Cherelle Parker promised 30,000 units of ‘affordable housing’ as a candidate. She’s watered down that goal as mayor.

While running in last year’s Democratic primary for mayor, Cherelle L. Parker repeatedly promised to build 30,000 units of affordable housing.

”I have a plan to grow Philadelphia’s economy,“ Parker said in a televised forum last spring. “It includes the building of 30,000 affordable units of housing.” At a forum in May, she again vowed “to create 30,000 units of affordable housing.”

But at some point after she won that race, the mayor appears to have dropped the “affordable” part. Since at least her Jan. 2 inauguration, Parker has shifted to describing that campaign promise as a plan to build or repair 30,000 homes of any kind. That means the administration will include homes and rentals constructed by private-sector builders as well as houses repaired using government-funded programs.

“Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has always seen the goal of 30,000 housing units in a broad, comprehensive way, encompassing market rate and affordable housing, the restoration and rehabilitation of existing homes, and private and public housing development,” John Mondlak, the interim director of planning and development, said in a statement.

Despite that significant change, experts say that Parker’s goal would be a meaningful increase. The last administration, for instance, approved less than half that number of new units in its first term.

“It’s ambitious, but attainable,” said Vincent Reina, an urban planner and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “Thirty-thousand is not beyond the realm of possibility. It’s a realistic goal for something that they could actually meet.”

» READ MORE: What is affordable housing?

Here’s what you need to know about Parker’s goals on housing:

Oftentimes, debates about affordable housing center on whether a unit is truly affordable. A subsidized apartment’s rent, for instance, might be lower than what landlords could charge on the open market, while still being out of reach for many longtime residents of the neighborhood.

Now that Parker has changed her goal, that won’t be an issue. The administration plans to count every newly constructed or repaired home in the city over her first four years in office, regardless of affordability. That includes privately constructed units and affordable ones created by other layers of government, such as the federally funded Philadelphia Housing Authority.

“The goal is going to scoop up everything,” Mondlak said. “It’s new construction, it’s renovation, it’s going to be fair market, it’s going to be naturally occurring, it’s going to be government-subsidized, it’s going to be government-built.”

Mondlak said the administration will launch an online portal where the public can track the administration’s progress.

For all projects that the city can influence, the administration will insist that the units reflect Parker’s vision for Philadelphians to have access to “affordable luxury,” Mondlak said. It’s not yet clear how the administration will enforce those standards.

“You want nice finishes, good design, nice hardware, efficient appliances in every single unit … that we have a role in, either subsidized with land [or] with money,” Mondlak said.

The administration’s plan to boost housing has two major prongs: expanding existing programs aimed at creating or preserving affordable housing, and changing rules and regulations to encourage private development.

When it comes to government programs, Parker has proposed expanding Turn the Key, a city program that subsidizes mortgages for working-class residents, especially municipal employees.

She also supports the city’s Basic Systems Repair Program and Restore Repair Renew, which provides low-interest loans for home repairs. Mondlak also highlighted the work of the housing authority, which has been securing additional federal funds, and the Whole Homes Repair program created by State Sen. Nikil Saval (D., Philadelphia), which also helps lower income homeowners with house repairs.

Parker’s interim planning and development czar said his team is also looking at ways to juice the housing market by making the regulatory process easier to navigate.

“We are undertaking a huge endeavor to look at every one of our regulatory requirements to see what can be streamlined, what can be omitted, what can be prioritized,” Mondlak said.

They are also looking for ways to streamline bureaucracies like the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Land Bank, the Historical Commission, and the requirements around the registered community organizations that play a role in approving certain development projects.

“Time is money,” said Mondlak. “If you can get people through the permitting a lot quicker, then that saves them money and that allows production to increase.”

During the pandemic, wait times at the Zoning Board of Adjustment ballooned and cases sometimes weren’t heard for over six months, leading some projects to be abandoned. Mondlak wants to see the ZBA get more resources and more board appointees, and to cut down on caseloads by eliminating some minor zoning requirements.

He also suggested the regulatory process could be made more favorable for affordable housing developers. He noted, for instance, that PHA is exempted from paying city permit fees, and said that policy could be extended to other builders who want to construct affordable units.

Expanding housing programs for low-income Philadelphians is broadly popular in City Hall. But as Parker tries to streamline rules and regulations around development, she may meet resistance from City Council, which holds enormous sway over zoning and sales of city-owned land.

Individual members have created a patchwork of zoning overlays across the city with different rules for particular neighborhoods or even blocks. Parker herself made extensive use of these powers while serving on Council.

But Mondlak says his staff talks with Council members frequently and believes they will be on board with a push to make housing production faster.

“Some of them want different zones,” he said. “But I think the overall objective, I would be surprised if someone said don’t do it that way in my district.”

Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.