Here's How Philly's Mayoral Hopefuls Responded To Bisnow's Candidate Questionnaire, Part 1

This is the first of a two-part series, containing responses from Allan Domb, Derek Green and Maria Quiñones-Sánchez. The second part, with responses from Rebecca Rhynhart, Helen Gym and Jeff Brown, will be published tomorrow. Responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Philadelphia’s candidates to replace Mayor Jim Kenney believe that the mayor’s office holds more power to influence the city’s commercial real estate industry than Kenney ever used.

Though Election Day isn’t until November, the Democratic primary serves as the de facto election in a city as deeply blue as Philly, and that takes place on May 16. With just over two months to go, the field of candidates is still in the double digits, making it difficult for voters to differentiate between them.

To help inform our readers, Bisnow sent candidates a six-question survey covering issues specific to commercial real estate and the development industry in the city.

Six candidates responded:

• Former Councilmember at large Allan Domb
• Former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart
• Former Councilmember at large Derek Green
• Business owner Jeff Brown
• Former Councilmember at large Helen Gym
• Former District 7 Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez

Rhynhart and Green gave their answers in phone interviews, while the others submitted written responses. All six who answered Bisnow’s questions expressed the belief that Philadelphia already has tools for creating affordable housing that have been underutilized, with the disposition of vacant land a main culprit.

In Kenney’s second term, Philadelphia City Council consolidated power over land use and zoning decisions under the leadership of Council President Darrell Clarke, who will not run for another term. Despite the majority of respondents having resigned council seats to run for mayor, most agreed that the balance has been shifted too far away from the executive branch.

Candidates were not aligned on every issue, perhaps diverging most notably on the question of whether Philly should be doing more to financially support its still-fledgling gene and cell therapy industries.

Former Councilmember At Large Allan Domb

Bisnow: What do you think is the most important or effective policy tool for addressing the affordable housing crisis in Philadelphia?

Domb: As someone whose family was evicted when I was a child, I know what housing insecurity feels like and the deep impact it has on a family. I believe housing is a basic right and the number of people living unhoused or in overcrowded housing in Philadelphia is a multilevel policy failure.

My administration will work with federal and state leaders, the Philadelphia Housing Authority, community leaders, advocates and the private sector to expand the amount of affordable, safe housing available and provide wraparound services to those who need it.

For anyone unable to care for or otherwise provide for themselves, regardless of the reason, we have an absolute moral obligation to help them. As mayor, I will dramatically expand the number of housing units available to the people in the most need.

I will also move to help those who are temporarily in need, whether due to job loss, mental health, addiction or their physical safety, so they do not end up in a cycle of being unhoused, with all the damage and lingering impact that has. As mayor, I will increase the number of short- to immediate-term housing units.

Finally, because housing becomes more affordable when people make more money, I will work to increase the number of people working at good jobs. Our goal should be to increase homeownership, as it is one of the best ways to create generational wealth and protect against the threat of becoming unhoused.

Bisnow: Do you think that councilmanic prerogative should continue to apply to zoning overlay bills? What about disposition of vacant land? Why or why not?

Domb: In my government and ethics reform plan, I called for reforms to Philadelphia’s longstanding practice of allowing councilmanic prerogative to dictate important development, zoning and other land use decisions. It is arcane and out of step with modern principles of good governance. At a basic level, it is anti-democratic.

As mayor, I will begin the process of reforming councilmanic prerogative by issuing an executive order directing city agencies to cease any deference to councilmanic prerogative in decision-making unless required by law. I will also work with city departments and city council itself to codify common guidelines and timelines for zoning reviews; to define rules for routine, nondiscretionary matters such as approving signage, the disposition of vacant land and parking permits, to obviate the need for councilmanic approval and promote efficiency. 

Relatedly, as mayor I will limit any efforts to propose and enact “block by block” legislation. Legislation that can treat a business or homeowner differently on one block than another should be unacceptable, except in certain situations (e.g. keeping certain businesses away from schools). If presented with a bill that changes requirements with no justification, I will veto it.

