Council passes bills on sidewalk cafes, Greyhound bus station and mobile care providers 

City Council passed several major pieces of law at its final session of the year Thursday and sent them on to Mayor Cherelle Parker for her signature The highest-profile measure was the first annual budget for Parker s billion housing plan called Housing Opportunities Made Easy or H O M E following amendments opposed by the mayor that allot more funding to help low-income rather than middle-income residents Several of the other bills that won council approval will allow more sidewalk cafes facilitate the reopening of the Filbert Street Greyhound station expand a ban on mobile care arrangement providers to more of the city and create a new retirement savings undertaking for working people Read on for a roundup of those measures or visit WHYY s PlanPhilly for details of the housing bill Sidewalk dining A bill authored by Councilmember Rue Landau will make it much easier for restaurants on a number of commercial corridors to install outdoor tables and chairs and serve their patrons on the sidewalk As of now for preponderance of the city City Council has to pass an individual ordinance for each restaurant that wants to set up a sidewalk caf The process can take a year or more and founder over society objections or bureaucratic red tape Landau s bill substantially increases the number of blocks with by-right sidewalk dining meaning that restaurants in those locations can entirely apply online and expect a response within a meager days Several district councilmembers including Council President Kenyatta Johnson agreed to add blocks in their districts to the bill Councilmember Jamie Gauthier agreed to by-right sidewalk cafes throughout her West Philly district The full list of blocks and areas is available in the text of the provision The bill was supported by restaurant owners hospitality industry organizations business districts and the Parker administration which welcomed the prospect of having more sidewalk cafes as World Cup games and other events draw an expected surge of tourists next year Councilmember Cindy Bass expressed concern that the measure could allow nuisance bars to easily expand their operations outdoors and city agencies would not enforce violations of physical condition and safety regulations She voted for the bill but declined to expand by-right sidewalk dining in her district Intercity bus terminal The city s station for Greyhound and other bus companies will return to its old location on Filbert Street in Center City thanks in part to a bill passed Thursday The measure sponsored by Johnson and Councilmember Michael Driscoll creates a new set of fees that carriers must pay to operate in the city in order to fund station operations and authorizes an automatic camera system to track buses It also allows the Philadelphia Parking Authority to run the terminal on the city s behalf The PPA plans to rent the building from the property owner for years with a monthly lease that will start at a month and increase over time The agency will spend more than million to renovate the building and reopen it by next May before next summer s FIFA soccer games and celebrations of the th anniversary of the nation s founding The project will apparently bring an end at least for a time to the saga of the city s wandering bus terminal Greyhound vacated the station in June and since then bus companies have been doing curbside pickup and dropoff most of in recent weeks near the eastern end of Spring Garden Street Riders have complained about the lack of shelter and basic amenities and neighbors and nearby businesses have demanded the terminal be relocated The city is studying options for creating a permanent indoor bus terminal perhaps near Amtrak s th Street station Mobile care provider ban While the greater part of the a large number of bills that council took up Thursday won unanimous approval a bill meeasure by Driscoll passed - It got nays from three of the preponderance progressive councilmembers Kendra Brooks and Nic O Rourke of the Working Families Party and Landau The measure totally bans mobile biological organization providers from Driscoll s district in lower Northeast Philadelphia which includes Harrowgate and other neighborhoods bordering Kensington Those are typically vans operated by strength providers and outreach groups to provide wound care harm reduction supplies food clothing and other services to unhoused drug users The vote follows passage earlier this year of a measure restricting mobile care providers in Kensington where they must now apply for permits and can only operate in a meager locations or for limited periods of time The city started enforcing those rules on Dec Residents and councilmembers in the two districts say the vans and the people who use them leave behind litter discarded needles and curative and human waste affecting the quality of life in the neighborhoods Healthcare providers and harm-reduction advocates have criticized the restrictions saying people living on the street will be deprived of critical cure options Retirement board safeguard officer training Among the other bills that passed is one that aims to create PhillySaves a new city-run retirement savings undertaking for residents Businesses that don t offer retirement plans would be required to facilitate their employees enrollment People who choose to participate would automatically contribute a portion of their wages to a campaign similar to an Individual Retirement Account IRA The employers would not contribute or bear any expenses for the plan The statute approved Thursday authorizes a ballot question during a future polling asking residents to amend the city charter to create a Retirement Savings Board that oversees the operation Council also approved a bill mandating hours of training for newly hired unarmed private defense guards and another eight hours every year Councilmember Isaiah Thomas had originally sought to require hours of initial training and only by the guards union or another nonprofit but those requirements were scaled back the Inquirer broadcasted The final version also exempts shield guards for bars and restaurants A couple notable proposals did not get a vote Thursday and will have to wait until next year for consideration Thomas wants to amend the city charter s resign-to-run rule which requires municipal elected agents and city employees to quit their jobs before running for any elected office other than for reelection He proposes exempting city elected executives who are seeking non-municipal offices such as a spot in Congress or the state legislature Thomas office is working with the Board of Ethics to make changes to the bill his office announced Gauthier also held her bill that would block the city from continuing to send its trash to be burned in the Reworld incinerator in Chester Critics say the waste-to-energy plant is a major source of air waste and its presence in majority-Black Chester is an example of environmental racism The post Council passes bills on sidewalk cafes Greyhound bus station and mobile care providers appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY