►
Description
The Committee on Commerce & Economic Development of the Council of the City of Philadelphia held a Public Hearing on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, at 9:30 AM to hear testimony on the following items:
200353 An Ordinance amending Section 17 109 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Local Bidding Preferences,” to amend reporting requirements to require the establishment of local business usage goals and reporting on reaching such goals as a way to assist community businesses recover from the COVID 19 pandemic, all under certain terms and conditions.
200382 An Ordinance amending Chapter 17 500 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Goals for the Participation of Disadvantaged Owned Business Enterprises in City Contracts,” by adding a new requirement that City Council be notified of certain changes to existing City contracts valued over $1 million to ensure expansions adhere to participation goals and standards, all under certain terms and conditions.
200544 An Ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Regulation of Businesses, Trades and Professions,” by adding a new Chapter, entitled “Residential Property Wholesalers,” to regulate the solicitation of purchases of real property and require certain disclosures by property purchasers to homeowners, and amending Chapter 9 1100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Fair Practices Ordinance: Protections Against Unlawful Discrimination,” to provide protections to homeowners from solicitation and related problems, all under certain terms and conditions.
200574 An Ordinance amending Title 9 of The Philadelphia Code to address matters related to commercial leases and provide eviction and financial relief to restaurant businesses that operate on leased premises, all under certain terms and conditions.
A
A
A
C
A
And
present,
thank
you,
mr
monica.
A
forum
of
the
committee
is
present
and
the
hearing
is
now
called
to
order.
This
is
a
public
hearing
on
the
committee
of
commerce
and
economic
development
regarding
bills.
Number
two:
zero:
zero:
five:
seven:
four:
two:
zero:
zero:
five:
four
four
and
two
zero
zero:
three
five:
three
for
the
record,
build
number
two:
zero
zero.
Three
eight
two
is
being
held
at
the
request
of
the
sponsor
and
will
not
be
heard
at
today's
hearing.
A
Thank
you,
sorry
about
that
guys
before
we
begin
to
hear
testimony
from
the
witnesses
we
have
for
today.
Everyone
who
has
been
invited
to
the
meeting
to
testify
should
be
aware
that
the
public
hearing
is
being
recorded
because
the
hearing
is
public
participants
and
viewers
have
no
reasonable
expectation
of
privacy.
By
continuing
to
be
in
the
meeting,
you
are
consenting
to
being
recorded
additionally
prior
to
recognizing
members
for
the
questions
or
comments
they
have
for
witnesses.
A
I
will
note
that,
for
the
record
at
this
time,
we
will
use
the
chat
feature
available
at
microsoft
teams
to
allow
members
to
signify
that
they
wish
to
be
recognized
in
order
to
comply
with
the
sunshine
act.
The
chat
feature
must
only
be
used
for
this
purpose.
Mr
monaco,
will
you
please
call
the
first
panel
for
witnesses
to
have
to
testify
after
you
call
them?
If
there's
any
participants
who
would
like
to
make
a
comment.
A
J
A
I
Yes,
thank
you.
My
name
is
bovine
vice
president
of
government
affairs
at
the
pennsylvania,
restaurant
and
lodging
association,
councilman,
squilla
and
members
of
the
commerce
and
economic
development
committee.
Thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
testify
today
in
support
of
bill
number
zero,
five,
seven
four
and
an
amendment
that
is
expected
to
be
considered
in
committee.
I
would
like
to
thank
councilman
heenan
for
sponsoring
this
legislation.
I
As
you
know,
seven
months
into
the
covet
crisis,
the
restaurant
industry
continues
to
struggle
with
more
and
more
businesses
closing
permanently
every
day.
66
of
the
industry
doesn't
expect
to
be
open
in
six
months
without
financial
assistance
and
for
those
who
make
it
six
more
months.
78
don't
expect
their
sales
to
be
back
in
the
block.
I
Our
industry
did
the
right
thing
from
the
beginning.
We
closed
our
doors
for
in-house
dining
and
struggled
through
what
would
have
been
one
of
our
most
prosperous
seasons.
In
the
beginning.
Many,
not
all
landlords
gave
businesses
a
reprieve
on
rent.
Following
that,
as
businesses
received
ppp
funds,
they
were
able
to
make
a
small
dent
in
the
rent.
They
owe,
unfortunately,
the
ppp
funds
dried
up
months
ago,
and
the
restaurant
industry
continues
to
struggle
bill
number
two:
zero,
zero.
I
Five,
seven
four
is
designed
not
to
absolve
restaurants
as
their
rates
rent
payments,
but
to
give
them
the
opportunity
to
get
through
the
crisis
and
pay
back
rents
as
soon
as
they
are
able
with
a
cap
that
they
must
be
paid
within
one
year
of
the
emergency
declaration
concluded
further.
The
bill
ensures
that
late
fees
and
penalties
will
not
be
assessed
on
those
who
are
making
late
payments.
An
ability
to
catch
up
means
nothing
if
the
fees
and
penalties
are
so
high.
A
restaurant
can't
dig
out
of
that
hole.
G
I
Their
revenue,
because
of
the
kovic
crisis,
would
be
eligible
for
this
production
they're,
not
looking
for
blanket
assistance
for
the
industry
because,
while
most
are
struggling,
not
everyone
in
is-
and
this
bill
specifies
that
those
who
have
been
impacted
the
most
should
benefit
from
this
protection.
Restaurants
want
to
come
out
of
this
crisis.
They
are
doing
the
best
they
can
to
be
creative
and
mobile,
while
protecting
guests
and
their
employees,
but
we
would
be
naive
not
to
recognize
that
the
hardship
is
not
over.
I
A
B
A
K
A
K
Thank
you
again.
My
name
is
donald
nagowski
and
I'm
cfo
and
general
counsel
of
the
marquis
restaurant
group,
which
includes
hip
city,
veg,
fast
casual
restaurants
and
a
couple
of
full
service.
Restaurants
bar
bomb
and
charlie,
was
a
sinner,
I'm
very
familiar
with
the
financial
devastation
that
kovac
has
has
enacted
upon
our
industry.
K
Fortunately,
you
know
hip
city
veg,
as
a
fast
casual
has
been
able
to
rely
on
delivery
and
takeout
to
a
greater
extent
and
barbara
bonbon
and
charlie
have
benefits
that
have
benefited
from
outdoor
dining.
However,
the
great
majority
of
restaurants
in
philadelphia
have
not
been
able
to
fare
as
well.
Many
are
operating
at
well
below
50,
I'm
hearing
25
a
lot
of
times,
while
we're
all
still
struggling
with
the
fact
that
there
there
is,
is
far
reduced
traffic.
K
K
Thousands
of
people,
and
most
of
them
right
now
are
unable
to
pay
full
rent
and
if
those
restaurants
do
close
or
they're
evicted,
all
those
people
will
be
out
of
work,
which
means
the
following
month:
they
won't
be
able
to
pay
their
residential
rent
as
well
and
they
won't
be
able
to
feed
their
families.
Restaurants
pay
out,
you
know
at
least
90,
if
not
a
100
of
every
dollar
they
take
in
in
salaries,
food
and
rent.
K
It's
well
documented.
We
have
to
be
able
to
keep
these
businesses
alive
and
for
stall
foreclosures
throughout
the
winter
long
term.
It's
also
beneficial
to
the
city,
because
one
day
the
sun
will
rise.
This
pandemic
will
end-
maybe
not
this
year.
Maybe
you
know
maybe
next
summer,
but
whenever
it
ends
we're
going
to
want
to
have
a
vibrant
restaurant
industry.
A
vibrant
restaurant
industry
is,
is
part
of
philadelphia's
identity
and
without
having
that,
if
all
these
restaurants
are
evicted
and
closed,
you
know
in
the
near
term
we're
destroying
infrastructure.
K
These
places
will
not
be
there
to
reopen
at
the
end
of
the
pandemic.
So
it's
it's.
It's
an
essential
public
function
to
try
to
preserve
this
infrastructure.
Keep
these
businesses
alive
until
this
pandemic
abates
a
bit
so
that
some
level
of
normalcy
can
occur.
Now
it
doesn't
mean
I'm
unsympathetic
to
landlords.
In
addition
to
my
work
with
hip
city,
I'm
a
practicing
attorney
with
a
law
firm
of
erp
cone
pc
in
philadelphia,
and
I
represent
landlords.
I
know
that
they're
struggling
as
well,
their
tenants
aren't
paying
them.
K
K
You
know
in
good
faith
and
and
better
with
their
mortgage
holders
and
say
listen.
My
tenant
is
is
doing
the
best
they
can
they're
they're
only
paying.
Perhaps
you
know,
taxes
and
operating
expenses.
They
can't
pay
anything
else
right
now,
I'm
not
permitted
to
evict
them
under
law.
So
give
me
some
help
with
your
mortgage.
You
know
with
the
mortgage
company
again
after
we
get
through
this.
K
This
short-term
eviction,
hiatus
so
to
speak,
is
essential,
but
after
we
get
through
that,
we
might
want
to
look
at
what
dc
has
done.
They
have
an
interesting
approach
where,
while
they
forced
all
both
residential
and
commercial
evictions
related
to
kovid,
they
also
mandated
that
lenders
and
landlords
and
tenants
engage
in
good
faith
negotiations
to
come
up
with
solutions.
L
K
Rent
was
abated
for
12
months
18
months.
Perhaps
taxes
and
insurance
are
paid
for
a
period
of
time
during
that
period,
so
landlords
can
at
least
cover
their
expenses,
and
then
the
rent
that's
deferred
is
then
paid
out
over
the
next
several
years.
So
there
are
some
solutions.
There
is
no
perfect
solution,
you
know
again
longer
term.
You
know
we're
going
to
be
back
asking
council
to
consider
making
street
closures
permanent
and
expanding
them.
K
A
A
G
All
right
very
quickly,
a
lot
of
the
most
recently
there
have
been
mandates
that
say
what
the
type
of
internal
operations
of
a
restaurant
can
be
if
they
are
using
enclosures
of
six
foot
feet
apart
these
types
of
improvements,
along
with
the
outdoor
purchasing
of
tables,
the
outdoor
purchasing
of
heat
lamps.
