South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA) and Neighborhood Advisory Council (NAC)
General Public Meeting
Wednesday, June 11, 2003, 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Marian Anderson Recreation Center – 17^th and Fitzwater

A sign-in book with a list of those people attending is maintained at the SOSNA office, 1711 South Street.

Chairperson Angela Richardson opened the meeting at 7:40 p.m. She explained that this was one of a series of neighborhood planning meetings, this one concerning housing and economic development. The planning portion of the meeting would follow the business meeting.

Minutes. Upon motion duly made, seconded, and unanimously carried, the minutes of the May 14 meeting were approved as circulated.

NAC Director’s Report. Eve Lewis gave a brief explanation of what the NAC is – the community voice into the redevelopment process. She also outlined some of SOSNA’s available services for community residents. She announced the new Targeted Basic System program, which will allow moderate income residents in targeted blocks to receive matching grants for some kinds of home repair. She also explained Office of Housing and Community Development’s Year 29 Consolidated Plan, copies of which were available at the meeting.

Philadelphia Orchestra. Gary Alan Wood announced that there would be a special community concert July 25, 7:00 p.m. at 9^th and Federal, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rossen Milonav conducting. The program will be an evening of Italian favorites. The Orchestra is also planning to program additional events in the community such as string quartets. Community organizations interested in hosting such an event should contact him at 215-893-1910 to see if it would be possible.

Special Award to Vaughan Townes. Vaughan Townes and his mother, Sylvia Townes, came to the meeting to thank SOSNA for its financial support, which helped Vaughan to take a Student Ambassador trip to Europe.

Planning Session

Brian Forschner, City Planning Commission, introduced his colleagues Walker Gilmore and Victoria Mason-Ailey. He gave an overview of the planning process and a neighborhood profile (for details, see minutes of previous meetings).

Housing: Some of the area's strengths include architectural character and housing variety. The remaining vacant and deteriorating housing stock and vacant lots pose both a challenge and an opportunity. Other opportunities include the redevelopment of the Naval Home site and housing revitalization.

Residents identified the following as being things they liked about existing housing: a variety of housing opportunity; redevelopment of existing buildings such as Doctor's Row; relatively low taxes and a comfortable, pedestrian-friendly, human-scaled neighborhood; location within easy walking distance of Center City.

Participants identified a number of points for change:

• Security and cleanliness of streets
• Home maintenance assistance for long-term residents
• Fewer liquor establishments (nuisance bars, stop'n'gos, e.g.--did not include restaurants with liquor licenses) - action on speakeasies
• Less use of eminent domain for public housing
• Attack on nuisance properties--city action, L&I clean&seal, fines, etc.
• Let the market determine the purchase of lots
• Better corner stores
• Stricter code enforcement
• Speedier change of derelict buildings (pull down or rehab)
• Trend to more owner-occupied properties may leave renters with no housing possibilities
• Fever street level garages
• More greenspace
• Give priority to neighbors in land acquisition (e.g., side yards)
• Crack down on illegal dumping
• No "public housing ghettos" -- spread affordable housing around
• More NTI money to targeted basic systems repair to help less affluent preserve housing stock
• Tie landscaping to development

In response to several questions and remarks about Universal Community Homes' planned South Philadelphia Homes development, CEO Abdur-Rahim Islam gave a brief overview of the plan. The 400 housing units will be spread over three neighborhoods. In the SOSNA service area, there will be 85 market rate homeownership units. Approximately half will be from vacant properties or lots acquired via condemnation and paid for with NTI funds, which Universal will then reimburse NTI when the properties are sold. The houses will be built in an area extending from Broad Street to 19th Street and South Street to Washington Avenue over a period of four to five years. Additional housing, both affordable and market rate, will be build in the Hawthorne area and at 16th and Federal/20th and Federal, the latter to be rental units. Because of the complexity of the project, Islam offered to speak at a special SOSNA meeting to be convened for that purpose, probably on July 9.

Economic Development. Some of the neighborhood's strengths include its proximity to Center City and the availability of some development parcels along Washington Avenue. A challenge is the lack of buffer between the industrial/commercial Washington Avenue corridor and the residential areas immediately to the north.

Some changes mentioned by participants included:

• more national stores
• develop the Royal Theater more quickly
• replace parking lots with residential-over-commercial on South Street
• build on the saving of Stanton School to engage residents in economic develoment
• more restaurants
• engage in strategic thinking for the entire neighborhood (no more development in a vacuum)
• no strip-mall-type development

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Laura Blanchard
Secretary

HOME | WHAT IS SOSNA? | HOUSING COUNSELING | THRIFT SHOP | SIGN UP | PLANNING | NEWS

SOSNA is the Neighborhood Advisory Committee for the area from South Street to Washington Avenue, Broad Street West to the Schuylkill River, funded by the Office of Housing and Community Development to provide citizen input into their redevelopment process in our community. SOSNA is a registered nonprofit corporation exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Site contents copyright SOSNA except where indicated.