Philadelphia City Council to Strip Communities of Zoning Rights Councilman Darrell Clarke's bills #060901 and 060902 will alter the landscape of many communities and most don't see it coming. Hearings show class trumping race in Brewerytown community, but class is proving just as divisive as race.
The City of Philadelphia is poised to pass sweeping zoning legislation that would deny the city's poorest communities any effective voice in contesting massive market-rate development or other unwanted projects in their neighborhoods. A companion bill will allow controversial suburban developer Westrum Development to build an additional 595 residential units, priced between $300,000 and $500,000, in Brewerytown, one of the city's struggling and most troubled communities. The 2000 Census reported that Brewerytown had a 94% African-American population and a median income of only $21,000.00 per year. The last remaining hurdles for the bills, City Council Rules Committee hearings, were cleared on February 7, 2007. Barring a demonstration of overwhelming opposition, City Council is expected to approve the legislation on February 22, 2007. The mayor, a major supporter of Westrum Development, is expected to sign quickly. The hidden story about this legislation is its citywide impact and what the battle to pass it revealed about Brewerytown. Significant social tensions are evident there and are rapidly growing out of control, as an uncertain future comes into view for that community. "The City Council hearings were the tipping point," remarked a lifelong Brewerytown resident and community activist Martez Cooper. "They were little more than a marketing ploy by Westrum. They showed us that the only people in this community that matter to Clarke, the city and Westrum are those with enough money to live in market-rate housing, not the people who've been here for decades. And, there's bad news for the whole city because these bills aren't just about the so-called 'Brewerytown master plan' or Westrum. They're about the rights of communities all over the city to have a zoning hearing and participate in development decisions in their own neighborhoods." Residents and activists noted that the 595 residential units proposed by Westrum in Brewerytown, coming after 144 hotly contested units are nearing completion, will accelerate gentrification in one of the city's poorest and most African-American communities. Higher real estate taxes and rents, already forcing homeowners from the community, will only get worse. Long-time Southwest Philadelphia activist Tracey L. Gordon remarked, "None of the new residents will have to pay real estate taxes for ten years, while those already living here have to subsidize the new neighbors. And, none of the older residents can afford these new homes anyway. What's fair about this? Why are homes that don't benefit the existing community being built here?" At the hearings, Westrum staged the testimony of a dozen nervous owners of their new condo complex in Brewerytown and Councilman Darrell Clarke, sponsor of the bills, removed opponents of his legislation from the witness list. By the end of the hearings, class divisions in Brewerytown loomed as large as fault lines, with Clarke siding with the interests of Westrum and the new owners, not with the economically and socially devastated long-time residents. CPN argues for comprehensive zoning reform that increases transparency, accountability and community involvement in all decisions regarding new development. Bills 060901 and 060902, however, are piecemeal zoning modifications that benefit only wealthy developers and dramatically reduce transparency, accountability and community involvement. We reject these bills and call upon all coalitions, community organizations, businesses and individuals throughout the city to take public positions against this proposed legislation. The text of the bills can be found at http://www.hallwatch.org/profiles/council/clarke. Opponents are encouraged to sign the online petition at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NoTo060902and01/ by February 20, 2007 and contact their respective district Councilpersons, as well as ALL at-large Councilpersons. Every Councilperson can be reached at 215-686-1776. The Community Preservation Network, which prepared this press release, is a growing movement of residents associations, community groups and individuals committed to uniting all Philadelphia residents impacted by gentrification pressures to prevent the displacement of working and poor people.
