizable representation of art by Alexander Milne Calder, including the bronze statue of William Penn atop City Hall. But the museum proposal hit a number of snags.
A breakthrough in 2020 seemed to be finally moving it toward becoming a reality. Then COVID-19 hit.
Department of Planning and Development Director Anne Fadullon said the project is, once again, back on track.
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“They’ve done a lot of capital fundraising, and they’re really ready to move this forward,” she said.
The Council bill would lease the museum land between 21st and 22nd streets on the south side of the parkway across from the Barnes. Fadullon said she is working with multiple city agencies to integrate the museum into the new parkway master plan.
“We think this will be a great addition to the museums on the parkway,” she said. “Residents, school kids and tourists can hit a few museums in a day, and it’s nice to have that centralized location.”
No details about the museum are available yet. They will likely be revealed at the Art Commission meeting in July.
It was a busy day for bill introductions. Councilman Derek Green proposed asking voters to create a commission to redistrict Council seats every ten years, and a bill approving a contract to make street lights more energy efficient.
“This project will convert 120,000 streetlights to LED and to add controls to existing LED [lights] while adding a lighting management system,” said city spokesperson Joy Huertas.
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There was also a zoning bill to allow Temple University to build a new College of Public Health on its main campus.
“The new home for the College of Public Health is board approved and funding plans are in place,” said a Temple spokesman.
“While this project is still a ways away from completion, the introduction of the zoning bill in today’s Philadelphia City Council meeting helps set it on the right path. We’re grateful to both City Council and the City of Philadelphia for their continued support.”
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Legislation given final Council approval on Thursday included the naming of members for the new Citizens Police Oversight Commission. Councilman Curtis Jones said they’ll get right to work.
“They are meeting tomorrow,” he said. “They will do training. Oversight without insight is shortsighted.”
The commission will hear the hundreds of complaints citizens bring against police each year, with an eye toward improving the department.