Philly begins the process of repealing the downtown Sixers arena legislation | City Council roundup
Also this week, City Councilmember Rue Landau introduced another piece of legislation condemning President Donald Trump's administration.
The Center City Sixers-arena-that-wasn’t continues to hang over Philadelphia City Council.
On Thursday, lawmakers began the process of repealing the extensive package of legislation that members passed in December to authorize the 76ers to build an arena on East Market Street. Just a few weeks after Council green-lit the legislation, the team announced its intention to stay in South Philadelphia and build a new arena there instead.
Also this week, City Councilmember Rue Landau, a Democrat, introduced another in a line of symbolic resolutions condemning President Donald Trump’s administration, and members passed a controversial zoning bill that had been on ice for about a year. Here’s what went down during Council’s meeting Thursday.
What was this week’s highlight?
Strike that: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and City Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose district includes the site of the now-scuttled Center City arena project, kicked off the repeal process Thursday. The administration transmitted a handful of pieces of legislation, and Squilla introduced several bills, each of which would nix parts of the package that Council passed in December.
That now-moot legislative package included changes to existing zoning and tax financing overlays, as well as the authorization of land transfers and the creation of a special services district to provide cleaning and other services near the site. The initial 11 bills and resolutions, which were debated for more than two years, passed Council, 12-5.
» READ MORE: How much the scrapped Sixers arena cost the city
In January, the Sixers — alongside Parker and Council President Kenyatta Johnson — announced that they had reached an agreement to stay in South Philadelphia, where the team currently plays at the Wells Fargo Center. The team owners struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor, which owns the arena, to construct a new building in the South Philly sports complex.
Council will have to authorize the new project, but the body is not expected to take up legislation doing so this spring. The Parker administration still has to negotiate a new deal with the 76ers — the process of drafting a community-benefits agreement and writing legislation is a long one that took place over the course of more than a year in the case of the Center City project.
Johnson said Thursday he’s in no hurry.
“We have other, more pressing things that we’re going to address in terms of our upcoming budget and our overall legislative agenda,” he said. “So we’re in no rush at all.”
Council committees will have to consider and approve the legislation to repeal the last package before it can be voted on by the full Council. Committee hearings have not yet been scheduled.
What else happened this week?
Another week, another Trump condemnation: Landau introduced a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s recent decision to suspend student loan repayment and forgiveness programs for certain individuals and organizations.
Landau was referring specifically to the U.S. Department of Education’s income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, for which the agency temporarily paused applications in late February, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, which Trump suspended by executive order earlier this month.
» READ MORE: Philadelphia lawmakers pass legislation condemning Trump for ‘acting like a king’
Landau’s resolution came hours before Trump signed an executive order Thursday that he said would dismantle the Department of Education.
Council has introduced and passed a slew of symbolic resolutions condemning Trump since he took office, including another by Landau, which was adopted Thursday and condemns the president’s cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Department of Education made its applications for IDR plans unavailable after a federal court issued an injunction preventing the implementation of Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan — created under former President Joe Biden’s administration — and other elements of IDR plans, according to the department’s website.
And on March 7, Trump signed an executive order limiting eligibility for the PSLF, which is available to employees of government or nonprofit organizations. The order says the move stops taxpayer funds from subsidizing entities that “advance illegal immigration, terrorism, child abuse, discrimination, and public disruptions.”
As of December 2018, more than 300,000 Philadelphians owed $11.6 billion in student loan debt, according to the latest available data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
“This choice is not just an attack on borrowers, it’s an attack on working people, the LGBTQ+ community, undocumented immigrants, and those who serve the American public,” Landau said Thursday.
A controversial zoning bill gets the green light: Members on Thursday also passed a complex piece of zoning legislation that has faced fierce opposition from critics who said it would flood the already overburdened zoning board with new cases.
The bill was authored by Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr. and introduced last May as part of his reaction to the Parker administration’s effort to house people in addiction in a shelter in his North Philadelphia district. The bill will head to Parker’s desk next, and it is unclear whether she will sign it.
» READ MORE: A complex zoning bill passed in City Council despite fierce opposition, but Mayor Parker still has to OK it
Quote of the week
That was Councilmember Mike Driscoll, who delivered a speech thanking organizers of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade over the weekend. He gave a special shout-out to an Irish-for-the-day Parker, who walked in the parade.