5th Square Advocacy Statement on Housing Opportunities Made Easy (HOME) Budget Priorities

5th Square Advocacy is excited to see what a focus on housing investment and policy change can bring to Philly. In the ongoing debate around the HOME Plan, we are most eager to see the results of these key investments and changes that were debated over the past few weeks in City Council: 

• Streamlining the Philadelphia Land Bank disposition process to ensure that city-owned parcels are approved and put back into productive use as low- and moderate-income housing as quickly as possible.
• Increasing investment in existing programs such as BSR, AMP, etc. that prioritize liveability and displacement protections.
• Targeting public funds for affordable housing, so that the majority of direct housing production and preservation funding from HOME Bonds goes towards improving and building deeply affordable units

We also want to bring attention to the changes to City procedure that we believe must move forward alongside investment. Philadelphia’s fiscal commitment to affordable housing must be paired with reforms that remove barriers to all kinds of housing development. Philly cannot fully subsidize its way to the City’s housing production goals – additionally, catalyzing more private investment and reducing burdensome development delays through zoning and procedural reform will enable economic investment that will be necessary to pay debt on the HOME Plan’s financing to provide needed deeply affordable units. The cost-free policy changes that can increase the HOME Plan impact that 5th Square Advocacy hopes to see include: 

• A “Fast-track” for affordable housing permits so that every neighborhood in Philadelphia can quickly build affordable housing units, and the city can remove as many barriers as possible to creating the types of housing that are most needed. NYC recently approved changes to their city charter that would allow their zoning board to award variances to affordable housing projects without lengthy public engagement processes and also created an Affordable Housing Board of Appeals that could reverse council decisions that blocked new affordable housing projects. 5th Square would like to see a similar process as part of the HOME plan.
• Loosened restrictions around SROs, ADUs, and smaller infill projects which are one of the easiest ways to both create more housing units and also target affordable housing towards vulnerable populations such as the elderly and low-income residents. Given Philadelphia’s small lot size minimums and availability of vacant office space and land, smaller projects such as SRO or ADU conversions could create flexible housing options through “gentle density” and a more affordable class of housing throughout all of Philadelphia’s neighborhoods without the associated needs for zoning variances, permitting, and lengthy reviews that come with larger developments. 
• Encouraging transit-oriented communities through zoning reform: At a time when the city’s transit system is grappling with a financial crisis, one way the city could help stabilize SEPTA and also increase housing production is to reform and expand the use of the transit-oriented development overlay to allow the creation of more housing units in the areas surrounding subway, trolley, and regional rail stops as well as high-ridership bus routes. Not only would this help create a new source of customers and revenue for SEPTA, it would also encourage housing production in areas of the city that are already widely accessible to all.
• Creating a stronger right for tenants to pursue fair rents and housing improvements, by implementing a method of appeal for unreasonable rent increases and allowing renter applications for certain adaptive reuse or home improvement programs in case of landlord neglect. Philadelphia has a robust number of programs to encourage homeownership and homebuying, but comparatively little in the way of programs to aid tenants in substandard housing or at risk of large rent increases. Though Mayor Parker’s HOME plan strengthens existing programs for tenants, 5th Square believes it should also include a way to challenge sudden, unreasonable rent increases (10% or more annually) through the Fair Housing Commission, a proactive rental inspection program, and allow renters to apply for funds through programs such as RIP, BSR or Weatherization loans in cases of proven landlord neglect, with an associated fine for the offending landlord to help fund repairs. 
• Provide housing opportunities in all neighborhoods of the city. The City Council’s deference to local councilmember preference, which elevates the concerns of outspoken, well-connected neighbors while neglecting the needs of other residents, potential new neighbors, and our city’s overall need to grow our housing supply. More uniform zoning and housing development processes will allow more people to live in areas of opportunity in Philadelphia and reduce costs by eliminating red-tape and long, uncertain development timelines. It will also help the city put blighted properties and the large number of vacant lots in the city back into productive use.