How
are
these
investments
being
treated
by
way
of
the
city,
or
are
we
considering
those
kinds
of
investments
in
a
in
a
tax
deferral
way.
K
I'm
not
aware
of
any
proposal
to
do
that.
We
certainly
are
using,
and
restaurants
need
to
continue
to
use
plexiglas
dividers
outdoor
enclosures
heaters,
all
of
which
cost
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
and
presents
significant
logistics,
especially
for
example,
at
our
locations
where
street
closures
are
only
you
know
three
days
a
week
or
four
days
a
week,
we
have
to
break
down
and
set
up
and,
and
you
there's
no
ability
to
create
anything
permanent
again
using
dc
as
a
model
dc
has
enacted.
K
G
Because
of
of
their
circumstances,
and
if
that
is
true,
that
a
main
street
or
past
young
avenue
might
be
a
prototype
that
allows
for
us
to
make
better
decisions,
long
term
about
these
closures
and
give
their
restaurants
predictability
about
revenue.
If
I'm
open
today,
I
have
to
close
it
tomorrow,
due
to
weather
or
restrictions
by
the
city
of
philadelphia,
new
red
zone,
green
zone
determinations,
it's
kind
of
hard
to
plan,
your
financial
future
and
more
or
less
investments
to
create
plastic
enclosures.
G
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Councilmember
jones,
and
I
know
silly
from
the
commerce
has
given
written
testimony,
but
they're
are.
They
are
working
on
some
programs
and
if
you
look
at
new
york,
new
york
has
done
sort
of
a
outreach
to
see
how
they
could
do
sort
of
permanent
outdoor
dining
options
out
there.
A
They
did
a
pretty
neat
plan
where
they
put
out
forbid
and
ideas
of
what
would
work,
what
wouldn't
work,
and
so
I
think
all
these
things
are
something
that
we
should
look
at
as
a
city,
and
you
know
philadelphia
is
unique,
but
I
mean
if
something
is
working
somewhere
else.
Why
reinvent
the
wheel
and
let's
copy
those
good
ideas,
but
also
make
it
into
a
philadelphia
feel.
A
So
I
think
these
are
all
great
opportunities
and
they're
looking
forward
to
working
with
commerce,
l
and
I
health
department
and
everybody
with
the
with
the
restaurant
industry
to
come
up
with
ways
to
make
sure
we
adapt
to
these.
You
know
changing
times,
so.
Thank
you
very
much.
I
know
council
member,
mr.
G
One
other
thought
that
if
we
have
ppa
parking
authority,
lots
on
different
corridors
that
could
be
converted
temporarily
into
outdoor
dining
areas
in
the
spring
or
city
on
lots,
land
lots
that
can
be
improved
to
give
a
commercial
carter
outdoor
seating
options.
We
should
have
them
give
us
an
inventory
of
those
things
as
well.
K
Councilman,
that's
a
very
good
point
and
that's
exactly
what
we
did
down
in
dc
as
well.
I
worked
with
the
dc
department
of
transportation,
who
have
proposed
certain
changes
to
traffic
patterns
and
establishing
seating
area
for
restaurants
in
a
city-owned
parking
garage,
for
example.
So
there's
a
lot
of
creativity,
I
mean,
let's
face
it.
Traffic
in
the
city
is
down
car
traffic.
K
K
Councilman
to
you
know,
permit
a
more
permanent
restaurant
approach
that
maintains
social
distancing
and
safety
and
permits
restaurants
to
invest
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
to
to
have
structures
and
tents
and
heaters,
and-
and
things
like
that,
so
we,
the
industry,
would
love
to
work
with
council
and
love
to.
You
know,
look
at
what
they've
done
in
other
cities
to
come
up
with
something
that
works.
F
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
This
question
is
for
whomever
on
the
panel
can
can
answer
it.
I
wanted
to
get
a
sense
of
how
many
restaurants
we'd
be
helping
with
the
bill.
Does
anyone
know
how
many
restaurants
in
the
city
would
fall
into
this
category
of
having
lost
50
percent
of
revenue
in
less
than
a
hundred
employees?.
I
I
A
L
Can
I
jump
in
here
sorry
ellen
yen,
owner
of
high
street
hospitality
group?
We
we
operate.
Five
restaurants
fork
high
street
high
street
provisions
in
franklin,
court
in
west
philadelphia,
a
kitchen
and
a
bar
in
rittenhouse
square,
and
you
know
I
would
fully
agree
with
what
don
and
melissa
just
said
that
the
majority
of
full-service
restaurants
are
the
ones
that
are
the
most
heavily
hit
and
first,
thank
you
so
much
for
allowing
me
to
testify
in
support
of
this
bill.
L
Some
of
our
restaurants
have
benefited
tremendously
from
the
outdoor
street
closures
like
a
kitchen,
but
even
with
that
outdoor
closure
and
being
able
to
you
know
on
some
weekends
get,
as
you
know,
have
as
much
revenue
as
we
would
typically
might
have
pre-covered
it
doesn't
make
up
for
how
much
has
been
lost
from
march.
Until
you
know
august,
a
kitchen,
probably
you
know,
is
seeing
a
40
loss
fork,
which
you
know
we're
on
market
street.
We
don't
have
any
street
closure.
L
That
is
convenient
for
us
to
participate
in
and
we're
let's
face
it.
We're
on
a
commercial
corridor
and
old
city
is
a
is
a
neighborhood
that
is
very
based
on
small
business,
on
tourism,
on
hospitality
and
destination,
of
which
we
all
know
the
impact
of
covid
on
all
those
markets.
Fork
is
the
one
struggling
the
most,
you
know
we
we
had
a.
We
had
two
leases
because
we
had
two
properties
to
join
together.
L
L
I
was
actually
in
a
lucky
position
that
my
lease
ended,
because
the
person
with
whom
we
had
a
relationship
was
is
not
a
flexible
landlord
and
I
understand
that
they
have
commitments
as
well.
So
I
thought
that
don's
suggestions
were
excellent
with
regard
to
the
fact
that
this
this
bill
would
allow
landlords
to
be
able
to
negotiate
with
their
banks
and
their
mortgage
holders.
But,
but
you
know,
restaurants
put
in
especially
full
scale.
Restaurants,
like
vernick
or
fork,
or
some
of
these
gems
that
you
know
have
been
philadelphia
classics.
L
We
put
millions
of
dollars
of
leasehold
improvements
into
our
facilities.
Over
six,
I've
been
at
market
street
almost
23
years.
I
guarantee
I've
put
over
two
million
dollars
in
investment
into
those
properties,
and
you
know
in
terms
of
how
much
money
I've
paid
in
rent
just
of
the
high
street
property.
I
know
I've
paid
over
a
million
dollars
in
rent
this
past
year.
They
increased
our
rent
by
sixty
thousand
dollars,
which
was
over
fifty
percent
of
our
pre
prior
year.
L
Rent-
and
you
know
I
I
do
feel
a
little
bit
resentful
because
then
on
the
exit.
When
I
closed
my
lease,
I
had
to
rip
everything
out.
Not
only
was
it
an
emotional
rip
out,
but
it
was
a
it
cost.
Probably
fifty
thousand
dollars
to
like
have
to
like
transition
everything
out
and
find
a
new
location
and
and
do
all
that
so
restaurants
are
not
in
a
good
position.
L
There's
a
huge
amount
of
uncertainty
going
into
the
winter
with
regard
to
consumer
behavior
and
whether
people
will
even
go
out
under
50
degrees
or
not.
So,
although
we've
invested
in
an
enclosure
for
all
our
properties
that
that
are
that
is
feasible,
we
don't
know
how
much
more
money
we
want
to
invest
in
that.
If
people
aren't
going
to
come
out
and
and
want
to
sit
in,
you
know
in
50
degree
weather
with
all
the
heat,
lamps
and
everything.
If
you
really
want
to
do
it
right,
you
need
the
whole
permitting
process.
L
L
I
E
I
I
I
don't
know
if
they
have
a
different
end
game
that
we
don't
know
about,
but
yeah
it
doesn't
make
sense
for
evictions
to
happen,
but
the
other
concern
is,
of
course,
even
if
they
don't
affect
those
fees
and
penalties
pile
up
as
well,
so
long
term
wrestling
could
be
looking
at
evictions
even
after
this
is
over
because
they
can't
catch
up
from
as
far
behind
as
they
are
right
now.
So
this
provides
some
certainty
and
gives
us
that
ability
to
catch
up.
E
And
I
guess
you
know
what
we're
dealing
with
here
is
the
effects
of
covet.
I
assume,
and
maybe
some
of
the
violence
that
occurred,
but
if
we
could,
you
know
when
you
look
at
the
office
buildings
right
now,
85
of
our
office,
buildings
are
empty,
empty
15
are
occupied
and
those
schools
really
are
back,
hopefully
in
january
they're,
going
to
start
hopefully
coming
back.
E
But
what
we're
talking
about
here
is
if
all
of
our
issues
here
are
based
on
demand,
we
don't
have
the
demand
in
the
market
to
support
retail
restaurants
and
everything
else,
and
we
need
as
a
council.
Maybe
we
can
figure
out
how
we
can
get
officers
in
a
safe
way
be
occupied,
because
we
need
those
people
for
this
economy
and
we
need
the
universities
for
this
economy.
All
these
issues
we're
talking
about
are
band-aids
because
of
this
problem.
E
M
M
You
know
between
philadelphia
and
the
surrounding
counties.
I
live
right
next
to
delaware,
county
and
when
the
restaurants
were
closed
in
this
city,
I've
discovered
all
kinds
of
new
places
in
delaware
county.
Where
I
take
my
family
and
we
have
a
dinner,
we
sit
down,
we
engage
in
conversation
and
all
those
things
limited
seating.
You
know
they
spread
out
the
space.
I
don't
really
understand
absolutely.
M
You
know
the
benefits
of
having
such
a
different
policy
here
in
the
city
and
and
right
next
door
in
in
our
surrounding
counties.
I
also
don't
understand
exactly
the
great
benefits
I
understand.
