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Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed two bills aimed at expediting affordable housing development and restoring trust in the city’s zoning variance process. The legislation, part of Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s Defying Displacement campaign, now heads to Mayor Cherelle Parker for final approval.

Bill No. 250043 cuts bureaucratic delays by:

• Requiring the Department of Licenses and Inspection (L+I) to review affordable housing zoning permit applications within five business days, and building permit applications within ten business days.
• Removing discretionary language that allowed these expedited reviews only “to the extent capacity permits,” ensuring the policy is consistently enforced regardless of staffing or leadership changes.
• Offering free, accelerated hearing dates before the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) for affordable housing projects that require variances.
• Broadening the city’s official definition of “Affordable Housing Project” to include more deed-restricted housing types under the Building Code.

Advocates, including the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and the American Institute of Architects, emphasized that by reducing pre-development costs and project delays, this bill will help address Philadelphia’s worsening affordable housing shortage. 

Bill No. 250041 addresses a long-standing gap in the zoning variance process by:

• Allowing the ZBA to formally attach affordable housing requirements — such as the number of units and affordability levels — as legally binding conditions (called a “proviso”) in their approval decisions.
• Ensuring that affordable housing commitments made by developers during the zoning variance process are enforceable and transparent to both the city and local communities.
• Limiting this authority to cases where the applicant or a Coordinating Registered Community Organization (RCO) requests the condition, and where there’s written proof that affordable housing was discussed during the required community meeting.

Community leaders and advocates testified that this reform would rebuild trust between developers and neighborhoods, increase support for projects, and prevent developers from backing out of affordability pledges after receiving zoning approvals.

In sum, the two bills aim to speed up the creation of affordable homes, lower development costs, and give communities confidence that developers will honor their commitments — key steps in Philadelphia’s effort to combat displacement and housing insecurity.