More needed from Parker to address Philly’s housing shortage | Editorial

When Mayor Cherelle L. Parker told Eagles victory parade-goers Friday that “nothing is possible if we work together,” it was charitably dismissed as a slip of the tongue. But she may have inadvertently given Philadelphians a preview of her plans to increase much-needed housing in the city.

At a nearly two-hour long news conference on Wednesday at City Hall, Parker announced her plan to build and preserve roughly 30,000 homes, in what she called a comprehensive solution to the shortage of quality housing. The mayor spoke alongside a broad coalition of partners in labor and government, as well as players from the private and nonprofit sectors — many of whom have publicly butted heads with each other on this issue before.

Unfortunately, the unveiling was light on details, and many of the speakers appeared to have very different visions of what is needed to reach the mayor’s goal. Parker herself did not announce any additional taxpayer money for affordable housing, nor were any changes in zoning, construction, or permitting put on the table. Additionally, she doubled down on one of the leading causes of Philadelphia’s broken local housing policy: district Council members’ power over land-use decisions, known as councilmanic prerogative.

Without a more ambitious effort, and more willingness to step on political toes, the mayor’s plans to curtail the rising cost of owning or renting a home will likely flounder.

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Parker’s call to preserve existing affordable housing may have the best chance to succeed. The city already has many effective tools designed to keep residents from losing their homes to rising costs — many of them developed or strengthened by Parker herself when she was on City Council. Basic Systems Repair and Restore Repair Renew are both valuable programs, deserving of an increase in funds in the upcoming budget.

However, looking after Philadelphia’s current housing stock is not enough. The city also needs to build more. That’s where the larger challenges lie.

Like many Americans, some Philadelphians hold a “not in my backyard” view of new housing projects. For those who are already comfortably housed, the need for additional development often seems abstract, while the costs in terms of noise and disruption and new traffic and parking demands feel quite tangible. Projects that increase population density — like constructing a tall apartment building, for instance — are a necessity in older cities with large populations like Philadelphia. As it so happens, experts say, it’s those kinds of undertakings that typically struggle the most to win over reluctant community groups and dubious elected officials.

Both market rate and affordable projects have struggled to gain widespread approval, even when located along key transit corridors that could use the additional foot traffic.

A proposed mixed-income project at 48th Street and Chester Avenue, which is along one of the city’s trolley lines in West Philadelphia, was shelved in favor of expensive duplexes. Another trolley-adjacent project at 51st Street and Warrington Avenue saw its number of affordable units shrink over concerns about parking availability and building height. A development at 10 Bethlehem Pike, which is within walking distance of three Regional Rail stops, is being fought all the way to the state Supreme Court by residents in Chestnut Hill.

The three projects represent more than 100 potential homes and dozens of affordable units — all developed without taxpayer money — that might never get built. Meanwhile, after Councilmember Jamie Gauthier instituted “mandatory inclusionary zoning,” which required every new development to set aside 20% of any project for affordable housing, new construction in her district dried up completely.

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Parker’s decision not to make it easier to build transit-oriented projects may help her avoid tough fights with influential members of Council. But it makes her pledge to build 30,000 homes even more difficult. Also absent from the mayor’s plan is arguably one of the most effective tools for stimulating housing production: a tax abatement for new construction homes.

According to national housing researchers, the abatement helped build roughly 60,000 new homes in Philadelphia over a 23-year period, all while boosting the city’s economy and tax revenues. Since the benefit was repealed at the urging of former Council President Darrell L. Clarke and then-Councilmember Helen Gym, new construction of rowhouses has fallen off a cliff.

Other rules Parker should reconsider if she’s serious about new housing include the city’s parking requirements, especially for projects in and around Center City, as well as the plethora of building restrictions implemented by Council members at the district level.

The need for more housing is a problem nationwide, and the mayor should be commended for seeking to address it, but she will need to be bolder in her plans if she wants to make the impossible possible.