There's
some
benefits
of
basically
sitting
indoors
outdoors
like
putting
up
a
tent
and
then
sitting
in
it
with
heat
like
you're
duplicating
indoors
outdoors.
Would
not,
would
it
not
just
be
better
to
kind
of
regulate
the
existing?
M
M
I
do
want
to
in
the
future,
establish
a
better
working
relationship
with
the
administration
so
that
we
could
bring
some
of
these
issues
to
the
administration.
In
terms
of
how
I
understand
what
the
governor
is
doing,
I
understand
you
know
the
governor
setting
a
policy,
I'm
not
exactly
sure
how
the
city
of
philadelphia
diverges
from
that
policy.
I
understand
the
reasoning
I
hear
the
logic
again.
M
L
I
just
want
to
say
that
I
fully
agree
with
councilman
dom
with
regard
to
creating
the
demand,
but
it's
still
going
to
be
up
to
the
consumer
and
councilman.
Oh
you
know,
one
of
the
things
is:
is
that
our
customers
don't
want
to
eat
inside
our
customers
want
to
eat
outside.
They
don't
feel
comfortable
and
our
staff
don't
feel
comfortable
necessarily
waiting
on
more
than
50
percent
indoors
as
well.
L
That
is
a
huge
problem
with
the
outer
counties,
as
well
as
people
who
aren't
following
the
rules,
because
I
had
a
group
the
other
day
they
were
14
people.
I
sat
them
in
tables
of
four,
my
staff
all
wore
shields.
They
would
not
wear
their
mask
when
they
were
not
eating
or
drinking,
and
they
told
me
that
another
restaurant
down
the
street
allowed
them
to
dine
without
their
masks
on.
So
what
am
I
supposed
to
say?
First
of
all
I
had
to
step
in
because
my
my
staff
didn't
feel
comfortable.
L
They
wanted
to
have
a
large
group
and
they
didn't
understand
why
things
were
different
at
different
locations,
so
I
I
fully
agree
that
these
these
things
have
to
be
made
very
clear
to
all
the
operators
and
there
should
be
there
should
be
some
sort
of
penalty
for
not
complying,
but
then
again,
you
know,
I
know
I'm
losing
business
to
the
suburbs
and
I
have
to
figure
out
this
winter.
That's
my
biggest
challenge.
How
am
I
going
to
get
my
product
out
out
to
my
customer?
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
K
Thank
you,
councilman.
You
are
correct
that
the
city
restaurants,
have
lost
a
lot
of
business
to
our
suburban
competitors,
regulation
and
enforcement
of
regulation,
and
I
would
probably
emphasize
enforcement.
More
has
been
certainly
much
more
lacks
in
the
suburbs
and,
as
as
ellen
said,
there
are
some
clients
and
customers
that
will
not
sit
inside
that
don't
want
to
sit
inside,
but
there
are
some
to
do.
I
I've
seen
it
I've
experienced
it.
I've
done
it
myself
if
I
thought
it
was
being
done
in
a
safe
manner.
K
So
as
long
as
social,
distancing
and
or
barriers
are
maintained
and
the
the
restaurant
is
you
know,
staff
is
is,
is
working
appropriately.
There
is
a
demand,
I
think,
for
at
least
50
percent
occupancy.
I
you
know
our
experience
has
been
so
far.
If
it's
70
degrees
out,
most
people
will
want
to
sit
outside
if
it's
50
degrees
or
55
degrees.
K
K
A
Thank
you
thank
you
don
and
thank
you
all
for
your
testimony.
Obviously
this
is
not
the
answer
to
solve
every
problem.
We
have
a
lot
more
work
to
do
and
continue
to
work
with
the
industry
and
with
commerce
and
the
city
departments
to
try
to
come
up
with
some
more
options
and
opportunities
for
our
our
businesses,
council,
member
gilmore,
richardson.
C
Thank
you
so
much,
mr
chair,
and
thank
you
for
this
dialogue,
and
I
want
to
thank
the
bill's
sponsor
for
this
legislation.
I
have
a
brief
question
regarding
what
other
forms
of
assistance
we
can
offer
from
a
city
perspective
for
the
industry,
around
restaurant
regulations,
specifically
around
the
outdoor
regulations.
C
I
heard
from
some
restaurant
owners
recently
that
they
were
fined
by
the
city
over
the
height
of
their
umbrellas,
for
instance.
So
what
other
assistance
can
we
offer
to
all
of
you
to
ensure?
We
all
know
what
the
rules
and
regulations
are
in
this
moment
so
that
we
are
not
further
impacting
you
in
this
very
difficult
moment.
I
Melissa
bova
with
the
rest
of
pennsylvania,
restaurant
and
lodging
association.
Yes,
enforcement's,
feared
right
now
and
we're
seeing
kind
of
75
tickets
for
umbrellas
are
a
half
an
inch
too
short,
but
that's
because
the
sidewalk
isn't
level
and
people
are
getting
fined
for
something
like
that.
We
are
seeing
people
that
are
getting
fined
because
they
have
outdoor
string
lights
and
they're
getting
fined
for
things
like
that.
So
I
think
that
there's
in
an
ability
for
the
city
to
keep
out
the
receiving
safe
and
the
street
closures
safe.
I
I
think
that
there
is
some
over
enforcement
that's
occurring
without
kind
of
in
the
back
of
their
mind.
Thinking,
okay,
maybe
we
don't
need
to
do
all
of
this
and
assess
all
these
fines
on
businesses
that
are
struggling
for
items
that
really
aren't
concerning.
So,
for
example,
you
need
six
feet
of
distance
on
the
sidewalk.
If
it's
five
and
three
quarters
feet
we're
seeing
people
get
fined,
so
there
seems
to
be
a
lack
of
that
kind
of
common
sense.
Are
they
purposefully
breaking
the
rules
or
is
it?
I
So,
yes,
we
that's,
that's
a
huge
thing
that
we
would
love
to
work
with
you
on
and,
as
the
chairman
said,
this
is
this
bill
is
not
going
to
fix
everything,
it's
a
good
step
and
we
still
have
a
long
ways
to
go,
and
we
still
would
like
to
have
a
number
of
conversations
with
all
of
you
how
we
can
bring
this
industry
back
because
I
know
on
behalf
of
the
industry.
We
want
to
come
back
from.
C
This
thank
you.
Thank
you
very
much
and
we'll
definitely
follow
up
with
you,
but
I've
heard
this
from
multiple
business
owners.
I've
been
out
in
the
community
over
the
past
several
weekends,
and
I
heard
from
quite
a
few
owners
around
the
fines
that
they
were
receiving
specifically
around
sidewalk
space
height
of
umbrellas,
and
that
was
concerning.
So
thank
you
very
much
for
that
feedback.
Thank
you.
A
B
N
So
I'll
be
sharing,
my
screen
cls
will
be
giving
testimony,
and
then
we
have
video
testimony
of
a
former
client
so
good
morning,
members
of
the
committee,
my
name,
is
kate
dugan,
I'm
an
attorney
in
the
home
ownership
and
consumer
rights
unit
at
community
legal
services,
and
I'm
really
pleased
to
testify
in
support
of
council
bill
200
544.
Today,
as
council
knows,
community
legal
services
was
established
by
the
philadelphia
bar
association
in
1966
to
provide
civil
legal
representation
to
low-income
philadelphians.
N
As
the
city's
largest
provider
of
free
legal
services,
cls
assists
approximately
12
000
of
philadelphia's
poorest
residents
every
year
with
their
legal
problems.
In
the
past
several
years,
homeowners
in
the
city
have
felt
increasingly
harassed,
annoyed
and
threatened
by
repeated,
unwelcome
communication
from
people
offering
to
buy
their
houses
in
quick
cash
deals.
These
are
the
same
people
who
plaster
our
city
with
we
buy
houses,
signs
illegally
voltage,
telephone,
poles
and
street
signs.
N
These
residential
property
wholesalers
use
high
pressure
and
deceptive
sales
techniques
to
convince
homeowners
to
sell
their
homes
for
far
less
than
market
value.
Many
homeowners,
including
many
of
our
clients,
have
been
victims
of
these
predatory
and
aggressive
techniques.
They
are
being
dragged
into
court
to
perform
under
contracts
they
didn't
understand
or
that
they
signed
after
being
subjected
to
high-pressure
sales
techniques,
often
wholesalers
target
our
most
vulnerable
residents,
seniors
those
who
can't
read
or
speak
english
heirs,
who
are
still
grieving,
lost
family
members
and
those
who
are
at
risk
of
mortgage
or
tax
foreclosure.
N
Typically,
these
wholesalers
who
operate
largely
anonymously
behind
layers
of
llc's
are
not
the
one
buying
someone's
house.
Instead,
they
make
an
offer
to
a
person
to
buy
their
house
and
then
turn
around
and
assign
that
agreement
of
sale
or
sell
that
agreement
of
sales
to
somebody
else
for
a
higher
price.
N
The
homeowner
is
left
with
far
less
than
their
house
is
worth,
and
the
wholesaler
walks
away
with
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
in
profit
that
profit
represents
equity,
equity,
that's
been
built
up
over
generations
and
decades
and
that
suddenly
gets
stripped
away
from
the
stroke
of
a
pen
nationally.
As
members
of
this
committee
are
probably
aware,
there's
a
dramatic
wealth
gap
between
black
and
white
households.
The
medium
black
household
has
only
the
wealth
of
a
median
white
household.
N
Predatory
homebuyers
are
an
especially
acute
threat
to
black
homeowners
and
black
communities,
whose
family
wealth
is
more
likely
to
be
tied
to
their
family
home
and
who
did
therefore
standing
so
much
more
by
being
deep,
designing
away
their
homes.
Philadelphia
has
historically
been
a
city
where
families
of
all
income
levels
could
achieve
homeownership
and
build
intergenerational
wealth.
This
is
becoming
less
true
in
many
areas
of
the
city,
increasingly
putting
home
ownership
out
of
reach
for
many
families,
especially
lower
income
ones.
N
N
Tracy
gordon
is
taking
important
steps
to
make
it
easier
and
more
affordable
for
heirs
to
properly
raise
their
loved
one's
estate
and
keep
family
home
from
the
family.
A
commit.
