Behind the scenes, the effort to approve the 76ers’ arena plan is well underway | City Council roundup

City Council on Thursday held a routine meeting, with members adopting parking regulation bills and resolutions honoring WURD Radio and the Mural Arts Program.

But behind the scenes this week, lawmakers began taking preliminary steps in the legislative process needed to approve the 76ers’ controversial proposal to build a new arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station, with a footprint from Market Street to Filbert Street and 10th Street to 11th Street.

» READ MORE: Five things to know about the proposed 76ers arena deal negotiated by Mayor Parker

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has endorsed the plan, and the team is hoping to secure Council approval before lawmakers adjourn for their winter break on Dec. 12.

Here’s what you need to know about Council this week:

Briefings begin: City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the proposed arena site, plans to officially introduce legislation green-lighting the project at Council’s Oct. 24 meeting.

But in the mean time, Parker’s administration is working to build support among members for the deal she struck with the 76ers to make it happen, including a $50 million community benefits agreement and an economic opportunity plan aimed at ensuring the arena is built and operated by a diverse workforce.

Administration officials led by Chief of Staff Tiffany W. Thurman have been briefing small groups of lawmakers on the plan this week. Councilmember Nina Ahmad, who participated in one of the briefings, said she needs more information before deciding whether to support the project.

» READ MORE: Gov. Phil Murphy gave 76ers co-owner David Adelman a private tour of Camden site where N.J. officials hope to lure the team

“We have to make sure all impacted communities have ways to mitigate ... the impact that’s going to be felt,” Ahmad said. “Fifty-million dollars over 30 years doesn’t amount to a whole lot.”

Meanwhile, Council President Kenyatta Johnson has blocked off six days in late November and early December for potential committee hearings, when lawmakers will consider the nine bills and two resolutions needed to approve the project and hear testimony from the administration, the 76ers, and the public.

It’s unlikely that the hearings will take up all six days, but they are expected to be blockbuster daylong affairs with significant public interest, given the opposition from the Save China Coalition to the high-profile project and the support it has won from construction and service unions.

Turnover: Due to unusual circumstances, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker will have the opportunity to nominate a new majority to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics in her first year in office, and on Thursday she revealed her first two picks.

Parker sent Council legislation nominating Nelson A. Diaz, a trailblazing attorney who was the first Latino judge in Pennsylvania and who ran for mayor in 2015, and Jim Engler, who was chief of staff to former Mayor Jim Kenney.

The ethics board enforces the city’s good government laws, including rules on lobbying, campaign finance, and city employees’ political activity. Members of the five-member board oversee a staff that investigates alleged violations, often making headlines during city elections.

» READ MORE: From Cheltenham to Temple and all stops in between, JoAnne A. Epps made people feel ‘special, important, and seen’

They serve five-year terms that are staggered so that it usually takes years for mayors to name a majority of members. But Parker could soon appoint three of the five members due to term limits, a resignation, and the 2023 death of board member JoAnne E. Epps, who was serving as the interim president of Temple University at the time.

Engler, an executive with the ChristianaCare hospital network, would replace Brian McCormick, an attorney with the Ross Feller Casey firm who recently resigned from the board. If approved by Council, Engler’s term would expire Nov. 16, 2026.

“I am truly honored to be nominated by Mayor Parker and I look forward to the next steps in this process and serving the Mayor and people of Philadelphia to the best of my ability,” Engler said.

Diaz would replace outgoing board member Sanjuanita González, and his term would expire Nov. 16, 2028. Diaz, who served as city solicitor during former Mayor John F. Street’s administration, is now an attorney with the Dilworth Paxson firm.

Parker will also be able to name a replacement for board member Valerie Harrison, who replaced Epps. Hopkins is Temple’s vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The two members who will be staying are Ellen Mattleman Kaplan, who was chief ethics officer in the Kenney administration and previously worked at the Committee of Seventy, and board chair Michael H. Reed, an attorney at Troutman Reed.

Bring it back: Councilmember Jamie Gauthier on Thursday introduced legislation that would reinstate the city’s sustainable business tax credit, which is aimed at rewarding companies that, in addition to profit, are focused on “centering localism, serving community needs, sharing wealth, and protecting the environment.”

If approved, the bill would give an $8,000 tax break for sustainable business on their business income and receipts tax bill. A similar measure was in place from 2016 until it expired last year.

“It is time to bring back the City of Philadelphia’s Sustainable Business Tax Credit, which rewards business that do well by doing good,” Gauthier, previously served as executive director of the Sustainable Business Network, said in a statement. “Sustainable businesses have our community’s back, the City should have theirs.”