Philadelphia City Council could take final votes today on a bill that would let small commercial buildings across the city hold more apartments, and on a separate bill that would keep the Northeast under its own stricter rules.
Bill 260516, the citywide bill, would change what is allowed in CMX-1 zoning, the city’s smallest commercial mixed-use category, which covers mostly corner-store buildings. It was introduced May 14 by 3rd District Councilmember Jamie Gauthier on behalf of Council President Kenyatta Johnson, and it is described as part of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s goal of adding 30,000 homes. The bill cleared the Rules Committee on Oct. 27, got a first reading at the Oct. 29 session, and is now eligible for a final vote at today’s stated meeting, 10 AM in Room 400 at City Hall. The vote is not guaranteed. A bill needs a first reading and then a second reading at a later session before it can pass, and whether it gets called today depends on the Council President and the posted agenda.
Here is what the bill would allow. Single family and two family homes in CMX-1 as of right. Multifamily buildings on a lot that keeps a shop or other nonresidential use along the whole ground floor frontage for the first 30 feet of depth, with at least 750 square feet of lot area per apartment. The end of the 2,000 square foot cap on ground floor shops and offices, and the ban on businesses above the first floor. Child care centers, community centers, schools, and take out restaurants as of right, and sit down restaurants by special exception.
The city estimates the change could add thousands of homes. The administration first estimated 7,000 to 12,000 possible units citywide. Build Philly Now put the figure at about 17,000, with almost 5,900 of them in the 10th District, which covers the Northeast.
That is where the second bill comes in. Bill 260704, from Councilmember Brian J. O’Neill, would merge two Northeast overlays into a new Tenth District Overlay. In CMX-1 there, it would allow one dwelling unit at most, bar accessory units, cap buildings at 35 feet and three stories, and rule out density bonuses. O’Neill introduced it Sept. 17, and it was also reported favorably on Oct. 27.
The Northeast is different because O’Neill rezoned much of its neighborhood commercial land to CMX-1 in 2022, which left the district with unusually large CMX-1 parcels. Planning officials told the Inquirer one of those properties covers 16 acres. A parallel bill from Councilmember Cindy Bass would do the same for the Eighth District.
The Planning Commission endorsed both exemptions as part of the larger overlay changes, and the mayor’s Oct. 20 transmittal of the commission’s recommendations lists both overlay bills among those it reviewed. At the committee hearing, City Planning Commission director of legislation Paula Brumbelow Burns said there is a lot of vacant first floor commercial space that “just can’t be occupied.” At-large Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson said areas such as Wynnefield face the same problem. Gauthier urged colleagues to keep the focus on adding one or two apartments to empty commercial buildings.
The exemptions are about who decides. Bass called her exemption “really about community control.” Under councilmanic prerogative, the mayor has little practical power to override a district member on local zoning, the Inquirer noted.
If both bills pass, the citywide rules would apply in most districts, and the 8th and 10th would follow their own overlays. Bills that pass go to the mayor. The citywide bill waited 166 days between its May 14 introduction and the Oct. 27 hearing.
Whether either bill gets called today is up to the Council President, and the outcome will not be known until the session record is posted.