A
continued
commitment
by
council
to
helping
homeowners
will
further
equip
people
to
stay
in
their
homes
when
they
want
to.
Over
the
past
year,
cls
has
worked
with
various
community
partners,
some
of
whom
are
testifying
today
to
educate
homeowners
about
their
options,
whether
they
want
to
sell
or
not.
N
For
those
who
do
not
want
to
sell
their
homes,
we
give
them
her
information
about
the
programs
I
just
discussed
for
those
who
do
want
to
sell
their
home.
We
explain
the
importance
of
knowing
the
market
value
of
one's
home
before
agreeing
to
an
offer,
and
we
discuss
the
benefits
of
working
with
a
real
estate
agent,
who,
unlike
a
wholesaler,
has
a
duty
to
act
in
a
homeowner's
best
interest.
N
However,
education
alone
isn't
enough
to
protect
vulnerable
homeowners
from
aggressive
and
predatory
techniques.
These
wholesalers
operate
completely
outside
any
ethical
or
professional
scrutiny,
as
they're
almost
never
attorneys
real
estate
agents
or
realtors.
This
lack
of
oversight
allows
wholesalers
to
operate
unchecked
and
would
what,
in
whatever
way,
makes
them
the
most
profit.
This
bill
represents
multiple
approaches
to
the
problem.
Currently,
if
a
homeowner
puts
a
real
estate
agent
on
notice
that
they
don't
want
to
be
solicited
to
sell
their
home,
the
real
estate
agent
is
prohibited
under
the
fair
practices
ordinance
from
contacting
them
again.
N
This
bill
expands
the
prohibition
to
cover
not
just
real
estate
agents,
but
any
individual
or
entity.
This
is
a
simple
but
important
step
in
making
sure
that
predatory
home
buyers
operate
under
the
same
rules
as
everyone
else.
This
bill
also
creates
a
do
not
call
list
to
help
to
let
wholesalers
know
that
a
homeowner
does
not
want
to
be
contacted.
N
Homeowners
who
feel
annoyed
or
upset
by
constant
phone
calls.
Letters
postcards
and
door
hangers
would
finally
have
a
tool
to
put
a
stop
to
these
unwanted
solicitations,
philadelphia,
community
leaders
and
residents
enthusiastically
support
the
do
not
call
us
and
are
excited
about
the
process
of
being
able
to
put
wholesalers
on
notice
that
they're
not
interested
in
selling,
and
they
want
to
stop
being
bothered.
N
This
bill
requires
residential
property
wholesalers
to
obtain
a
professional
license
from
the
city,
just
like
many
other
professionals
and
adhere
to
simple
but
important
ethical
guidelines.
Importantly,
the
application
requires
that
the
wholesaler
put
an
actual
human
name
on
the
application
form.
This
adds
sunlight
to
the
disinfectant
to
the
wholesalers
practices
and
makes
it
easier
for
homeowners
to
track
down
bad
actors
when
they
need
to
residential
property.
Wholesalers
would
be
required
to
provide
written
disclosures
to
homeowners
at
least
three
days
before
an
agreement
of
sale
is
signed.
N
I'd
like
to
close
my
testimony
today
with
video,
I'm
talking
about
a
recent
community
legal
services
client,
mr
william
weary,
mr
weary,
a
father
of
four
grandfather
of
12
and
great
grandfather
of
one
moved
to
philadelphia
from
his
family
farm
in
south
carolina
in
1956,
with
a
third
grade
education
and
all
of
his
belongings
stuffed
into
a
paper
bag.
He
was
23
years
old
and
newly
married,
although
he
had
trouble
reading
and
only
a
third
grade
education.
Mr
weary
began
working
in
maintenance
at
the
hospital
of
the
university
of
pennsylvania.
N
He
would
work
there
for
39
years
before
retiring
in
retirement.
He
enjoyed
riding
horses
stable
at
fairmount
park.
He
even
owned
his
own
horse
named
joe
mr
weary,
owned
a
small
two-story
row
house
near
lasalle
university
and
received
an
almost
daily
torrent
of
calls
from
solicitations
to
sell
his
home
one
day
out
of
curiosity,
he
called
one
of
their
numbers
that
led
to
a
series
of
high
pressure
and
deceptive
sales
tactics
from
a
residential
property
wholesaler.
N
Ultimately,
he
signed
an
agreement
of
sale
to
sell
his
house
for
about
a
third
of
what
it
was
worth
thinking.
It
was
just
a
no
obligation
offer.
Sadly,
mr
berry
died
last
year,
but
his
sister-in-law
cynthia
taylor
was
eager
to
testify
in
support
of
this
bill.
Miss
taylor
works
as
a
full-time
home
health
aide
and
was
not
able
to
attend
this
morning's
hearing,
but
we
have
a
brief
video
that
I'd
like
to
play
of
the
conversation
she
had
with
my
colleague,
michael
ferlick,
so
I'm
going
to
share
my
screen.
N
A
D
D
D
The
guy,
then
I
made
him
start
the
papers,
they're
saying
that
he
was
selling
the
house,
was
it
for
500
or
something,
and
he
didn't
know
that
he
didn't
realize
what
he
had
done
and
so
when
he
did
realize
it,
I
think
he
got
in
touch
with
y'all
because
they
were
trying
to
take
his
homes
away
from
him.
I
don't
think
it's
fair.
I
really
don't
think
it's
fair
that
you
prey
on
senior.
D
You
know
on
seniors
because
half
of
them
mentioned
are
they
sick
and
they
don't
have
no
loved
ones
to
they.
Don't
have
no
loved
ones
to
be
with
them
to
guide
them
through
this,
so
these
people
that
come
around
and
post
these
signs
and
stuff
really
takes
advantage,
and
I
I
really
think
something
should
be
done
about
it.
It
was
an
apartment
first
and
second
floor.
It
was
nice,
it
needed
some
work
done
on
it
and
stuff.
D
B
D
You
know
and
when
my
brother-in-law
realized
what
was
going
on,
I
think
that's
when
he
came
to
you
and
they
were
trying
to
give
him
a
hard
way
to
go
about
it.
I
just
don't
think
it's
fair
that
they,
you
know,
target
people
with
these
signs
and
call
them
on
the
phone
and
tell
them
you
know
you
can
get
this
and
you
can
get
that,
but
they're
lying
to
him
they're
really
lying
to
him.
D
You
know
I
had
the
same
situation
with
my
aunt
right
now,
where
they
call
her
up
on
the
phone
and
said
her
house
was
put
up.
You
know
she
was
trying
to
sell
a
house
in
which
that's
the
line.
You
know
and
she
gets
calls
all
the
time
and
she
also
has
dimension
so
with
me
being
there.
I
told
him
don't
call
no
more
because
she's,
not
you,
know,
selling
her
house,
I
don't
know
what
we
can
do
about
it,
but
it
needs
to
be
stopped.
D
He
was
terribly
upset
about
it
either
because
he
knew
after
a
while.
He
knew
something
wasn't
right.
So
then,
again,
that's
when
he
came
to
you.
He
really
was
upset
about
it.
You
know
because
he
didn't
want
to
sell
his
property.
He
was
really
trying
to
work
on
it
to
see.
If
he
could,
you
know
get
it
fixed
up,
so
he
can
re-rent
it
out.
He
was
really
sweet.
He
would
do
anything
in
the
world
for
you,
and
I
know
that
people
hear
this
story
all
the
time.
D
He
would
do
this
and
he
did
but
william
was
he
would
do
anything
anymore.
He
would
give
you
his
legs
and
he
never
tried
to
hurt
no
one.
He
always
tried
to
help
people
he
loved
his
horses
and
cars
and
traveling.
It
was
really
hard.
I
mean
when
he
got
to
the
point.
He
didn't
help
himself
a
little
more.
D
N
It
dls
would
like
to
thank
the
community
groups
that
have
who
have
worked
with
us
on
this
important
issue,
we'd
like
to
thank
the
greater
philadelphia
association
of
realtors,
in
whom
we
found
strong
and
supportive
partners
and
real
estate
professionals
who
want
to
do
right
by
their
clients
and
their
cities.
We'd
also
like
to
thank
extended
it's
gratitude
to
council,
member
dom
and
his
staff,
who
have
been
a
pleasure
to
work
with
for
championing
this
important
issue
and
this
important
legislation.
N
This
bill
is
a
step
toward
preserving
home
ownership,
increasing
intergenerational
wealth
and
closing
the
wealth
gap
in
philadelphia.
We
continue
to
work
with
cities
and
we
look
forward
to
continuing
to
work
with
city
council
on
these
issues
and
I'm
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
The
council
members
have.
E
Oh
thank
you
chairman
school,
and
thank
you
for
your
testimony,
kate,
it's
great
and
also
chairman
squealer,
thank
you
for
holding
this
hearing
today
and
also
for
sponsoring
bill
number
two:
zero,
zero.
Five.
Four
four,
and
I
also
like
to
thank
my
other
co-sponsors
on
this
bill:
council
members,
kathy
gilmore,
richardson,
maria
quinnona
sanchez,
kenyatta,
johnson,
jamie
gautier,
cherelle,
parker,
isaiah,
thomas
derek,
green
kendra,
brooks
and
helen
kim.
E
E
The
goal
of
this
legislation
is
to
establish
fair
rules
and
expectations
for
these
wholesalers
who
are
buying
and
selling
homes
in
our
communities.
When
I
introduced
this
legislation
in
october,
I
mentioned
the
signs.
We
all
see
all
over
the
city
of
philadelphia,
we
buy
houses,
signs
plastered
all
over
telephone
poles
and
when
we
see
these
signs
in
neighborhoods
all
over
the
city,
I'm
very
concerned
that
many
of
our
residents,
as
we
just
saw
in
the
video,
are
being
taken
advantage
of
in
this
market.
E
You
know
I
can
give
you
some
examples
of
that
where
a
home
you
know
was
purchased
for
a
very
low
value,
20,
30,
000
and
then
a
month
or
two
later,
it's
flipped
for
80
or
100
000
with
no
work.
Every
philadelphia
homeowner
deserves
to
receive
the
market
value
of
their
home,
especially
today-
and
you
know,
in
the
united
states
and
in
philadelphia,
your
home
has
been
the
biggest
generator
of
wealth
in
families.
