Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd Dist.)
Photo: phila.gov
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd Dist.), chair of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development, and the Homeless, has introduced phase two of her Defying Displacement campaign, which combats gentrification through the preservation and creation of affordable housing.
Last year, Gauthier unveiled phase one of Defying Displacement, which Council enacted almost in its entirety.
Thanks to Defying Displacement, more than 2,100 homeowners and counting applied for the City’s new low-income tax freeze. More landlords welcome tenants using housing vouchers, and voters in the May 2025 primary will decide whether to compel the City to stop underfunding affordable housing programs.
Phase two of Defying Displacement cuts red tape by:
- Speeding up the approval process for affordable housing developments.
- Making it easier for homeowners to build generational wealth and remain in their homes by turning extra space into bonus units.
- Speed up the approval process for affordable housing developments
“At the current pace, it will take more than 200 years to build enough affordable housing to meet Philadelphia’s need,” Gauthier said. “To quickly get families into safe, stable, and affordable housing, the City needs to cut red tape.”
To speed up affordable housing production, Gauthier’s bills:
- Compel the Department of Licenses and Inspection to review zoning permit applications for affordable housing projects on an expedited timeline of five business days.
- Compel the Department of Licenses and Inspection to review building permit applications for affordable housing projects on an expedited timeline of ten business days. L+I currently offers expedited review for some affordable housing projects within ten business days, but only when requested by a developer and “to the extent capacity permits.” This bill ensures affordable housing receives priority review every time.
- Enable affordable housing projects that require Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) approval to receive an accelerated hearing date for no additional fee.
- Authorize the ZBA to make affordable housing commitments by developers a mandatory condition of their approval.
- Expand the definition of “Affordable Housing Project” to capture all projects that receive government financing or land or are protected via deed restricted or regulatory agreement. The City will certify that projects meet this definition.
By reviewing affordable housing quickly, efficiently, and predictably, the City can organically speed up development and reduce costs, ultimately leading to lower prices for prospective tenants.
The variance process in particular stymies affordable housing production. It can take over nine months and cost thousands of dollars to receive a zoning variance. This disproportionately impacts affordable housing because many affordable housing developers rely on extra density to keep the price-per-unit low. The free accelerated review puts affordable housing at the front of the line and gets families into homes sooner and for a lower price.
- Help families build generational wealth and remain in their homes by turning extra space into bonus units. Cities across America use bonus units, sometimes called “accessory dwelling units,” to bring new affordable housing online, slow gentrification, give families another way to build generational wealth, and empower homeowners to age in place.
Gauthier will make it easier for homeowners to create bonus units in Council Districts that already allow them in row home zoning districts (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th). Other Council Districts may opt in. Bonus units would be inside existing structures and would not change the look and feel from the outside:
- Allow bonus units “by right” in existing single-family homes in the abovementioned Council Districts.
- Allow an applicant to bypass ZBA review if their proposed bonus unit does not materially change the footprint of the existing structure.
- Keep the existing requirement that bonus units require a deed restriction confirming that the homeowner must live in the property.
- Remove restrictions related to minimum and maximum unit size.
- Permit bonus units in attached, detached, and semi-detached housing.
Homeowners want to add bonus units, but the current process is so burdensome that the City only approved an average of one bonus unit per year over the last decade.
During the 2022 round of property assessments, over 107,000 property values increased by at least 50%. This sudden increase made tax bills unaffordable for many working class homeowners and fueled displacement. Bonus units push back on this trend by giving homeowners another revenue stream to afford skyrocketing property tax bills and repair costs.
Seniors will benefit from bonus units the most. One in five Philadelphians is a senior citizen, and this number is expected to grow to almost one in three by 2040. Bonus units allow seniors to age in place while turning empty space into a welcoming home for families that couldn’t otherwise afford to live in neighborhoods of choice.
Leave a Comment