Title
Authorizing Philadelphia City Council's Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold public hearings to investigate residential and commercial development in Philadelphia, including waterfront development and the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia's recommendations to encourage new construction in the City.
Body
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia, in 2002, built the fewest new housing units of any of the 10 largest cities, authorizing only 1,000 new units; and
WHEREAS, City Council and the Mayor recognize the importance of waterfront development in the City for the economic and cultural growth of Philadelphia, but there is currently no single city agency that has taken ownership of waterfront development; and
WHEREAS, Recently, the City has announced plans to redevelop the Navy Yard and the banks of the Northern Delaware River; however, no plans have been announced to develop the land between the two sites; and
WHEREAS, For decades, proposals have been submitted to develop Penn's Landing, but each plan has faltered for various reasons. The Mayor recently rejected developers' plans for development on the Landing because they required significant public subsidy. Last year, several community groups contracted Wallace, Roberts and Todd, an urban planning consultant that helped design Baltimore's Inner Harbor, to study Penn's Landing that resulted in a comprehensive development plan. In May 2004, the plan was presented to the Administration, but, despite repeated attempts to follow-up, the Administration has neither adopted the plan nor continued discussions; and
WHEREAS, The Building Industry Association of Philadelphia has identified several hurdles to development in the City and has made several long-term and short-term recommendations to enhance development in the City, many of which have no or minimal cost; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformatio...
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