E
An
investor
is
someone
who
or
an
entity
it
could
be
a
person
or
an
entity
that
buys
a
home
usually
with
a
real
estate
agent
or
an
attorney
is
held
to
standards
set
by
the
commonwealth
of
pennsylvania.
That's
the
real
estate
agent
or
attorney,
and
they
typically
the
investor,
invests
money
into
the
property
by
adding
value
they
might
update
a
kitchen.
A
bathroom
remodel
do
something
to
improve
the
value
of
the
home,
and
that
could
take
a
few
months
to
do
that.
Then
they
sell
it
down
the
road.
E
A
wholesaler
is
typically
someone
or
an
entity
that
buys
a
home
with
cash,
with
no
standards
for
information
sharing
or
behavior
in
the
market.
Their
goal
is
to
immediately
immediately
sell
the
property
at
our
prior
price
to
investor
or
home
buyer,
where
good
actors
in
the
wholesaling
business
have
existed.
E
This
is
simply
people
who
try
to
buy
low
and
sell
high
in
the
market,
but
because
this
practice
is
based
on
that
premise,
it
is
inherently
it
encourages
wholesalers
to
look
for
sellers
or
areas
of
the
city
where
they
can
take
advantage
of
the
market
and
the
residents
of
philadelphia.
That's
really
the
big
issue
here.
The
bad
actors
in
this
business
are
looking
to
take
advantage
of
our
residents
and
they're,
really
not
making
their
money
on
the
market
and
making
their
money
on
the
lack
of
information
of
sellers.
E
We've
seen
how
many
neighborhoods
are
targeted
for
this
kind
of
activity
and
therefore
are
at
risk
for
being
taken
advantage
of
by
people
who
understand
the
market
trends
in
real
estate
at
a
far
greater
level
than
our
philadelphia
residents.
You
know
whenever
I
drive
all
over
the
city,
you'll
see
I'm
sure
everyone
on
this
all.
My
colleagues
have
seen
these
signs
all
over
the
city,
cash
for
homes.
We
buy
houses
and
that's
what's
going
on,
not
everyone,
but
there's
a
lot
of
dead
actors
in
this
process.
E
This
bill
will
provide
the
following:
one:
create
a
licensing
system
and
a
set
of
standards
of
contact
for
wholesale
buyers.
Number
two
explicitly
prohibit
unethical
conduct
by
wholesalers
by
defining
a
code
of
conduct
similar
to
those
used
for
other
real
estate
professionals
and
three
require
a
disclosure
to
the
seller,
informing
the
solicited
homeowners
of
resources.
E
So
they
can
evaluate
the
real
value
of
their
property
or
seek
representation
from
a
professional
four.
We
are
creating
a
do,
not
solicit
list
of
homeowners
and
five
establish
enforcement
mechanisms
and
penalties
for
those
who
violate
these
regulations,
and
with
that,
mr
chairman,
let
me
turn
it
back
over
to
you
and
I
look
forward
to
hearing
from
our
partners
in
this
effort,
members
of
the
public
who
agreed
to
share
their
stories
and
all
the
individuals
that
are
here
today
to
testify.
E
A
Thank
you.
Thank
you,
councilmember,
dom
and
appreciate
all
your
hard
work
on
this
legislation.
Just
for
the
record
that
everybody
knows,
we
have
a
hard
stop
because
of
the
mayor's
press
conference
at
12
30..
So
we,
what
we're
going
to
do
is
that
I
know
catherine,
a
council
member
gaurier
has
has
a
question,
but
what
we'll
do
is
let
people
testify
for
this
bill
and
then
we'll
ask
the
questions
right
at
the
end.
After
all,
the
testimonies
heard
council
member.
F
Thank
you.
I
just
wanted
to
take
a
moment
to
commend
council
member
dom
for
his
work
on
this
bill.
This
is
a
huge
issue
in
my
district,
where
neighborhoods
are
changing,
residents
are
harassed
on
a
daily
basis
by
text
by
phone,
the
signs
everywhere.
I
even
saw
one
wholesaler
designing
their
solicitations
to
look
like
parking
tickets,
so
it's
really
kind
of
out
of
control,
and
I
think
this
bill
will
go
a
long
way
towards
letting
people
remain
in
the
neighborhood
in
peace.
F
A
G
G
Looking
for
the
big
deal
opportunity
to
take
advantage
of
often
senior
citizens
who
no
longer
can
afford
some
of
the
maintenance
and
upkeep
of
their
property
and
take
pennies
on
the
dollar
to
to
to
take
advantage
of
them.
I
think
this
bill
goes
a
long
way
in
stabilization,
not
that
change
should
not
come,
but
change
should
not
come
at
the
expense
and
exploitation
of
long-term
residents.
So
I
commend
you
as
well.
O
Thank
you.
Thank
you.
Everybody
thank
you,
chairperson,
squilla
vice
chair,
dom
for
championing
this
effort
and
members
of
the
commerce
and
economic
development
committee
for
the
opportunity
to
testify
in
support
of
bill
number
two:
zero:
zero:
five:
four:
four:
I'm
rue
landau
executive
director
of
the
philadelphia
commission
on
human
relations.
O
O
I
questions
build
two
zero
zero
five
four
four
provides
protections
to
homeowners
and
regulates
the
solicitation
of
purchases
of
real
property
by
residential
property
wholesalers
by
expanding
and
strengthening
the
law
and
making
it
more
relevant
to
current
day
housing
practices
in
the
first
half
of
the
20th
century,
philadelphia
was
deeply
affected
by
federal,
federally
supported,
discriminatory
housing
and
lending
policies
and
practices
that
resulted
in
racially
segregated
neighborhoods
from
redlining
to
blockbusting
and
white
flight.
The
white
suburbs
grew
and
prospered.
While
black
and
brown
urban
neighborhoods
deteriorated
with
active
disinvestment.
O
We
have
witnessed
a
new
kind
of
blockbusting
in
philadelphia
and
exploitative
individuals,
and
companies
have
tried
to
cash
in
on
that
change,
to
offset
the
harmful
effects
of
some
of
these
practices,
philadelphia
added
a
provision
to
its
fair
practices,
ordinance,
making
it
illegal
for
any
real
estate
broker
agent
or
its
employees
to
solicit
a
property
for
sale
after
they
put.
They
are
put
on
notice
that
the
owner
does
not
desire
to
sell
the
property,
while
that
section
of
the
law
helped
to
protect
homeowners
for
a
while.
The
problem
of
unscrupulous
housing
solicitation
has
evolved
today.
O
A
new
set
of
unregulated
actors,
called
property
wholesalers,
have
entered
the
marketplace
seeking
to
buy
and
quickly
flip
properties
for
a
profit,
property
wholesalers,
bombard
homeowners
with
solicitations
through
calls
emails,
text,
messages,
postcards
and
flyers
that
you've
heard
of
already.
Today
they
make
low
ball
offers
and
far
too
often
mislead
vulnerable
homeowners
about
the
legal
consequences
of
documents
they
present
for
signing
bad
individual
actors
hide
behind
complex
corporate
structures,
making
it
hard
to
hold
them
accountable.
O
O
The
proposed
changes
contained
in
this
bill
today
would
address
these
problems.
The
bill
has
three
primary
primary
goals:
to
license
previously
unregulated
actors,
to
establish
a
code
of
conduct
for
property
wholesalers
and
to
create
a
universal,
do
not
solicit
list,
and
I
know
councilman
councilmember,
dom
vice
chair
dom,
went
through
the
details
of
the
bill.
I
hope
you
can
cut
me
off
if
you
need
me
to,
but
I
wanted
to
just
proceed
with
some
of
the
details
as
well.
O
Under
the
existing
fair
practices,
ordinance
only
real
estate
brokers
and
agents
must
honor
a
homeowner's
request
not
to
be
solicited
to
sell
or
rent
a
property.
The
bill
expands
the
scope
of
this
protection
to
include
any
individual
or
entity
engaging
in
the
practice
of
soliciting
a
property
for
sale
or
rent.
It
also
also
authorizes
the
commission
or
another
entity
to
maintain
a
public
do
not
solicit
list
of
owners
who
have
expressed
a
desire
not
to
be
solicited
to
sell
or
rent
their
properties.
O
While
we
appreciate
the
potential
effectiveness
of
a
do
not
solicit
lists,
we
will
need
funding
to
create
and
maintain
it
for
licensing.
The
bill
requires
all
property
wholesalers
to
obtain
licenses
through
the
city
of
philadelphia.
The
expanded
definition
of
wholesalers
in
this
section
includes
exceptions
for
the
city
and
public
officials,
people
or
entities
who
purchase
properties
and
substantially
improve
them
for
resale
and
attorneys
and
licensed
real
estate
professionals
when
acting
within
the
scope
of
their
licensed
practice.
Areas
to
obtain
a
license.
O
An
applicant
must
supply
a
name
and
address,
or
if
the
applicant
is
not
a
natural
person,
so
supply.
The
name
and
address
of
a
responsible
party,
provide
proof
of
insurance
and
disclose
any
equity
interest
in
other
pennsylvania
corporations.
A
license
may
not
be
issued
to
an
applicant
convicted
of
a
crime
of
fraud,
dishonesty
and
deceit
in
the
past
six
years
for
code
of
conduct
under
the
bill
res,
the
property
wholesalers
may
not
knowingly
make
any
substantial
misrepresentations
or
false
promises,
untruthfully
advertise
or
engage
in
any
conduct
which
demonstrates
bad
faith,
dishonesty,
untrustworthiness
or
incompetency.
O
An
applicant
also
may
not
knowingly
give
false
or
may
lead
misleading
information
to
obtain
a
license.
Finally,
it
requires
property
wholesalers
to
provide
homeowners
with
important
disclosures
three
days
prior
to
making
an
offer
to
purchase
the
property.
The
disclosure
must
inform
the
homeowner
of
resources
that
can
be
used
to
assess
the
fair
mark,
fair
value
of
residential
properties,
as
well
as
information
regarding
the
homeowners
rights
to
hire
a
real
estate
agent
to
seek
legal
counsel
or
other
resources
deemed
appropriate.
