Five for Friday: Recapping Philadelphia City Council’s legislative kickoff

Seven days after the Eagles unveiled their Super Bowl banner and kicked off the NFL season, Philadelphia City Council started its legislative season in City Hall. 

Council’s playbook this year includes a variety of moves, from taking on new development and bike lane initiatives to tackling businesses and sidelining select smoking substances. 

Here’s your football-themed Five for Friday, highlighting Council’s first day of session and what priorities are part of the game plan: 

Call on the field for late hit stands

After Council passed a bill in June that would expand an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. business curfew beyond Kensington to other parts of the city, the legislation received pushback from food truck owners and others who questioned Council’s authority to implement such a sweeping regulation, even as the bill, led by Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, passed by a 16-0 vote. 

Mayor Cherelle Parker let the call on the field stand, declining to sign the bill but allowing it to become law without her signature. The focus on what Council deems “nuisance businesses” sought to crack down on 24-hour shops in the Kensington area that allegedly create a lot of noise and attract crime. The new bill expands those restrictions to other parts of North and Northwest Philadelphia, including five areas of Kensington and the entire 6th, 8th and 9th Councilmanic districts. 

Bag on the play

Years after the initial flag was thrown on plastic bag usage, Councilmember Mark Squilla wants to take the retail regulation further. Squilla is seeking to pass a measure that would charge shoppers a fee for using paper bags, which have become commonplace after the plastic bag ban took effect. 

The move – a Hail Mary to sway people from using disposable bags altogether – would institute a fee for paper and other nonplastic materials while still maintaining the ban on plastic bags in the city. 

Lane protection

Much like Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson, bike lanes are used in an attempt to keep Philadelphians safe and sound while on the move. Earlier this year, a judge blocked the city from implementing car loading zones in arterial bike lanes in Center City. But Parker followed that up Thursday by sending Council a bill in hopes of providing a legal fix and helping the measure move forward. 

Council had made it illegal for vehicles to idle in bike lanes, but after the Streets Department looked to establish loading zones in a handful of parking spaces, residents submitted a lawsuit to order the city to stop using parking spaces on Spruce and Pine Streets for loading zones. 

The new legislation would clarify that the Streets Department can create loading zones and legalize all existing regulations related to the department’s authority over parking. 

Illegal smoke in the back

Another restriction Council is considering is related to smoking substances such as kratom and Delta-8. These unregulated substances, which are marketed as alternatives to cannabis, are sold at “smoke shops” and are considered dangerous by health experts. 

Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson introduced two bills and one resolution targeting nuisance businesses and smoke shops, looking to authorize hearings on the smoking substances and clarify stop work and cease operations orders for any violations. 

In a statement released Thursday, Gilmore Richardson said the businesses are “devastating our commercial corridors” and the substances, marketed toward young people, need to be examined closely. 

“The lack of regulation around these substances is a threat to health and public safety,” Gilmore Richardson said in the statement. “Given this, it’s critical that we work to better understand the impact of these products and act quickly to minimize their harmful effect on our residents.”

South Philly sports complexity

The future of the South Philadelphia stadium complex was mentioned but doesn’t seem to be a first quarter playcall for Council’s legislative session. Council President Kenyatta Johnson said he doesn’t expect anything regarding a new arena in South Philadelphia, but with the Sixers expecting to open a new facility in 2031, the timeline for construction remains up in the air. 

“I don’t have any information in terms of when it’s moving forward. I’ll leave it there,” Johnson said after Council’s first regular meeting following the summer recess.

The Sixers, along with Comcast Spectacor, have said they will open a new arena in the complex, but in the meantime, they’ll continue playing in the newly-named Xfinity Mobile Arena, which recently underwent a $400 million renovation.