Councilmember Jamie Gauthier introduced bill 250804 to create a University Community Overlay District intended to require community engagement, Philadelphia City Planning Commission review, and limits on demolition when large university-affiliated properties change use. Gauthier said the overlay would mandate an RCO meeting, planning commission review and a prohibition on preemptive demolition without a new building permit; she offered amendments to address legal concerns raised by the city Law Department.

Paula Brumbelow Burns, director of legislation for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission, testified that the commission supports the objective of increased neighborhood engagement but had “significant concerns” about the bill as introduced. Brumbelow Burns said the commission’s legal analysis raised issues with a review process that would be triggered by ownership rather than by zoning, and she requested the bill be held for an additional 45 days for technical review and to reconcile proposed amendments with planning commission rules and legal constraints. The planning commission recommended holding the bill at its public meeting on Oct. 16, 2025 (testimony provided to the committee).

Multiple neighborhood groups and registered community organizations testified in favor of the overlay. Pamela Andrews of the West Powelton Saunders Park Registered Community Organization (RCO), Renee Howard of the Woodland/Overbrook area, Jacqueline Owens (20th Ward committee person), and Deborah McCarty of the Powelton Village Civic Association described prior experiences with institutional ownership changes and urged more formalized community review for institutional land transfers exceeding a size threshold. Speakers recounted local examples where campus transitions led to displacement and long-term neighborhood change; several asked for stronger assurances that community input would be required before property uses changed.

Saint Joseph’s University representatives, including Joseph P. Kender Jr. (senior vice president) and Waddell Ridley Jr. (assistant vice president for government and community relations), opposed aspects of the bill as written. They described an extended community engagement process they convened after Saint Joseph’s acquired University of the Sciences, including hiring an independent consultant (U3 Associates), holding 13 community meetings over about a year and producing guiding principles that were provided to prospective purchasers. Saint Joseph’s representatives said they had documented guiding principles and included intended uses in the sale agreements for portions of the campus, and they argued the bill would create a novel and legally problematic approval process keyed to ownership rather than to land use zones.

Community speakers said engagement with universities had sometimes been promised but not fully realized, and some neighborhood leaders asked for statutory protections to prevent rapid demolition and to require planning review and early engagement when large institutional parcels change use. The planning commission requested more time to review the sponsor amendments; the sponsor said she had submitted amendments addressing law department concerns. The committee adopted an amendment to bill 250804 and, after later votes on the floor, reported the bill from committee with a favorable recommendation as part of a multi-bill package. Committee members asked the sponsor and the planning commission to continue technical coordination as the bill moves to council.