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Dear City Council & Mayor Street:


As a longtime University City resident and future property
owner, I wish to lend my support to efforts to limit the power
of the Phila. Historical Society to meddle in matters pertaining
to the exterior maintenance of residential properties in our
community. Specifically I encourage you to act to move Bill
020462, sponsored by Jannie Blackwell, out of committee and
promptly put it to a vote. I agree strongly with the limited
objective of this bill to put the final decision regarding
historic designation in the hands of City Council.

I recognize that Bill 020462 deals with a somewhat procedural
matter, not the "historic designation" issue per se. I would
nonetheless add that while the ostensible goal of "historic
designation" -- preserving the historic character of buildings
in the area -- may seem admirable, this can be accomplished
without legally declaring entire neighborhoods "historic,"
making thousands of property owners vulnerable to the
potentially costly whims of cultural bureaucrats. Historic
preservation can be just as, if not more, effectively
accomplished by focusing on individually deserving buildings.

There are already laws and regulations on the books that, if
enforced, are ample to address problems of properties in
unsightly and/or hazardous disrepair. These have my support and
should not be confused with efforts to address, essentially,
issues of style and taste.

In short, please support Bill 020462. There no doubt is an
answer to the problems at hand. Taking the decision-making
power away from the people affected is not it.

Thank you for your attention.

Dear City Council & Mayor Street: A recent conference held at
the Visitor's Center labeled "Rebuilding Philadelphia," did not
have a single elected official sitting on the panel. If the
city of Philadelphia is to survive, public policy must be
the cornerstone of economic development - return the power of
the Historical Commission to City Council.

Dear City Council & Mayor Street:

Please correct a flaw in the Philadelphia Preservation Ordinance
(Section 14-2007 of the Philadelphia Code). The ordinance gives
the Philadelphia Historical Commission (PHC) the power to
designate not only individual locations, but entire sections of
the city, as historic districts. While Section 14-4007 requires
the Commission to hold hearings on proposed district
designations, it does not take into account the social and
economic effect on the residents affected, but does it ask them
whether they want such a designation. Thus, the process is
highly undemocratic since the PHC is not an elected body but is
either appointed or hired and acts as judge, jury and
executioner in the designation of historic districts.

I personally, would like to see the power of the PHC to
designate historic districts taken away, because or their
unreasonable record of requiring unnecessary and expensive
repairs, particularly in historically insignificant homes.
However, Councilwoman Blackwell's Bill 020642 would help to
correct the flaw in Section 14-2007 and require that social and
economic factors be taken into consideration as well as
architecture and design elements. The PHC could recommend the
designation of historic districts, but ordinances would have to
be voted on by City Council, an elected body.

Please take Bill 020642 "off the table" and vote "yes" on it.

Sincerely,
Marianne Das

Dear City Council & Mayor Street:

I'm writing to urge you to support Councilwoman Blackwell's Bill
020462.

The Philadelphia Historic Commission has too much power to
designate areas as locally historic without considering impact on
residents. This power has been leveraged by small groups
representing subsets of residents with narrow gentrification
agendas.

I moved to Philadelphia after college in 1985, and I think it is
a great city. I support the importance of historic preservation
but I think it is an effort that must be undertaken with
compassion to both the "built environment" and the people who
live here. Being unaswerable to residents puts the PHC in a
position to disregard their concerns and this is harmful.

Councilwoman Blackwell's bill will not solve every problem
relating to the PHC, but it will put into place a much needed
element of accountability.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Ben Dugan

Dear City Council & Mayor Street:
This is a request for you to assist the residents of
Philadelphia by correcting a flaw in the Philadelphia
Preservation Ordinance, as implemented in Section
14-2007 of the Philadelphia Code. The ordinance creates
the Philadelphia Historical Commission as a body
inherently predisposed toward designating entire sections
of the city as well as individual locations as Historic entities,
and gives this agency the power to decide on designation.
And although Section 14-2007 specifies that the
Commission hold hearings with respect to proposed district
designations, it is mute on the issue of accounting for the
will of or the social and economic impact on the affected
parties. This places responsibility for decisions with
far-reaching consequences in the hands of appointed and
hired persons who are not answerable to the people of
Philadelphia, violating the principle of the "separation of
powers" and also opening the door to abuse of authority.

Bill 020462, introduced by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell,
can go a long way toward remedying this flaw. It preserves
the intent of the original Preservation Ordinance, uses the
procedures established for the nomination and
consideration of historic entities, and takes advantage of the
expertise the Commission has developed through its staff.
The essential change is to have the Commission's decision
with respect to historic districts become a recommendation
for enactment by ordinance rather than administrative fiat.
The new approach will require not only that the economic
impact of any district designation be considered, but also
provide means by which factors far broader than
architecture and design be fairly weighed.

Bill 020462 essentially brings the designation of historic
districts into conformity with the philosophy that has evolved
during the past hundred years in the matter of zoning, not
only in Philadelphia but throughout the country. In that
process, in Philadelphia, the City Planning Commission
drafts a community sponsored rezoning ordinance, which is
then submitted to City Council and the Mayor for enactment
into law. [The burdens and restrictions of historic
designation are comparable in effect to those of zoning. As
a further parallel to zoning matters, Bill 020462 would leave
the power to issue or withhold permits for work on
properties in historic districts to the Historical Commission,
in a manner similar to that used to grant or deny exceptions
to the zoning code by Zoning Board of Appeals or
Adjustment.

I therefore urge that you act to move Bill 020462 "out of
committee" and support its passage by City Council.

Sincerely,
Danielle Redden

Dear City Council & Mayor Street:
I am writing in support of Councilwoman Blackwell’s Bill 020462,
to reign in the power of the Philadelphia Historic Commission.
Under the current rules, the commission can, at its discretion,
designate any building or area of the city as a historic
district. This is a very undemocratic process. The local
citizens are, in theory, powerless to stop them. The locals are
then saddled with the increased costs of maintenance that comes
about due to making “historically correct” repairs. Even the
City Planning Commission has to submit rezoning ordinances
through the Mayor and City Council, which is more a more
democratic process.
I also feel that the current commission is trying to gain
power by making more and more areas of the city historic
districts. While preserving history is important, so is
progress. If the entire city becomes a historic district, it
will be very difficult to bring the city into the 21st
century. We need to balance history and modernization to
become the vibrant city Philadelphia was in the 19th century
once again. Would we like to go back to horse drawn carriages
again? When my area of the city was built, (University City) it
was populated because of the horse drawn trolleys. Should we
also bring them back? I beg you, bring Bill 020462 out of
committee and vote for the future of Philadelphia!!

Dear City Council & Mayor Street:
I am writing in support of Mrs. Blackwell's bill to check the
power of the historical commission. In West Philly, where I
live, a small number of real estate interests are active in a
number of projects intended to make the neighborhood "high end"
and less affordable. The geographical boundaries deciding who
can go to the Penn assisted school have pushed up the cost of
housing for example. Another project designed to push up the
cost of housing in the same area is the Spruce Hill historic
designation. The designation would mean that a small appointed
commission would be allowed to make arbitrary decisions about
building maintenance that will push up even higher already
skyrocketing housing costs.

Sincerely,
Chris White
Organizer SEIU Local 36