Advocates press City Council to unlock Land Bank lots and avoid 'councilmatic prerogative' bottlenecks
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Summary
Public commenters urged the council to accelerate reuse of Land Bank properties for affordable housing and warned that the informal practice called 'councilmatic prerogative' should not block redevelopment. Council adopted a Land Bank conveyance resolution during the same session.
Speakers during public comment urged quicker reuse of vacant Land Bank properties and criticized a local practice known as "councilmatic prerogative" as an extralegal barrier to projects meant to expand affordable housing.
Jeremy Blatstein told council that "councilmatic prerogative is a fabricated concept" and cautioned against letting an unwritten tradition stall Land Bank work. Housing advocates, including Dave Alexander Jenkins, called on the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to unlock idle lots and convert them into affordable, sustainable homes, citing that only about 1,000 of roughly 8,000 Land Bank properties have been redeveloped since 2013 in the sample cited.
The council later adopted Resolution 250967, authorizing conveyance of specified addresses to the Philadelphia Land Bank under the Commonwealth Land Bank Act.
Why it matters: Witnesses framed the Land Bank as a tool to address homelessness and the housing shortage; they urged the city to prioritize projects that deliver deep affordability and to avoid procedural practices that slow or block projects.
Next steps: The Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank will process deeds and program managers and council committees are expected to oversee implementation as conveyed parcels move through planning and redevelopment channels.
Quote: "Councilmatic prerogative is a fabricated concept and, as such, is not codified anywhere," said Jeremy Blatstein during public comment.