Inclusionary Housing Bill Introduced

An Inclusionary Housing Bill (Bill No. 060732) was introduced into Council, sponsored by 7 councilmembers: Clarke, Goode, DiCicco, Ramos, Reynolds Brown, Blackwell, and Miller. The Bill would require developments of 20 or more units to provide 10% of those units at a price that is affordable (ie. a federally determined % of a family's income) to households earning between 80% and 150% of the area median income. In other words, the councilmembers are seeking legislation to make more housing that is affordable to people making over $68,000 a year.

A coalition called the Philadelphia Campaign for Housing Justice comprised of housing advocates, organized labor, advocates for various low-income constituency groups and faith-based groups, has been working on a Bill. However, the Bill that was introduced was not drafted by the coalition, and it does not share some of the key goals of the group. The coalition has been drafting legislation that would benefit families whose median income is 30% to 80% of the area median income, ie. $20,000 to $68,000 maximum. Other cities have managed to use Inclusionary Housing to benefit that income range.

Juan Ramos spoke at the last PCHJ rally. He spoke of his family's eviction from their home through the power of eminent domain and encouraged communities to resist. He very noticeably however, did not mention how he planned to help. And the Bill that has been introduced proves that he (and the rest of Council) is leaving it up to the residents of Philadelphia to fight for themselves against the interests of private developers.