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The mysterious Point Breeze building moratorium
Council president Anna Verna says her office had "no idea" there was opposition to a proposed moratorium on more than two-story construction in Point Breeze.
The mysterious Point Breeze building moratorium
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For a few weeks now, controversy has been simmering over a bill sponsored on behalf of Council President Anna Verna that would impose a one-year moratorium on construction of buildings higher than two stories in Point Breeze.
The purpose of the moratorium, the legislation says, is to "give Council the opportunity to explore ways to preserve the uniformity of the streetscape and the current scale and density of the area."
The proposal comes amid ongoing tension in the neighborhood over gentrification. A moratorium on buildings higher than two stories would, presumably, halt many or most new development projects. It also comes amid a hotly contested battle for Verna's seat on Council as she prepares to retire — a battle in which racial neighborhood dynamics will likely play a significant role (the ticket features 2 black and 3 white candidates right now).
But opposition to this moratorium has actually brought together some groups rooted in the neighborhood's different communities.
Opposing the bill at a Planning Commission hearing were Claudia Sherrod of South Philadelphia Homes andAntoinette Johnson of the Point Breeze Pioneers. The former is African American; the latter is white — both testified against the bill, saying it would stifle needed development.
2nd Council District candidate Barbara Capozzi, the only candidate to attend the hearing, also voiced her opposition to the moratorium.
(Commission Chair Alan Greenberger agreed, commenting that "We're not quite sure where this came from, and why. It feels like a property owner asking for candy from the public candy jar to create value.")
Councilwoman Verna responded last week with a letter to those who wrote to her in opposition, claiming that she had "no idea that there was any opposition" to the bill and is now giving concerns "serious consideration."
But how did this bill originate?
Acording to Verna's own letter, it was in response to "some residents of Point Breeze who are concerned that the influx of construction in excess of two stories is changing the character of the neighborhood."
But Sharrod — a close ally of Verna — says "the bottom line is the community doesn't support" the moratorium, because "it would stop growth in the community."
As to how the proposal originated, Sharrod says she is "not at liberty to say."
Point Breeze Pioneers' Johnson agrees, and doesn't accept that Verna was not aware of potential opposition to the moratorium. She says its introduction shows Verna bending to the will of a small-but-vocal minority in the neighborhood, "individuals who've had the reigns of Anna Verna for close to 20 years."
Several residents cite the neighborhood activists behind the anti-gentrification "Save Point Breeze" campaign associated with the group Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze.
Indeed, a recent piece by the Media Mobilizing Project quotes group memebr Betty Beaufort defending the moratorum: "We’re not saying don't build, but think where you're building and is it making it so people can live peacefully."
A hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday.
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Sharrod pretending that she's "not at liberty to say" is outrageous. As an elected official, she has an _obligation_ to explain proposed bills.
The instinct to worry about people displaced by gentrification is understandable, but this approach is idiotic. Edward's Glaeser's article in last month's issue of The Atlantic is instructive: restricting building heights increases prices, not decreases. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/03/how-skyscrapers-can-save-the-city/8387/
— tsarstruck- Sharrod pretending that she's "not at liberty to say" is outrageous. As an elected official, she has an _obligation_ to explain proposed bills. The instinct to worry about people displaced by gentrification is understandable, but this approach is idiotic. Edward's Glaeser's article in last month's issue of The Atlantic is instructive: restricting building heights increases prices, not decreases. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/03/how-skyscrapers-can-save-the-city/8387/ (HTML deleted)— tsarstruck
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