Mayor Jim Kenney is vetoing a bill that prohibits supervised injection sites in most of the city

Mayor Jim Kenney plans to veto legislation that prohibits supervised drug consumption sites across most of Philadelphia, writing in a letter to City Council that the bill is “troublingly anti-science and misleading.”

Kenney’s move will send the bill back to Council, which passed the legislation earlier this month, 13-1. Overriding a mayoral veto requires a two-thirds vote, so Council is poised to make the legislation law during its scheduled meeting Thursday.

Despite Kenney’s veto, the passage of the bill greatly imperils the future of supervised drug consumption sites, which the city calls “overdose prevention centers,” in Philadelphia.

The facilities are places where people can use drugs under medical supervision and be revived if they overdose. Kenney announced in 2018 that his administration would permit, but not fund, the opening of one in Philadelphia, but some residents from neighborhoods hit hardest by public drug use and overdoses have protested against it, saying they fear that the sites will bring more people to their communities to use drugs.

But Kenney wrote in his letter to Council, obtained by The Inquirer, that “extensive scientific evidence” from sites in other countries shows that supervised consumption sites prevent fatal overdoses and reduce public drug use.

» READ MORE: What legislation to limit supervised drug consumption sites in Philadelphia does

The bill, he added, is “validating misplaced fears and fallacies about a lifesaving medical model that would benefit all members of the communities impacted by drug use.”

Kenney said that, in 2022, Philadelphia’s fatal overdose deaths rose to 1,413, the highest death toll the city has ever seen and more than twice the number of homicides the city saw in the same year. Overdose deaths are also disproportionately affecting the city’s Black community, he said, with overdose deaths among Black residents increasing by 20% from 2021 to 2022.

The legislation, championed by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, changes the city’s zoning code to designate supervised drug consumption sites as a prohibited use in nine of the city’s 10 Council districts. West Philadelphia’s 3rd District, represented by Democrat Jamie Gauthier, was the only district not included.

Council adheres to a tradition called councilmanic prerogative, meaning that each Council member could opt to include his or her district in the bill. Gauthier has said residents should “decide for themselves whether they want life-saving overdose prevention centers in their neighborhoods.”

» READ MORE: What to know about how councilmanic prerogative works in Philadelphia

Lozada, whose district includes Kensington and one of the largest open-air drug markets on the East Coast, has argued that the legislation is not a ban because operators could seek special permission from the Zoning Board of Adjustment. They would have to present plans to neighborhood organizations first, then the groups would vote on the proposal. The zoning board would consider such a vote alongside the position of the Council person when making its ruling.

But Kenney said in his letter that would amount to “handing the approval of any [supervised drug consumption site] at all to the loudest voices in the room.”

“History has shown time and again that making the right policy choice — school desegregation, for example — cannot always be outsourced to public opinion if we hope to make progress as a society,” Kenney wrote. “We are the policymakers, and we have a responsibility to make the tough decisions.”

Lozada said in response that “those voices belong to children, families, and small businesses that call the neighborhoods impacted most by this epidemic home.” She said that by vetoing the legislation, Kenney “is once again suppressing the community’s voice.”

“Mayor Kenney has had eight years to drive solutions and be a proactive force in combatting this epidemic,” Lozada said in a statement. “Instead, he has been reactive to our efforts and caused the city to spin its gears without driving forward.”

Kenney also encouraged ”all members of City Council to visit a facility to fully understand this critical tool’s potential role in our effort to save lives and benefit communities.”

Councilmember Mark Squilla visited a Toronto site in 2019 and said he came away unimpressed. Councilmember Kendra Brooks, the only Council member to vote against the bill, has visited New York’s sites three times. On Instagram, she called the site a national model that saves lives, and added that she wanted to “employ similar strategies” in Philadelphia.

In her most recent visit, Brooks was accompanied by Councilmembers Isaiah Thomas, Jamie Gauthier, and Anthony Phillips.

The veto comes as Safehouse, the nonprofit leading plans to open a site in Philadelphia, remains embroiled in federal litigation over whether the sites are legal. There are two supervised consumption sites currently operating in the United States, both in New York.

Staff in New York say that, since their opening in November 2021, they have intervened to treat more than 1,000 overdoses.

“This administration cannot help but wonder how many irreplaceable people are lost with each passing year that Philadelphia does not welcome the same opportunity,” Kenney wrote.