Remarks as Prepared for Delivery -Councilmember Jamie Gauthier Testifies Before Philadelphia City Planning Commission on Legislation to Protect the University City Townhomes
“Thank you to the Planning Commission for allowing me to testify regarding Bill № 210778, and thank you to Nicole Ozdemir and her colleagues for their thoughtful consideration of this bill.
“I am here today because 70 families who reside in extremely affordable townhomes, in the heart of amenity-rich University City, are at risk of displacement as soon as July 2022.
“The owner of the property opted out of their affordability contract with HUD, and is actively seeking to maximize their profit for this mega-site estimated to be worth seventy-five to one hundred million dollars.
“Without immediate government intervention, we will lose these very affordable townhomes forever — and for the second time in 50 years, government will have allowed wealthy private interests to profit at the expense of working class Black Philadelphians.
“Some residents who were displaced once before as a result of Urban Renewal will be displaced again. These families will lose access to easy access to transit, healthcare, jobs and schools — and their community will be torn apart.
“All of the consequences that residents stand to suffer due to government inaction run counter to APA policy goals, the 2035 Comprehensive Plan and basic morality — which is why I am here today to ask the Planning Commission to recommend the passage of Bill № 210778.
“Before the Commission votes today, I think it is important to recount how we got here, the role that this body played in urban renewal, and why this ordinance is aligned with the foundational mission of Urban Planning.
“In the late 1960s and early 1970s, during what was known as urban renewal, the City of Philadelphia razed the Black Bottom neighborhood to make way for a science and technology research campus, which today we know as the University City Science Center.
“Thousands of Philadelphians — roughly 80 percent of whom were Black — were displaced as a result. Not just from their homes, but from their community.
“This block was initially slated to be part of that research campus — but neighbors and University of Pennsylvania students banded together to fight.
“They demanded that sites be set aside for affordable housing — so that people displaced by urban renewal had options to return. So that they would have access to housing in the neighborhood for generations to come. And eventually, a commitment was made to West Philly residents that this site would be dedicated to low-income housing.
“Now, let’s fast forward to today. 40 years after the University City Townhomes first opened, our city — and our district — has changed dramatically.
“Housing prices have tripled in this immediate area since then. In the last 2 decades alone, the Black population east of 52nd Street has been cut in half. And the end of this demand is nowhere in sight: an estimated 5 billion dollars has been spent on construction in University City in the last decade alone.
“So all of this helps to explain why the University City Townhomes are irreplaceable. Dozens of 3 bedroom apartments, with rents that are 90 percent cheaper than what you can get on the open market — sitting on a piece of land that is valued today at seventy five to one hundred million dollars.
“As a Black woman and an urban planner, I am well-aware of how the institution of planning has exacerbated racial inequities in cities.
“These wrongs of planners past are eloquently acknowledged and addressed by Director Eleanor Sharpe, along with planning directors from across the country, in their Commitment to Change Statement, which notes that planners played an integral role in the displacement of communities of color over the course of modern American history.
“That history is clearly reflected in my district: the Philadelphia City Planning Commission helped facilitate Urban Renewal, leading to the displacement of thousands of Black Bottom residents.
“Today, this body has an opportunity to make amends to community for past wrongs, and commit to change moving forward. Recommending this legislation aligns with the American Planning Association’s Housing Policy Guide Statement 2B, which supports the preservation of existing affordable housing in gentrifying, amenity rich areas.
“Philadelphia’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan likewise notes that ‘the location of new housing, particularly housing supported by government funding, should be prioritized based on adjacency to existing community assets and strengths: commercial corridors, transit stations, and stable residential blocks.’ In this instance we are talking about existing housing, but the same logic to preserve this community should apply.
“The University Southwest District Plan calls for mixed-use development on this site. I would argue that our proposed re-mapping and overlay still achieve the District Plan’s intent and does so in a way that creates space for equity, community cohesion, and cultural and housing preservation.
“First, the mapping change to RMX-3 ensures that mixed-use development could still take place on the site at the scale of what is envisioned in the District Plan. Making residential mandatory and adding the affordability requirements provides a check against the perverse market forces at play today, that encourage maximizing profit over the creation of inclusive neighborhoods where people with very low incomes can have housing near amenities.
“I think it’s also important to note that this particular District Plan was adopted in mid 2013, when real estate conditions were very different than they are now, in 2021, with the market hotter than I’ve ever seen it before.
“Without more restrictive zoning, the private market will not produce or preserve affordable units in this area. Today, the Planning Commission has an opportunity to change that, and to align its official actions with the values we all hold. I urge the Planning Commission to recommend the adoption of Bill № 210778. Thank you.”