And because Philadelphia government action is far broader than the laws — as proposed, debated and voted upon by city council and signed into law by the mayor — and includes everything from contracting for the sale of land to zoning changes and permitting decisions, I have proposed extending the city’s expanded pay-to-play protections to cover all other government actions, including those taken by boards and commissions appointed by the mayor.

Bisnow: Is power properly balanced between the mayor’s administration/city agencies and city council over land, zoning and development right now? Why or why not? 

Domb: It is not, in part because of the misuse of councilmanic prerogative and approval of block-by-block legislation. As mayor, I will announce clear policies and programs, hire professionals to implement them and increase transparency about what decisions are being made and why.

Bisnow: Should Philadelphia spend city money to support the growth of startups in industries, such as life sciences, it has emphasized as key to the local economy?

Domb: Yes, we should. And while economic incentives may be needed — and warranted given the impact the growth of the life sciences industry potentially has on our community — the city must also invest in education and job training. One of the most important elements to the life sciences, as well as sciences and tech generally, is a talented, trained and vibrant workforce. 

I have called for changing how we teach in our schools to better prepare workers for today’s jobs and tomorrow’s — to include tech and allow for high school students to work one day a week for credit. I would also support incentives to convert office space, which is no longer being used at the same level it was pre-pandemic, to lab space as much as possible.

Bisnow: How much of a factor should parking be when considering the impact of a development? How about when considering city policies on businesses and land use? Feel free to add your views about parking in general and how it should guide city decisions.

Domb: The availability of parking is a key element of how home purchasers make decisions and how those needing services and goods obtain them. But we cannot, and should not, plan for a car-centric future for every neighborhood. I will work through the planning department and city council to prioritize and, as necessary, incentivize development around transit hubs. I will also work with federal, state and regional authorities to improve the performance and affordability of public transit.

Bisnow: With property taxes so important to the city’s school district and wage taxes regularly criticized as an obstacle to business and job growth, should the balance between the two be different from how it is now? In what way should it be different?

Domb: I believe that we should fundamentally reform our out-of-date tax system to make it fairer and enhance, rather than limit, inclusive job growth and economic opportunity.

I am proud that, as a member of city council, I led the charge to collect delinquent taxes and to correct our assessment system to ensure that schools were getting the funding they needed and to reduce the taxes small businesses and workers pay.

I worked with the city’s revenue department to increase collection efforts from 89% in 2015 to 96% in 2019, resulting in over $100M of delinquent taxes the city collected every year. I also called for the use of commercial real estate appraisers to help us correct our inaccurate valuation on commercial property, bringing in over $120M per year in additional real estate tax collection once we accurately assessed commercial properties. Together, those two actions bring in roughly $220M per year to fund our schools and city services.

I have repeatedly pushed to overhaul the city’s tax structure because it is a primary barrier to growing the local economy. Philadelphia is the only big city in the country to double-tax businesses and has some of the highest wage taxes in the nation. In June 2022, I successfully fought to deliver historic tax reform, working with my colleagues, the Chamber of Commerce and the minority chambers. My original legislation was the impetus to the eventual final package which led to the city reducing the wage tax and the Business Income and Receipts Tax to the lowest rate in decades. These changes will not only give workers a pay raise and help stimulate the economy, but also signal to prospective employers and workers that Philadelphia is a great place to work and do business.

Former City Councilmember At large Derek Green

Bisnow: What do you think is the most important or effective policy tool for addressing the affordable housing crisis in Philadelphia?

Green: One of the most effective policy tools we can use to address the affordable housing crisis in Philadelphia is to lower the development costs for those who want to build it. Right now, the cost to develop affordable housing is about the same as for market-rate housing, which is why the majority of development is in areas that can afford the cost of market-rate housing, because there will be a return.

One of the ways we can do that is through the land that the city owns — by finding ways to get land out of the land bank to developers that want to build affordable housing. Land can be used as an incentive to reduce the cost of affordable housing, and as a way to subsidize and provide financial incentive for those who want to build affordable housing. In a market-rate project, you’d have to buy the land.

