Philadelphia neighborhood groups now will receive legal support from the city when lawsuits are brought against them in zoning cases.
Voters approved a ballot question Tuesday that asked whether the city's Home Rule Charter should be amended to require the city to provide legal support to registered community organizations that are sued for their decisions in zoning cases. About 66% voters supported the measure. As of Wednesday morning, 98% of the city's voting divisions had reported their results.
The more than 200 RCOs in Philadelphia provide input on zoning rules, assisting with variances and offering hyperlocal insight. But when developers are unhappy with an RCO's decision, they can sue the organizations for their role in the process. This can be costly for the organizations and limit community input on development.
In 2013, the Old City Civic Association shut down because it had been sued so many times and couldn't afford insurance to protect its leaders from individual lawsuits.
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City officials now have to develop a system for helping the RCOs with these lawsuits, which includes shouldering the costs of settlement payments and lost cases, if necessary.
Former Council President Darrell Clarke introduced the charter amendment for this ballot question before his term ended. It was approved unanimously by City Council in November.