IN OP-ED, COUNCILMAN JOHNSON RE-AFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO BALANCED HOUSING STRATEGY

Councilman Kenyatta Johnson (2nd District) recently wrote a commentary in the Philadelphia Inquirer re-affirming his commitment to striking a balance between market-rate and affordable housing in City neighborhoods.

Read the commentary in its entirety on philly.com. An excerpt is posted below:

“The reformed process for selling city-owned property goes through the Land Bank, an initiative I supported and voted for in Council. With the Land Bank, anyone can express interest in a city-owned lot online. Land Bank policy requires competitive bidding for most city-owned land. If there are no competing bids, the price is generally set by an independent appraisal.

“The Land Bank also vets potential recipients of city-owned land and their proposals. The Land Bank scores and selects bids to develop below-market-rate housing according to standardized, publicly available criteria. It requires a binding development agreement, a restrictive covenant on the deed, eligibility screening of potential buyers, and other safeguards that are stringent and clearly enforceable.”

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Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, a former Pennsylvania State Representative, represents the 2nd Council District which includes parts of Center City, South Philadelphia, and Southwest Philadelphia. More information at phlcouncil.com/KenyattaJohnson