Bill on medical offices in Northeast approved

City Council unanimously approved a bill Thursday that could keep new methadone clinics out of Northeast Philadelphia, but some doctors and dentists fear it would make it harder for them to start practices there.

The legislation grew out of the legal fight over a proposed methadone clinic on Frankford Avenue in Holmesburg, but Councilman Brian J. O'Neill said the bill dealt with "much broader" issues.

Any business that is medical-related has too much leeway in the zoning code, he said.

The bill, which applies in O'Neill's and Bobby Henon's districts, would require new medical practices to seek a zoning variance and neighborhood input.

Mark Austerberry, executive director of the Philadelphia County Medical Society, told Council on Thursday that the cost and trouble of seeking a variance could discourage small practitioners from setting up shop or expanding in the Northeast.

"Northeast Philadelphia needs more doctors, not less," he said. "We have never heard of anyone who did not want a family physician nearby."

O'Neill said his district has had problems with large practices in neighborhood settings, but said he doubted that small family practices would have any trouble getting permission.

"I have an overabundance of small doctor's offices in my district and they become available all the time," he said. "I've never heard there's a shortage."

In other action Thursday:

Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced legislation seeking to make permanent Mayor Nutter's Office of Sustainability, created in 2008 to advance his goal of making Philadelphia the nation's "greenest city."

The bill would put a question to voters next May asking whether the office should be enshrined in the Home Rule Charter.

Without a charter change, the next mayor could eliminate the office. Strong voter approval also could signal to a new mayor that the office's work is politically popular.

Council members Maria Quiñones Sánchez and James F. Kenney and Majority Leader Curtis Jones Jr. introduced a bill to have the city issue "municipal identification cards."

The bill is part of a movement in some cities to provide ID to undocumented immigrants who cannot get driver's licenses or other state identification.

Sánchez chose not to seek a final vote on her proposal to create a land bank to streamline decisions on blighted properties. She is still at a stalemate with Council President Darrell L. Clarke over his wanting to give a Council advisory board a say in how land is disposed.

The pair met Thursday and made progress, Sánchez said, but did not come to an agreement.

Council gave preliminary approval to another bill seeking to strengthen construction and demolition rules in the wake of the June 5 building collapse that killed six people.

The measure would require all workers at construction or demolition sites to complete a 10-hour safety course, and direct the Department of Licenses and Inspections to issue photo IDs to certify their training.

The bill, part of a package expected to get final approval in December, also would expand the authority of Fire Department battalion chiefs to stop construction or demolition work if they see dangerous conditions.

215-854-2730 @troyjgraham

Inquirer staff writers Bob Warner and Claudia Vargas contributed to this article.