O
Finally,
finally,
just
to
touch
on
enforcement,
along
with
the
enforcement
authority
already
vested
in
the
fair
practices
ordinance
for
the
unlawful
housing
solicitation.
The
bill
creates
two
new
enforcement
mechanisms.
A
violation
of
the
prohibited
conduct
will
be
caused
for
the
city
to
revoke
or
refuse
a
license.
A
Right
now,
what
we're
going
to
do
is
we're
going
to
switch.
We
have
one
person
who
needs
to
testify
on
bill
number:
two:
zero:
zero:
three
five
three
I'll
ask
mr
mcmonica
to
call
up
mr
epps
to
have
his
testimony
on
that
bill
and
then
we'll
go
back
to,
unfortunately,
to
build
number
two:
zero,
zero.
Five.
Four
four
leverage!
Thank
you
for
your
testimony.
A
B
B
Most
of
you
are
aware
that
I
had
the
privilege
to
serve
as
the
commerce
director
for
the
city
under
mayor
kennedy's
in
his
first
term
and
prior
to
that
I
was
president
and
ceo
of
prwt
services,
one
of
the
largest
minority
owned
firms
in
the
country,
and
it's
with
all
of
those
experiences.
It
provides
me
ample
perspective
of
the
challenges
that
confront
local
and
black
and
brown
businesses
in
their
ability
to
compete
and
win
business
with
the
city
of
philadelphia,
and
I
would
say,
in
the
region
at
large.
B
B
The
bill
provides
additional
levels
of
accountability
and
transparency
and
lord
have
mercy.
We
sorely
need
that
and
finally,
the
deck
is
stacked
against
black
and
brown
businesses
and
they
need
all
the
system,
all
the
support
that
the
system
can
provide,
and
I
think
that
this
bill
begins
to
provide
additional
levels
of
protection.
B
A
A
I
know
there's
other
people
to
testify
on
this
bill,
but
we
have
to
go
back
to
the
previous
bill
because
mr
epps
has
to
leave
what
we're
going
to
do
real
quick
is
we're
going
to
break
into
out
of
the
hearing
and
go
into
a
public
meeting,
because
a
member
council
member
has
to
disperse
and
then
we're
going
to
come
back
into
the
public
hearing
after
we
go
into
the
meeting.
So
thank
you
all
for
your
testimony.
At
this
point,
I
think
what
we're
going
to
do
now.
P
A
A
E
A
H
E
Okay,
I'll
redo
it.
Thank
you,
mr
chairman.
I
move
that
bill's
number
three:
two:
zero:
zero.
Three:
five:
three:
two:
zero:
zero:
five:
four
four
and
bill
number:
two:
zero:
zero:
five,
seven
four,
including
any
amendments
that
have
just
been
approved,
be
reported
from
this
committee
with
a
fatal
recommendation.
Furthermore,
the
rules
of
accounts
will
be
suspended
for
agreeing
these
bills.
The
next
session
of
council.
A
K
A
A
C
Mr
chair,
yes,
point
of
clarification
for
the
administration
and
the
witnesses.
We
are
addressing
the
amendments
so
that
council,
member
dom,
can
vote
on
the
bills
before
he
departs.
The
hearing
is
that
correct?
A
councilman?
Oh,
yes,
correct,
hearing
right,
okay,
so
we
are
going
to
go
back
into
testimony,
but
we're
allowing
councilmember
oh
to
have
an
opportunity
to
vote
on
the
bills
and
go
back
into
the
hearing.
Okay.
Thank
you,
mr
chair,
for
that
point
of
clarification.
A
E
So
the
first
one
was,
we
approved
the
amendments
and
now
we're
approving
the
amendments
and
the
bills.
Is
that
correct?
Correct?
Yes,
I'll,
read
it
again,
I'm
I'm!
I
move
that
bill
number
two:
zero,
zero,
three:
five:
three:
two:
zero:
zero:
five,
four:
four:
two:
zero
zero:
five,
seven
four,
including
any
amendments
that
have
just
been
approved,
be
reported
from
this
committee
with
a
favorable
recommendation
and
further
move
the
rules
of
council
be
suspended
to
permit
first
reading
these
bills
in
the
next
session
of
council.
C
A
Thank
you
to
mill
the
property
seconded
the
bills,
just
read
by
the
councilman
dom,
including
any
amendments
that
have
been
approved
today
be
reported
from
this
committee,
with
a
favorable
recommendation
as
to
further
move
that
the
rules
accounts
will
be
suspended
to
permit
the
first
reading
of
these
bills
of
the
next
session
to
council.
All
those
in
favor
of
the
motion
will
signify
by
saying
aye
aye.
M
Mr
chairman,
sure,
I'm
sorry
because
I
seem
to
be
the
because
of
this
problem.
I
was
seeking
to
be
recognized
simply
to
request
being
excused
and
voting
recorded
as
voting
eye
on
all
bills
and
amendments.
I
I
know
that
the
committee
has
yet
to
hear
the
testimony
on
some
of
the
bills
and
amendments
and-
and
that
is
actually
you
know
the
procedurally.
M
A
A
The
eyes
have
it
and
the
motion
carries
that'll
end
our
that'll
conclude
our
meeting,
but
we
will
go
back
into
a
public
hearing
and
council
member
green
was
present.
We
voted
the
amendments
and
the
bills
out
of
committee,
with
a
favorable
recommended
recommendation
to
be
read
at
the
next
session
of
council.
A
P
P
Thousands
of
black
families
in
low
wealth
neighborhoods
have
been
targeted
by
this
industry
that
uses
practice
pressure,
tactics
and
deceptive
advertising
to
convince
homeowners
to
sell
their
properties
for
less
than
market
value.
Strawberry
mansion
a
predominantly
black
community,
is
in
the
midst
of
a
battle
to
educate
and
protect
property
owners
against
these
wealth
draining
entities
in
mansion
homeowners
are
inundated
daily
with
street
signs
door.
P
Knockers
postcards
emails
phone
calls,
yes,
even
on
cell
phones,
text
messages
and
canvassing
caravans,
prompting
them
to
sell
their
homes,
as
is
the
language
in
these
communications
range
from
super
friendly,
hi
neighbor.
I
was
just
admiring
your
property
to
very
abrasive.
This
is
my
final
attempt
to
reach
you.
The
appearances
range
from
a
handwritten
note
to
an
official
appearing
note
with
the
seal
residents.
Contact
me
often
about
these
calls
and
letters
seniors,
especially
are
taken
in
by
the
official
look
of
the
notices
and
out
of
fear
or
pressure.
P
They
make
a
connection
with
one
of
the
many
players
in
the
web
only
to
ultimately
have
them
visit
their
homes
and
convince
them
to
sign
agreements
of
sales.
These
notices
come
so
often
the
neighbors
are
concerned
that
they're
being
watched,
they
feel
under
siege,
and
they
are
more
determined
to
stay
in
their
homes.
P
P
Quick
cash
offers
are
tempting
and
problematic
for
homeowners
with
vulnerable
properties.
Many
homeowners
find
themselves
entered
into
agreements
with
limited
knowledge
and
thereby
cheating
themselves
of
income
from
their
valuable
asset.
Strawberry
mansion
cdc
is
encouraging
them
to
explore
options
to
stabilize
their
properties,
with
programs
like
the
strawberry
mansion,
historic
home
repair
program,
basic
system
repairs,
the
rr
and
r
loan,
weatherization,
etc.
P
With
the
understanding
that
in
philly's
housing
market,
the
most
affordable
home
is
your
own,
should
a
homeowner
so
choose
to
sell
their
asset,
then
we
want
to
ensure
that
they
are
employing
trusted
services
and
garnering
the
best
price
for
their
property.
I'll
work
with
neighboring
organizations,
community
legal
services
and
councilman
alan
dobb
to
draft
legislation
that
will
regulate
the
industry
and
create
standards
and
licenses
like
those
in
the
realtor
world
shows
our
commitment
to
empower
citizens
to
make
informed
decisions.
It's
time
for
this
work
to
be
anchored
in
legislation
like
this.
P
That
will
require
wholesalers
to
identify
themselves
obtain
a
license,
in
addition
to
providing
information
on
available,
homeowner
assistance
programs
and
giving
the
homeowner
time
to
make
the
best
choice.
Enough
is
enough.
Far
too
long,
homeowners
have
been
subject
subjected
to
these
unwarranted
unsolicited
practices.
It's
time
to
put
this
industry
on
notice
that
we
are
not
going
to
let
them
push
the
displacement
gentrification
agenda
without
exposing
their
practices
and
providing
legal
protection
and
recourse
for
our
residents.
Thank
you
for
your
time
and
care
and
considering
the
passage
of
this
legislation.
A
C
C
My
family
is
from
that
community
and
we
have
been
inundated
with
calls
and
I
even
received
the
text
messages
on
my
cell
phone
regarding
my
grandparents
property
in
the
strawberry
mansion
community.
So
I
just
wanted
to
thank
you,
miss
graham
for
the
work
of
strawberry,
mansion,
cdc
and
councilmember
don
for
this
legislation,
because
it
will
make
the
difference
for
residents
who
have
been
long-time
owner
occupying
home
owners
in
that
community.
C
It's
very
stressful,
particularly
for
the
seniors,
who
have
lived
there
for
a
very
long
time
to
be
contacted
through
a
variety
of
mediums,
and
I
know
that
this
legislation
will
set
the
ground
rules
and
make
the
difference
for
all
of
them.
So
I
just
wanted
to
thank
you
so
much
for
your
work
and
thank
you
so
much
to
a
strawberry
mansion,
cdc.
E
Thank
you,
mr
chairman,
and
I
wanted
to
thank
you
also
for
your
testimony
today
and
thank
you
to
my
colleague,
kathy
gilmore,
richardson
council
member,
for
your
work
on
this
and
support.
I
really
appreciate
it
and
we'll
say
this:
you
know
I'm
getting
texts
from
my
own
homes
right
now.
I
don't
know
what's
going
on,
but
this
thing
is
out
of
control,
so
we
get
this
result
that
I
think,
will
help
everybody.
