RePoint Philadelphia

Exciting news! Councilmember Curtis Jones, Jr. has committed to voting NO on Bill 251030 at next week’s Rules Committee hearing. We are so glad he understands this bill cannot be passed, even as amended, since too many protections for our built environment would be weakened or lost altogether. Right on!

RePoint continues to stand loud and proud against Bill 251030, which if passed would substantially disempower Philadelphia's residents, neighborhood organizations, and advocates from participating in the city's historic preservation process.

📝 Even if you’re unable to attend the June 3 Rules Committee hearing in person, you can still make your voice heard. Submit a public comment opposing the bill to [email protected] by 3pm on June 2. Your comment will be entered into the public record, and will not be read aloud during the hearing.

Not sure what to say? We hear you, this bill is COMPLICATED (wonder why...)! Visit https://www.repointphl.org/advocacy/2026/5/19/bill-251030-june-3rd-rules-committee-hearing for a pre-generated email you can send in one click from your phone 🤓

AN UPDATE AND CALL TO ACTION ON BILL 251030: The amendments to Councilman Mark Squilla's bill changing language in Philadelphia's historic preservation ordinance still leave our city's historic resources more vulnerable than ever. The bill is scheduled to be presented at the June 3rd Rules Committee hearing, a committee on which Councilman Squilla serves as vice-Chair. Depending on your comfort level, there are three ways to express your opposition to this bill -- swipe through this post for more information. We have contact information to email or call councilmembers, easy instructions to sign up to testify on June 3rd, and the link to the Stop Demolishing Philly petition all up on linktr.ee/repointphl. Let's fight this together ✊🏼

In the wise words of *NSYNC, it's gonna be May. Here's what's on schedule at the Philadelphia Historical Commission this month. Do attend!

Save the date for three public meetings in April! On the 10th the Historical Commission will hold their monthly hybrid meeting, and on the 21st the Commission's architectural committee will meet (virtual only). Importantly, we have heard through the grapevine that the Philadelphia City Planning Commission has tentatively put their review of Mark Squilla's (amended?) Bill 251030 on their monthly agenda. We will share any additional information regarding the bill's changed language as it is made available to the public.

Update on this Friday’s monthly Historical Commission meeting: it will be VIRTUAL ONLY! Here are the meeting deets! Zoom Meeting ID: 811 4600 8029. Meeting Password: 200033. You can find the agenda here:https://www.phila.gov/media/20260311160218/Historical-Comm-Agenda-20260313-rev.pdf

📅 March 2026 Philadelphia Historical Commission Schedule ➡
We have an almost full slate of meetings & committees this month, including the Committee on Historic Designation and the Architectural Committee. Agendas aren't up online yet as they're typically posted a week in advance, but head to linktr.ee/repointphl for quick access to the PHC public meetings webpage!

🚨 We’re almost at 1,000 signatures on our change.org petition!

Bill 251030 would make it easier to tear down historic buildings in Philadelphia before the public can weigh in. We’ve passed 900 signatures, but we need your help to reach 1,000.

📝 If you’ve signed, please share the petition — a quick post, text, or email can push us over the line.

https://www.change.org/p/philadelphia-city-council-vote-no-on-bill-251030

Bill 251030 fundamentally changes how historic designation works in Philadelphia, and not for the better.

Under the current preservation ordinance, designation is a neutral, criteria based determination. The question is simple: is a property historic based on evidence of its public significance?

Questions about development plans, cost, timing, or feasibility are addressed later, during permit review.

Bill 251030 breaks that structure.

By requiring the Historical Commission to weigh vague “other policy factors” when deciding whether a property is historic, the bill replaces an objective determination with an open ended balancing test. This invites development pressure and political considerations to influence whether a building is deemed historic at all, even when it clearly meets the designation criteria.

This collapses the clear line between designation and permit review, undermines the neutrality of historic designation, and weakens protections for the small share of Philadelphia’s buildings that qualify for preservation.

This is not a technical tweak. It is a structural rewrite of the preservation process, and it puts more of our city’s historic fabric at risk.

We cannot let this happen.

👉 Sign the petition at stopdemolishingphilly.org to oppose Bill 251030 and protect Philadelphia’s historic preservation framework.

🎉 500 SIGNATURES AND COUNTING! 🎉
Not bad for just one week!

Philadelphians are standing with the Stop Demolishing Philly Coalition in opposition to Bill # 251030, which puts our city's beloved historic places at risk. As currently written, this bill contains ZERO preservation incentives and lots of loopholes for averting the historic designation process -- which means that there is a lot to lose when it comes to our built environment. 🏗

Let’s keep building momentum. Sign & share our petition, and help us protect Philly’s history.

📃 Over 360 signatures… and still growing!

Every voice matters and strengthens the message of the Stop Demolishing Philly Coalition: that City Council should vote NO on Bill 251030. The stakes are simply too high when it comes to Philadelphia’s rich and storied built environment, and we can’t have for profit development interests changing our city’s preservation ordinance without adequate community input.

📝 Can you help us get to 500 signatures by the end of the week? Link in our bio to sign and share our petition.

🤝 Does your organization want to join our coalition? Email us at [email protected] or send us a dm.