Dear Members,

There's a big Land Bank board meeting happening Tuesday November 18th. This will be an important meeting for Pro-Housing Philly members to attend and make your voices heard! It's in-person at 10am at 1234 Market St, 17th floor. You'll need valid ID to enter.

Why is this meeting so important, and why are we asking you to attend?

1. The board will vote on Angela Brooks as the new LB board chair. Brooks is Mayor Parker's Chief Housing and Development Officer, and is more aligned with the administration's housing goals, including the Turn the Key program.

2. The agenda is unusually packed with Turn the Key and mixed-income housing proposals. In a single meeting, the Board has the chance to approve 154 new affordable homes! This is the largest single batch of Land Bank housing approvals we've seen recently.

3. Philadelphia needs tens of thousands of new homes over the next decade just to keep up with demand. The Parker administration and City Council have agreed to a goal of 1,000 Turn the Key homes to be fast-tracked through a special approval process.

4. We haven't hit City Hall's 1,000-home target yet, so it's time to get approving!

As usual, we're expecting some of these housing proposals to get local pushback, which is why it's so important that members attend and counter-balance the negativity with pro-Turn the Key public comments.

Now more than ever, we need to keep the Land Bank board members focused on Mayor Parker's big-picture housing goals—not the small-ball issues that sometimes derail Turn the Key and other housing proposals.

We're happy to review your prepared remarks if you want more eyes on them, and you can email them to us at hello@prohousingphilly.org.

Here are some suggested talking points for public comments. Remember to keep it short, polite, and to-the-point.

- The Board has the chance to approve 154 homes today, making a big downpayment on the 1,000 homes agreed to by Mayor Parker and City Council

- The Land Bank board has not yet hit the 1,000-home goal, so the board should approve the projects that come before it until the goal is met

- The median TTK home buyer earns 50% of the Area Median Income. Sanitation workers, bus drivers, and social workers can afford Turn the Key homes, and there is currently a waitlist for this housing.  Real people need these homes, and there's no more time for political delays

- The Land Bank board is legally required to advance projects that comply with the checklist City Council established in the Turn the Key law. The board's role is to review proposal for compliance, not judge a popularity contest

Thanks for your support! Let us know if you plan to attend, and we'll update everybody on the results after the meeting.

Pro-Housing Philly