Thank
you
all.
Thank
you
very
much.
H
A
R
Good
morning,
good
morning,
my
name
is
marcos.
Lomeli,
I'm
a
program
coordinator
at
seva.
Thank
you
for
giving
us
the
opportunity
to
testify
today
on
build
two
zero,
zero,
five,
four
four
save
as
a
coalition
building
latino
organization.
Our
mission
is
to
promote
the
economic
development
of
the
latino
community
and
ensure
their
access
to
quality
housing
in
line
with
our
mission,
we're
asking
council
to
pass
this
bill
as
it
will
implement
protections
for
homeowners
in
our
community
and
help
them
preserve
their
homes
and
their
wealth.
R
As
you
know,
latinos
have
the
highest
rate
of
poverty
of
any
ethnic
group
in
philadelphia
in
the
age
of
social
distancing
when
housing
is
essential
to
health
care.
The
stat
is
especially
worrying.
According
to
reports
from
the
economy
league
and
the
federal
reserve
bank
of
philadelphia,
latino
residents
are
disproportionately
impacted
by
covet
19.
R
unscrupulous
real
estate
and
wholesale
professionals
have
long
known
the
usefulness
of
targeting
the
most
vulnerable
members
of
the
latino
community.
The
promise
of
cash
now
can
be
very
alluring
to
a
senior
that
depends
on
an
ever-dwindling
social
security
check
or
a
family
who
has
recently
lost
a
loved
one
and
does
not
know
how
to
manage
their
property.
R
However,
for
many
families
in
our
community,
these
homes
are
their
only
source
of
wealth
in
the
19122
and
19133
zip
codes.
The
heart
of
el
vario,
new
zoning
ordinances,
facilitating
residential
development
in
industrial
zones
and
a
planned
rehabilitation
of
the
north
philly
amtrak
station
have
attracted
aggressive
development
proposals
that
will
soon
transform
our
neighborhoods
demographics,
rising
property
taxes
and
increasing
population
density,
not
to
mention
structural
damage
from
adjacent
poorly
planned.
New
construction
are
destabilizing
vulnerable
homeowners.
R
This
bill
will
confirm
the
city's
commitment
to
help
prevent
what
little
wealth
our
community
has
acquired
from
passing
into
the
hands
of
faceless
soulless
development
companies
whose
sole
interest
is
to
make
a
quick
buck.
But
we
must
go
beyond
that.
We
urge
the
city
to
work
together
with
community-based
organizations
to
ensure
that
our
residents
are
well
informed
of
their
rights
by
providing
fully
bilingual
guidance
and
official
documentation.
R
We
have
appeared
before
council
many
times
in
the
past
to
ask
for
increased
funding
for
housing
counselors
who
work
for
these
cbos
and
who
know
their
communities.
Housing
needs
better
than
anyone.
By
leveraging
our
community
ties,
we
can
together
empower
homeowners
with
the
knowledge
to
protect
themselves
from
unwanted
solicitations
and
ensure
that
wholesalers
who
do
not
follow
the
law
are
held
accountable.
R
A
A
A
J
J
J
After
that
my
siblings
and
I
all
inherited
the
family
owned.
However,
my
older
brother
was
living
in
the
home
alone.
Unfortunately,
my
brother,
who
is
now
81
years
old,
has
memory
loss.
He
has
no
knowledge
of
real
estate.
One
day
a
man
came
to
my
brother's
house
and
placed
a
business
card
in
the
door.
J
The
man
convinced
my
brother
that
my
brother
had
the
authority
to
sell
our
family
home
to
this
man,
even
though
my
brother
did
have
the
authority.
This
man
drove
my
brother
in
his
car
to
city
hall
and
had
my
brother
sign
paperwork
stating
that
my
siblings
and
I
had
no
interest
in
our
family
home.
This
was
fast,
but
my
brother
did
not
know
any
better.
This
man
took
my
brother
into
signing
papers
to
sell
our
family
home
for
only
thirty
one
thousand
dollars.
J
J
A
A
A
A
A
E
E
Okay,
I
just
wanted
to
mention
something
else.
I
wanted
to
thank
sarah
damo,
our
legislative
affairs
manager
and
zoning
administrator
for
all
her
work
on
this
bill,
along
with
rue
landau,
of
course,
and
along
with
cls
and
gpar,
it
was
great
to
see
a
collaboration
and
all
my
colleagues
and
everyone
in
the
administration
really
worked
hard
on
this
as
a
team
which
is
really,
I
want
to
thank
everybody
for
that,
and
just
give
everyone
a
real
special
thank
you.
They
did
a
great
job.
Thank
you,
mr
chairman.
A
A
S
No
worries
good
morning,
council
members,
willa,
chair
of
the
committee
on
commerce,
economic
opportunity,
council,
member,
dom
vice
chair
other
members
of
the
committee,
as
well
as
the
bill
sponsors.
My
name
is
stephanie
tipton.
I
am
the
chief
administrative
officer
for
the
city
of
philadelphia,
I'm
joined
by
monique
neisman
joyner,
who
is
our
procurement
commissioner,
and
we
are
here
to
testify
in
support
of
bill
number
two:
zero
zero.
Three,
five,
three
as
amended.
I
believe
you
all
have
the
amendments
that
were
circulated
either.
S
Last
night
or
this
morning
the
office
of
the
chief
administrative
officer,
my
office,
the
cio.
We
are
charged
with
oversight
of
the
city's
core
administrative
departments,
including
the
procurement
department,
and
we
work
to
ensure
that
city
services
are
efficient
and
effective,
inclusive
and
equitable,
transparent
and
conducted
with
integrity.
S
The
cao
and
procurement
strongly
support
any
effort
aimed
at
supporting
local
business
entities,
as
well
as
minority
women
and
disabled
owned
businesses,
and
at
promoting
transparency
and
accountability.
We
recognize
the
importance
of
reinvesting
locally
and
providing
for
an
inclusive
procurement
process
that
provides
greater
access
and
transparency,
particularly
for
businesses
that
have
historically
been
disenfranchised.
S
R
Jeff
hornstein
executive,
director
of
the
economy
league
of
greater
philadelphia
so
good
morning,
still
morning,
yeah
good
morning
at
chairperson
squad
members
of
the
committee,
I'm
jeff
hornstein.
I
run
the
economy
league
of
greater
philadelphia,
we're
a
110
year
old,
nonpartisan,
independent,
think
and
do
tank
supported
by
a
board
of
nearly
60
area
enterprises
that
represent
a
true
cross
section
of
our
region's
economy.
R
As
several
folks
have
referenced
some
of
the
reports
we
do,
we
produce
nonpartisan,
independent
research
and
analysis
aimed
at
helping
you
all
make
data
informed
decisions.
We
also
run
several
programs
designed
to
advance
racial
equity,
promote
innovation
and
build
civ.
What
we
call
civic
muscle
across
our
region
so
glad
to
be
here
to
testify
on
this
on
this
bill.
As
stephanie
knows,
we
have
done
a
lot
of
work
on
promoting
local
procurement
and
I'll
just
talk
a
little
bit
about
that
in
a
minute,
but
really
to
to
us.
R
The
question
at
hand
this
morning,
from
our
point
of
view,
is
whether
one
can
manage
what
isn't
measured,
if
it's
the
intention
of
the
city
of
philadelphia
to
use
its
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in
annual
purchasing
power
to
promote
inclusive
growth
and
shared
prosperity,
especially
in
a
city.
As
we
all
know,
that's
marked
by
unconscionably
high
poverty
rates
among
its
black
and
brown
residents,
as
well
as
tremendous
racial
work.
R
Wealth
gaps
only
made
worse,
of
course,
by
the
ongoing
pandemic,
and
it
was
heart-wrenching
to
sit
through
this
hearing
and
listen
to
the
predatory
practices
folks
getting
their
homes
stolen
and
our
good
friend
ellen
yin,
talking
about
the
plight
of
the
restaurant
industry.
Before
that,
you
know
we're
in
a
general
crisis
here
and
anything
the
city
can
do
to
help
is
definitely
worth
looking
at.
R
So
if
we're
going
to
use
procurement
as
a
lever,
we
need
to
set
ambitious
but
justifiable
targets,
but
we
also
have
to
really
check
and
track
progress
and-
and-
and
I
one
of
the
things
I
like
about
these
amendments-
is
that
it
makes
constant
improvement
into
its
accountability
rubrics.
So
these
gaps
begin
to
close,
and
I
think
it
goes
without
saying
right
now,
but
we
will
never
close
our
gaps
and
and
and
deal
with
the
structural
racism
that
has
been
a
at
the
heart
of
our
of
our
economic
divide.
R
If
we
are
not
going
to
help
our
black
and
brown
residents
reach
their
economic
potential,
so
bill
200353,
as
amended
by
councilmember
thomas
aims,
to
accomplish
these
important
accountability
provisions,
so
the
economy
league
urges
council
to
adopt
it
with
a
few
caveats,
one
that
there
being
accurate
and
granular
accounting
by
diversity.
Category
now,
we've
seen
far
too
many
instances,
both
in
the
public
and
private
sector,
where
diversity,
where
wbes
mbes
and
other
categories
are
lumped
together,
we
need
granular
reporting.
R
And
finally
I'll
say
this,
and
this
is
really
important.
Based
on
my
years
of
experience,
working
with
oeo
and
others,
and
you
know.
Obviously,
harold
apps
is
one
of
my
mentors
in
this
in
this
role
and
still
be
doing
a
great
job
and,
and
so
is
aiola.
But
we
really
need
to
be
reinvesting
and
investing
in
programs
that
help
local
firms,
particularly
those
owned
by
people
of
color,
develop
the
capacity
they
need
to
compete
effectively
to
grow,
to
create
jobs
and
wealth.
R
Because
if
we
again,
if
we
are
just
supporting
the
same
eight
or
ten
firms
that
get
a
lot
of
the
contracts,
we're
not
we're
not
moving
the
needle
forward.