We also need to use the resources we have at hand to support this. When I was in council, I introduced legislation to increase the Housing Trust Fund by one half of one percent of the general fund, which the mayor’s administration agreed to and then reneged on. So we put the question to voters, which approved that legislation, and now you’re looking at $20M-$25M per year going into the Housing Trust Fund, on top of the money it already receives, to promote affordable housing development.

Bisnow: Do you think that councilmanic prerogative should continue to apply to zoning overlay bills? What about disposition of vacant land? Why or why not?

Green: When people raise the issue of councilmanic prerogative, you have to go back to the Home Rule charter, which says that the city can’t buy or convey land without legislation. And that creates the situation wherein council members ask the nearest neighbors what they think about the land. 

We have to make a change to the Home Rule charter in order to address this issue, and I’d be in favor of looking at this issue in order to do a better job to convey vacant land. We need to expedite the process of getting land out of the land bank. When the land bank was created, it never adequately dealt with the fundamental issue of the Home Rule charter.

The same people who deride councilmanic prerogative also love it on a case-by-case basis. When former Councilmember Frank DiCicco wanted to bring a casino and a Philly stadium to his district, Mayor [John] Street wanted to do it but the district’s residents did not support it. So Mayor Street looked to a different council member to introduce the legislation, and people didn't support it because they wanted the district council member’s decision to be respected.

We should be going to other cities to look at how they do acquisition and disposition of land. We followed the Chicago model when we redid the zoning code, but we didn’t follow the next step and go right into remapping. We took an exorbitant amount of time for remapping. We’re not reinventing the wheel, because all cities deal with land use issues.

Bisnow: Is power properly balanced between the mayor’s administration/city agencies and city council over land, zoning and development right now? Why or why not?

Green: On paper and in our Home Rule charter, we have a “strong mayor” form of government. But over the past several years, as I’ve been in the city legislature, people viewed the Street administration as very pro-development and the Nutter administration as pro-planning. So maybe the Street administration was Robert Moses-like, the Nutter administration was Jane Jacbos-like, and the most recent mayor was more hands-off.

We need to provide different types of growth, whether in affordable housing, workforce or “missing middle” housing or market-rate housing, which is already growing in Philly.

I’ve introduced different types of legislation for [housing formats like] single-room occupancy and co-living to increase the diversity of housing types in the city, like we’ve seen in other cities.

Bisnow: Should Philadelphia spend city money to support the growth of startups in industries, such as life sciences, it has emphasized as key to the local economy?

Green: When you think about what happened in Massachusetts and what’s happening in Georgia and Texas, those local, state and county elected officials made a decision to try to grow the economy based on assets in their region. Massachusetts made a significant investment at the state, county and local levels to make sure it had lab space for life sciences because of all the research coming out of Boston-area universities. And you saw the results in what’s happening there.

We have, I would say, more assets than Boston has. We have more people and a better geographic location than Boston, we have more universities, we have better affordability in housing and better diversity of neighborhoods.

We’re already on the cusp of being a global leader in cell and gene therapy, so we have a unique set of assets already. We have the Navy Yard, Schuylkill Yards, the Bellwether District and other major projects. So what the city can do is see how it can make land available to help reduce the cost of development. So if we can use all of our assets, we the city can work on making lab space cheaper and more available.

[Spending money] is definitely on my radar, but we should also be partnering with the new governor to understand that as the city goes, so go the region and the Commonwealth. The easiest thing for the city is to use our land and our tax code to help, which have less impact on our general fund.

We don’t just need people to cheerlead; we need people who understand the issue. I’ve been talking to leaders in gene and cell therapy, and we’re already known as an eds and meds city. We also have, in the region, all these pharma companies within a drive of Philadelphia. We have companies that buy end products and research institutions that create the ideas for the products. We have all those assets, so it’s a matter of packaging them and presenting them around the world. If you don’t market the city, people don’t know about all the assets right here.

