Title
Amending Chapter 9-800 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Landlord and Tenant," to address matters related to the landlord and tenant relationship during the novel coronavirus of 2019 pandemic, including providing for repayment agreements, and making certain technical changes, all under certain terms and conditions.
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THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1.
The Council of the City of Philadelphia hereby makes the following legislative findings:
1. On March 6, 2020, in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, the Governor of Pennsylvania issued a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency.
2. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization ("WHO") declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic, defined as the worldwide spread of a new virus for which most people do not have immunity.
3. On March 19, 2020, the Governor of Pennsylvania ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties to close their physical locations to slow the spread of COVID-19, which remained in place for Philadelphia through June 5, 2020.
4. On March 22, 2020, the Mayor and the Commissioner of Public Health jointly issued their second Emergency Order Temporarily Prohibiting Operation of Non-Essential Businesses and Congregation of Persons to Prevent the Spread COVID-19, which has been superseded, in part, by a series of orders that gradually allowed for the reopening of businesses in Philadelphia with significant restrictions to protect the public health.
5. On March 23, 2020, the Governor of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health issued a Stay at Home Order that applied to Philadelphia and numerous surrounding counties, which remained in place for Philadelphia through June 5, 2020.
6. The local and state orders shut down or reduced the operations of many businesses in Philadelphia. 99.7% of Greater Philadelphia's economy consists of small businesses.
7. These business cl...
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