So
we
applaud
the
city
for
this
initiative,
as,
as
many
of
you
know,
for
several
years,
we've
been
the
backbone
organization
behind
philadelphia,
anchors
for
growth
and
equity
or
page
an
initiative
that
has
worked
to
encourage
large
institutional
purchasers
like
our
world-class
hospitals
and
universities
and
headquartered
corporations
to
spend
more
of
their
billions
of
dollars
in
annual
spend
with
black
and
brown-owned
local
firms.
R
In
the
procurement
apparatus
and
city,
as
they
have
sat
in
on
our
procurement
directors
meetings
and
really
learn
from
some
of
the
best,
the
best
like
comcast
and
pen
and
independence
about
how
to
how
to
do
this
work
and
chop,
you
know
again.
Pleasures
are
only
meaningful
if
there's
accountability
and
a
plan
to
continually
move
the
needle,
harold,
epps
and
maria
roberts
are
the
co-chairs
of
our
page
initiative
and
they're
they're,
keeping
us
honest.
R
But
it's
critical
that
when
we
find
categories
in
which
local
firms
lack
capacity,
that
we
build
instant
instructors
to
help
folks
out
so
we've
got
a
program
called
page
prep
and
another
called
page
capital
that
are
helping
provide
firms,
the
business,
support
and
capital
they
need
to
survive.
So
again,
I
am
heartened
by
the
conversations
we've
been
having
recently
with
pro
pro
public
and
private
entities
that
are
looking
at
themselves
in
the
mirror,
asking
how
they
can
use
their
purchasing
power
to
advance
racial
equity
in
our
region.
R
And
again
we
commend
the
city
for
its
seriousness
of
stated
intent
and
we
look
forward
to
helping
to
hold
it
accountable.
This
amendment's
a
welcome
tool
toward
that
goal,
so
I
thank
you,
chairman
squiller
council
member
thomas,
for
these
amendments,
vice
chair,
dom
and
all
the
other
folks
on
this
committee
for
the
opportunity
to
speak
today.
H
Thank
you,
mr
chair.
I
just
wanted
to
briefly
say
thank
you
to
all
the
different
partners
who
helped
make
this
bill
where
it
is
today.
The
corona
virus
crisis
has
created
a
number
of
problems
and
we
talk
often
about
the
physical
one.
I
know
I
do
a
lot
of
screaming
and
hollering
about
the
impact
it
has
on
our
children,
but
we
all
have
to
take
a
deep
look
at
the
fiscal
side
and
try
to
do
our
part
to
help
reinvest
in
philadelphia,
and
I
appreciate
it.
I
appreciate
everyone's
support.
H
I
think
this
is
a
step
in
a
direction
along
with
several
other
bills.
That's
been
passed,
but
hopefully
this
gets
added
to
the
list
as
bills.
That
shows
our
intentional
effort
to
reinvest
in
philadelphia,
support,
philadelphia
businesses
and
assure
that
we
come
back
stronger
and
better
once
we
beat
this
coronavirus
crisis.
So
thank
you,
mr
chairman.
I
appreciate
you
thank
you
to
all
the
partners.
Thank
you
to
the
committee
members
and,
of
course,
thank
you
to
everybody
who
came
to
testify
in
regards
to
this
bills.
Very
much
appreciated.
A
B
R
B
A
T
I'm
very
happy
to
speak
to
you
today
in
support
of
bill,
two
zero,
zero.
Five,
four
four.
I
believe
that
our
role
as
realtors
is
to
defend
the
equity
of
the
philadelphia
homeowner.
We
work
hard
to
support
and
increase
home
ownership
and
help
build
and
preserve
the
intergenerational
wealth
that
comes
with
it.
T
Unethical
wholesalers
are
depressing
property
values
and
stripping
wealth
from
vulnerable
communities
and
depriving
the
city
of
much
needed
tax
revenue
in
the
process
not
only
are
most
equitable
interest
sales
undersold,
but
these
are
essentially
assignments
of
contracts
not
subject
to
transfer
tax.
There
is
a
time
and
place
for
selling
your
property
to
a
wholesaler.
There
is
a
value
you
can
assign
to
the
speed
and
ease
of
a
quick.
No
questions
asked
cash
transaction,
but
there
are
opportunity
costs.
T
Again
licensed
real
estate
professionals
abide
by
disclosure
laws,
ensuring
a
seller
knows
the
potential
market
value
of
their
home
prior
to
sale,
realtors
abide
by
a
code
of
ethics
with
a
disciplinary
process
in
place
for
any
who
might
violate
this
code.
State
advertising
regulations
require
identifying
any
realtor
involved
with
their
brokerage
name
and
number
prominently
displayed
with
much
more
information
than
you'd
find
on
the
we
buy
houses
bandit
sign
on
a
telephone
pole
with
a
throwaway
phone
number
five
bill.
Four
does
not
restrain
trade.
T
T
They
discourage
consumers
from
seeking
representation
with
a
promise
of
saving
money
when
in
fact,
they
hope
to
prevent
sellers
from
accessing
free
information
that
shows
the
fair
value
of
their
home.
Our
duty
is
to
protect
the
interests
of
our
clients
and
make
our
best
efforts
to
help
sellers
obtain
that
fair
market
value
addressing
this
issue
will
require
more
than
just
this
bill,
but
it
is
a
really
important
start.
Fighting
predatory
home
buying
requires
a
multi-pronged
approach.
T
It
has
been
a
true
partnership
between
community
legal
services
and
gpar
respectfully,
including
voices
of
stakeholders
in
neighborhood
associations
and
the
business
community.
It
adds
sunlight
the
best
disinfectant
on
practices
that,
frankly,
do
not
hold
up
to
basic
scrutiny.
I
thank
the
team
at
councilman
dom's
office
at
the
greater
philadelphia
philadelphia
association
of
realtors
and
at
community
legal
services
for
the
thorough
and
thoughtful
legislation.
T
A
Well,
thank
you
katie
for
your
testimony.
It's
I
know
it's
been
a
challenge
with
you
and
stephanie
on
there,
but
you
know
we.
We
want
to
hear
the
voice
of
all
the
people
out
there
and
and
brought
to
my
attention
one
of
our
rcos
one
of
our
community
who's
up
in
harrogate.
They
actually
give
a
gift
card
to
the
people
who
bring
in
the
most
banded
signs.
A
You
know,
bannon
signs
are
illegal
in
the
city
of
philadelphia,
so
whoever
brings
in
the
most
gets
a
gift
card
every
month,
so
the
people
out
there
actively
collecting
them,
and
so
hopefully
that
doesn't
allow
these
people
to
prey
on
the
some
of
our
our
most
vulnerable
folks.
So
thank
you
for
your
testimony.
Stephanie
are
you
able
to
just
speak?
A
Q
Q
The
bill
also
proposes
to
expand
the
rules
regarding
the
solicitation
of
purchases
of
real
property.
We
are
in
favor
of
the
bill
as
we
believe
the
bill
provides
protections
for
property
owners
and
makes
property
owners
rights
stronger
through
our
research
member
engagement
and
our
collaboration
with
community
legal
services.
We
have
determined
that
certain
entities
and
individuals
who
are
in
the
business
of
wholesaling
are
engaging
in
predatory
home
buying
practices.
Q
These
wholesalers
are
typically
preying
on
property
owners,
among
other
people
who
are
financially
constrained,
elderly
residents
or
property
owners
struggling
to
pay
their
mortgage.
Additionally,
our
research
has
shown
that
these
predatory
home
buying
practices
are
more
prevalent
in
minority
and
low-income
neighborhoods
of
the
city.
Q
We
consider
such
practice
unethical
and
against
the
realtor
code
of
ethics,
which
expressively
prohibits
realtors
from
engaging
in
predatory
home
buying
practices
and
requires
realtors
to
have
a
fiduciary
duty
to
represent
their
client
to
the
best
of
their
abilities
for
a
realtor.
Failure
to
adhere
to
the
realtor
code
of
ethics
may
result
in
censure
and
fine,
thereby
providing
appropriate
checks
and
balances
in
our
profession.
Q
Unlike
real
estate
agents
realtors,
who
are
also
licensed
real
estate
agents
and
attorneys,
certain
wholesalers
do
not
adhere
to
any
process,
regulation
or
ethical
guidelines
to
conduct
their
business.
Therefore,
the
bill
proposes
to
require
the
wholesalers
to
apply
for
a
license
to
conduct
wholesaling
business
and
provide
certain
disclosures
to
property
owners.
The
purpose
of
the
bill
is
three-fold:
firstly,
to
identify
the
wholesalers
conducting
their
wholesaling
business
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
Q
Secondly,
to
require
the
license
wholesaler
to
provide
disclosures
to
property
owners
upon
solicitation
that
states
the
various
options
a
property
owner
has
for
seeking
advisory
opinion
from
an
attorney
or
a
licensed
real
estate
agent
and
resources
to
research.
The
fair
value
of
their
property
before
the
property
owner
makes
a
decision
to
sell
their
property
and,
lastly,
to
protect
the
property
owner's
rate
from
predatory
home
buying
practices.
Q
We
would
like
to
thank
the
community
legal
services
and
councilman
ellen
dunn
and
his
staff
for
working
with
gpar
to
draft
the
bill.
We
believe
the
bill
is
a
result
of
a
robust
and
a
year-long
collaborative
process
that
included
various
stakeholders
with
neighborhood
community
development,
corporation
non-profits
and
city
officials.
Q
Q
A
E
S
S
A
A
Yes,
we
work
all
angles,
so
thank
you
and
council
member
dom
thank
you
and
thank
councilmember
thomas
and
for
these
bills
and
council
member
heenan.
It's
really
important
to
see
how
council
is
working
even
through
in
these
tough
times,
making
sure
that
we're
paying
attention
to
what
is
needed
here
in
the
city
of
philadelphia.
A
Seeing
none
that
will
end
our
our
hearing.
I
want
to
thank
everybody
if
you
weren't
on
previously,
we
did
go
into
a
public
meeting
and
we
voted
all
bills
out
with
a
favorable
recommendation
to
be
heard
in
the
next
session
of
council.
All
members
who
were
present
have
wrote
it
unanimously.
So
thank
you
all
for
your
time
today
and
efforts
and
looking
forward
to
continue
working
together.
Thanks
have
a
great
second.