Bisnow: How much of a factor should parking be when considering the impact of a development? How about when considering city policies on businesses and land use? Feel free to add your views about parking in general and how it should guide city decisions.

Green: Parking is part of the conversation when you have new development in a neighborhood, because people are concerned with how new people will impact the area. But sustainability is also important, and a big way to improve that is to improve development around transit. But that needs a functioning transit system, and you can’t divorce the TOD issue from parking. People need to trust that transit will be safe and reliable.

Other cities do a better job of making transit connections and connections for other forms of transportation, to help people understand how they can get to work from where they live, and also get to entertainment.

Parking is a way to impact development, and instituting minimums is sort of a cover for a broader conversation about growth in Philadelphia and how that may impact long-term residents.

As for streeteries, you have business owners concerned about having less parking spaces for merchants, as well as concern from tenants having fewer parking spaces in their neighborhood. But that, once again, ties into the conversation about transit and other modes of transportation, the issue of climate change. I would venture that more and more younger residents of the city are less fixated on having a vehicle because they look at other options like ride-sharing. We’ve got to blend these issues together in talking about how to move the city forward.

Bisnow: With property taxes so important to the city’s school district and wage taxes regularly criticized as an obstacle to business and job growth, should the balance between the two be different from how it is now? In what way should it be different?

Green: If you look at cities like Boston, I believe 70% to 80% of their general fund comes from real estate taxes, so they were not impacted as much as Philly was by the economic effects of the pandemic. We definitely need to transition from things that are fixed to things that can move. The challenge is that a strong portion of the general fund comes from wage taxes from residents and non-residents.

I’m a former small-business owner, so I understand the challenges in making payroll, the difficulty in going through regulations in our city, getting a business license and a tax account. But having that background, and having been the chair of the finance committee, I have experience in pulling various parties together to get the issue resolved.

[In last year’s budget negotiations,] the “Green Plan” I introduced was instrumental in protecting residents from the 31% property tax increase proposed by Mayor Kenney. I reduced wage taxes and business receipt taxes to their lowest levels in 50 years, while also putting more money into funds for the safety and health of the city.

I’m more about “and” than “or.” The city of Philadelphia was doing better with revenue last year than the year before, so I didn’t let the mayor say, “Well, if we cut taxes, we need to cut services.” My plan, which was adopted by the vast majority of council members, was able to do all of that, because I refused to be reduced to either/or.

Mayor Kenney is now including tax reduction in his five-year plan; I will continue that.

Former District 7 Councilmember Maria Quiñones-Sánchez

Bisnow: What do you think is the most important or effective policy tool for addressing the affordable housing crisis in Philadelphia?

Quiñones-Sánchez: As councilmember, I created most of the tools in our affordable housing toolbox, including the Land Bank, the Mixed Income Housing Bonus, a housing preservation model, expanded transit-oriented development, and championed the $400M Neighborhood Preservation Initiative.

The most affordable home is the one you’re in already. As mayor, I will expand programs that keep people in their homes, including direct rental assistance, foreclosure and eviction prevention, and income-based payment plans.

As a council member, I leveraged more public land for affordable housing than any council member. As mayor, I will scale up successful models for housing preservation and mixed-income development. In a post-pandemic environment with changing construction costs and interest rates, we need to be more creative in adapting models for affordability that work for Philadelphia.

Bisnow: Do you think that councilmanic prerogative should continue to apply to zoning overlay bills? What about disposition of vacant land? Why or why not?

Quiñones-Sánchez: A significant reason for the proliferation of overlays is that the planning department is not adequately resourced for staff to provide support for district councilmembers to engage in proactive remapping. The result is reactive land use policy with overreliance on overlays, which then causes a variance backlog at ZBA.

In District 7, we successfully remapped 90% of the district through a community-centered process to provide clarity, predictability and a common vision for land use — a process that was delayed by a lack of city capacity. Council’s authority over land disposition is embedded in the Home Rule charter, and as mayor I will ensure that our city planning commission staff is adequately funded to provide support and technical assistance for all council districts as citywide remapping continues.

