Philadelphia Aims to Create or Preserve 100,000 Units of Housing

Jake Blumgart reports on a housing "action plan" released by the city of Philadelphia on Wednesday. He writes, "The plan received a largely warm welcome from City Council members and housing industry insiders who had reviewed it by the end of the day. Many respondents noted that the plan is ambitious — it includes several policy proposals that proved controversial — while notably avoiding comment on several large roadblocks facing the city's housing policy."

Proposals in the plan include stronger policies for eviction prevention and a shallow rent subsidy of "$300 a month for a year for families transitioning from homelessness or facing a rental crisis." Philadelphia's director of planning and development, Anne Fadullon, has often mentioned such a plan. It also enjoys some support from Philadelphia's city council.

Another suggestion is to tweak zoning rules to allow accessory dwelling units, an idea that hasn't so far garnered much traction in the city. Parking, however, was never mentioned, Blumgart says. "Instead, a new bill increasing parking requirements in at least some parts of the city is expected later this Council session."

The plan was largely created outside the public eye, and didn't benefit from much public engagement. Some stakeholders, like Beth McConnell of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, are asking whether this is "a practical roadmap versus a set of aspirational ideas."