Hello. I'm David Brownlee, one of the vice chairs of DAG, the Design Advocacy Group, a 25-year-old nonprofit organization that is devoted to championing excellence and equity in Philadelphia's built environment. We have over 2000 online subscribers, and our monthly in-person meetings consistently draw 100 plus attendees.
We join the Preservation Alliance in emphatically urging you to reject the bill now before you. Philadelphia's built history is one of our most precious resources. It attracts visitors and investors. It defines the neighborhoods that are our homes.
At a time when our national leaders (our national "developers") appear disinclined to protect the kind of rich and complex historical resources that shape our city, it's up to us to look after ourselves.
Fortunately, Philadelphia is up to the task. We have strong historic preservation laws and a strong historical commission, the first of its kind in the nation. To be sure, our commission could make good use of additional resources in the work of safeguarding and expanding the understanding of our character-defining architecture. It would also be good to have a city-wide architectural inventory, which would help us to identify what to protect and to capitalize on this important resource.
And to be sure, our preservation laws ought to be routinely reviewed and updated.
But the measure before you now is not such an updating. It encumbers the process of identifying and designating historic buildings and the process of protecting them in ways that favor only those who want to damage or destroy those assets. This is a deeply inappropriate action to be taking in a city as historic as ours. During our nation’s 250th anniversary, we should be celebrating our unique and wonderful historic resources, not supporting processes that will lead to additional unnecessary demolitions.
In recent days, the present bill has been revised to make it less bad, but its net effect is still negative. It diminishes rather than enhances our ability to protect the things that define us.
When it comes to Philadelphia’s irreplaceable history, less bad is still very bad indeed.
UPDATE (June 3, 2026): Following significant public opposition, Councilmember Squilla withdrew his proposed amendments to Philadelphia's historic preservation ordinance from the Rules Committee agenda, stating that additional revisions are needed and that further hearings will be held over the summer. While this action does not end consideration of the legislation, it represents an important interim victory for preservation advocates who raised concerns about the bill's potential impacts on historic designation and review processes. In discussing the path forward, Councilmember Squilla referenced the possible development of mechanisms for creating and overseeing "tiered" historic districts, as well as the completion of a comprehensive citywide survey and inventory of Philadelphia's historic building stock. DAG will continue to monitor the legislation and participate in future discussions as they unfold. - The DAG Steering Committee
