Philadelphia Office of Sustainability Permanent? It’s Up to City Council

Greenworks Philadelphia. Tree planting. Farmers Markets. Energy Works. Bike shares. We’re all so used to the awesome things that the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability does that we don’t realize it’s a temporary office. With a mayor election on the horizon, we don’t want anything to disappear on us.

Lucky for us, City Council introduced Charter Change legislation, Resolution No. 130884, to make the Office of Sustainability permanent in the Philadelphia government. As Katherine Gajewski said in an email announcement,

“Their action is a testament to the good work happening all across the city and the support (and pressure!) that we feel from residents and businesses to advance our shared sustainability goals. Philadelphia has made tremendous progress over the past five years, but there is clearly so much more to do.”

The hearing is planned for the spring. Want to help move things along? Reach out to the City Council members to voice your support (and tell them you want legislation for plastic bags too...)

The Geeky Guide to Resolution No 130884

(Read on, green geeks.)

Resolution 130884 Sponsors – to make Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability Permanent

• Councilmember Reynolds Brown
• Councilmember Blackwell
• Councilmember Goode
• Councilmember Jones
• Councilmember Henon
• Councilmember Oh
• Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez
• Councilmember Johnson
• Councilmember Kenney

Resolution Details – make the Phila Office of Sustainability Permanent

• Resolution No. 130884: Proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the creation of an Office of Sustainability, to provide for the powers and duties of such Office, and to otherwise provide for incorporation of the Office into the City government; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.
• (Original bill, for the record): Bill No. 130878: Providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter establishing and defining the responsibilities of the Office of Sustainability; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot questions to be voted on; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.