on Bill 040156 before City Council Rules Committee, May 26 2004

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of this bill. I am Alan Krigman, a 30-year owner-occupant and rental housing provider in the University City section of West Philadelphia.

My experience and research concerning the revitalization of urban communities, its positive aspects and the encumbrances it imposes on property owners and renters, prompts me to enthusiastically endorse this bill. I do so mainly because it focuses on community involvement. This is achieved principally through participation in the decision to submit proposals for designating areas as Neighborhood Conservation Districts and in the development of design guidelines appropriate for each individual locale. The bill accordingly provides a process for residents to exercise a reasonable degree of control over the evolution of their own surroundings, determining for themselves the trade-off between benefits and costs. It therefore has the potential to enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods by preserving or restoring the aesthetic environment, without necessarily inducing the displacements which so often accompany gentrification, or imposing excessive financial, regulatory, or other burdens on the very parties it means to benefit.

While acknowledging the strong points of this bill, I believe that some clarifying amendments would be productive. These recommended changes are intended to avoid the contentious situations that have arisen in my own neighborhood over attempts to use Section 14-2007 of the Philadelphia Code as a vehicle for preservation and enhancement. The amendments are incorporated into the document I am submitting for your consideration as your deliberations proceed.

In essence, these amendments fall into three primary categories:

1) Proposals submitted by Community Associations: The purpose is to recognize that although some such organizations reflect the sentiments of residents of the communities they nominally represent, others do not. Instead of just mandating that a proposal be duly authorized and adopted by a Community Association, the amendment calls for a more directed effort to inform and poll affected parties.

2) Design guidelines to be established for a District: The primary purpose is to ensure that proponents draft preliminary design guidelines, with the assistance of the City Planning Commission, prior to formally proposing a Neighborhood Conservation District; recognizing that while changes may be made as designation proceeds, this maximizes the likelihood that residents will know what will be expected of them were the District to be established. The secondary purpose is to emphasize the flexibility of specifying guidelines that meet the unique needs of different neighborhoods.

3) Tools residents can use for preservation and revitalization: The purpose is to confirm that the Neighborhood Conservation District is the proper instrument with which residents can protect the visual and aesthetic characteristics of an area, and suggest that a community so distinguished may subsequently rise to the level of historic designation if compelling factors suggest it has a significant role in our cultural or architectural heritage.