Also this issue:

If You Level It, Will They Come?
Not necessarily, say developers who want to rehab buildings near Temple University.
-Daniel Brook

Paper Trail
Take away the name and the philanthropy and the Annenberg family history reads just like any other mob story.
-Brendan McGarvey

Hack Attack
-Daryl Gale

Snarls Barclay
-Deborah Bolling

Noam Way
Noam Chomsky ignored by the media? Maybe there's a reason.
-Deborah Bolling

ISTAR Rising
-Mary F. Patel

The Bell Curve
City Paper's weekly gauge of Philly's Quality of Life

October 10-16, 2002

hall monitor

Hissy-toric Fit

by Daniel Brook

Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, the majority leader of City Council, has introduced legislation to change the process for designating historic districts. Currently the Historical Commission has final say on what is designated historic. The Blackwell bill would put final authority in City Council’s hands.

According to the bill, the Historical Commission would make recommendations to City Council on a section of the city it feels ought to be designated. Council would then have 180 days to vote on the recommendation. If Council did not act, the Historical Commission's recommendation would become law. Essentially, the bill gives Council veto power over historic district designation.

According to Blackwell staffer Alisa Sneed, the measure was in part prompted by the controversy over whether to historically certify Spruce Hill, which sits in Blackwell's West Philadelphia councilmanic district. Sneed says the Councilwoman believes empowering City Council would help make the public better informed on the process of historic designation.

But if zoning matters are any indication, the bill would likely give district Councilpeople near-total power over the historic district certification. In zoning issues, Council members routinely defer to the Councilperson in whose district the zoning matter is located.

The city's current historic district law was written in the 1980s by then-Councilman John Street.

According to administration spokesperson Christine Ottow, the mayor has not yet decided whether to support Blackwell's bill. "Certainly it has been a number of years since the city's historic code was written and there may be room for enhancing it," Ottow said.

Who says the mayor is too haughty to admit that his work can be improved upon?

Double Secret Probation

A modified version of Councilman Michael Nutter’s student housing bill passed Council with near unanimous support on Oct. 2. While, like any bill, the measure required support from a majority of all Council members to pass, it only affects Nutter’s district.

The bill is aimed at keeping St. Joseph's University students who live off-campus under control. Longtime area residents have complained to Nutter and the police about loud late-night parties. The bill requires that students register their off-campus addresses and license-plate numbers with their university and it holds the university financially liable for their behavior.

The only Councilperson to oppose the bill was Jannie Blackwell. Blackwell's district encompasses University City, the heart of college-town Philadelphia, making her opposition notable. After the vote, Blackwell, who has championed improved town-gown relations in the city, said of Nutter's bill, "I think it's negative."

Councilman Nutter was gracious in victory. "I respect deeply her views and her concerns," he said "What may be appropriate in one section of the city may not be appropriate in other neighborhoods." Nutter pointed out that St. Joseph's is surrounded by residential neighborhoods making the town-gown tensions more acute.

According to Christine Ottow, the administration feels "that it sends the wrong message to college students who we are trying to encourage to stay here and work in Philadelphia."

So does this mean Street plans to veto the bill despite its overwhelming support in Council? "We still have staff people reviewing [the legislation]," said Ottow. "I can't tell you now if the mayor will be signing the bill."