Bisnow: Is power properly balanced between the mayor’s administration/city agencies and city council over land, zoning and development right now? Why or why not?

Quiñones-Sánchez: Diverse, mixed-income neighborhoods don’t happen by accident, and as mayor I will work with council to ensure equitable development in every neighborhood. The mayor must create a citywide vision and work with members of council to advance accessibility, affordability, and business development in all parts of the city. 

We must move away from policies that concentrate poverty in unsafe neighborhoods that lack business amenities. Authority over land disposition is stipulated in the charter, but we must do a better job coordinating efforts between the administrative planning and development departments, agencies, the community development community and council. 

As a council member, I worked with PHA, multiple CDCs, and the Land Bank to create a pipeline of 500 new, affordable properties in rapidly gentrifying South Kensington. We must adequately fund the Land Bank and city planning commission to improve the land disposition process, ensure that the Land Bank improves transparency through its required annual reporting and identify opportunities citywide to add density and affordability.

Bisnow: Should Philadelphia spend city money to support the growth of startups in industries, such as life sciences, it has emphasized as key to the local economy?

Quiñones-Sánchez: As the author of Philadelphia’s only meaningful business tax reform of the past two decades, as well as the expanded sustainable business tax credit and [Sustainable] Jump Start program for new B Corporations, I believe that we can tailor our tax policy to support the growth of new businesses, particularly in their first years. 

I would move aggressively to eliminate the net profits tax, which hurts small businesses, and remove the double taxation we require after the first year’s payment. The city cannot cash flow itself on the backs of new businesses.

Bisnow: How much of a factor should parking be when considering the impact of a development? How about when considering city policies on businesses and land use? Feel free to add your views about parking in general and how it should guide city decisions.

Quiñones-Sánchez: In District 7, with community input, we supported decreased parking requirements as part of an equitable development strategy. I also support decreasing parking requirements for projects in transit-oriented development zones where we can add density without overloading neighborhoods with cars. I also developed a pilot with the PPA to address parking pressures in rapidly gentrifying South Kensington and support low-income, long-term residents.

Bisnow: With property taxes so important to the city’s school district and wage taxes regularly criticized as an obstacle to business and job growth, should the balance between the two be different from how it is now? In what way should it be different?

Quiñones-Sánchez: As the author of Philadelphia’s only meaningful tax reform of the past two decades, I participated in the 2021 Tax Reform Working Group to examine the delicate balance of revenue sources. Our next mayor must have a deep understanding of how to create a progressive tax system when we are restricted by the state’s uniformity clause.

As mayor, I would eliminate the net profits tax, and look to be more aggressive on wage tax reductions, particularly looking to reduce the burden on low-income workers. Rapidly shifting revenue projections following the expansion of remote work demonstrate the cost of overreliance on the wage tax.

Regarding property taxes, we must address the lack of capacity in the office of property assessment and move quickly to a full implementation of [the Actual Value Initiative] — annual reassessments reflecting the actual value of property. Since we adopted AVI, implementation delays of the [computer-assisted mass appraisal] system and the determination to repeatedly skip annual assessments have created sticker shock when residents received drastically higher tax bills. The decision this year to once again delay assessments will create another year of challenges.

Analysis of the assessment process shows that overly aggressive reassessment disproportionally affects lower income Philadelphians in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. I am also very concerned that the unrealized value of tax-abated properties can artificially inflate the value of unimproved properties in gentrifying neighborhoods, and we need transparency regarding how the valuation formula considers abated properties. 

Washington, D.C., and other jurisdictions have computer models available to residents that add transparency to the process. I would also review how we tax land over structures that given uniformity creates challenges and has created a culture that discourages preservation and improvements because of fear of higher tax bills. 

To prevent displacement and enable low-income families to retain the generational wealth of the homes that they own, we increased the homestead exemption and have grown the [Longtime Owner-Occupied Property] program for long-term owner occupants. Our property tax system will be fairer and more predictable for homeowners if we have annual reassessments with a clear and transparent process that does not accelerate displacement of long-term residents.