Bass: No developers on Land Bank board (or PRA, PHDC, VPRC)

Councilwoman Cindy Bass wants to forbid any developer from taking part in the city's land acquisition and disposition process.

Bass introduced a bill Thursday that would ban any person "who deals in real estate" to be a board member or employee of any agency that has control over city-owned property. Her intention is to avoid any conflict of interest in the city's land transaction process.

"People are concerned that some appointees on City agencies-who are meant to be stewards of public land- also have a private interest in developing property that is currently City owned," Bass' spokeswoman Elliot Griffin said.

If Bass' bill is approved by Council, it would have an impact on the makeup of the city's Land Bank board and other authorities that own city property.

The Land Bank board chair, Majeedah Rashid, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, and the board's vice chair is Paul Badger, a local developer.

Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez, who for years worked behind the scenes to create the Land Bank and successfully sponsored the legislation that created the bank in 2013, said the land bank will have conflict of interest rules and all board members must fill out disclosure forms.

Sanchez said that Bass' bill would also limit community representation on the boards. Several members of community development corporations are on the land bank and other similar city agency boards.

"It defeats what we deliberately tried to do," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said she would work with Bass to amend the bill in a way that reflects "the spirit of what she is trying to do" but also addresses community involvement through the community development corporations.

Paul Chrystie, spokesman for the Land Bank and redevelopment authority, declined to comment on the bill, citing he had not yet seen the bill.

The other city agencies listed in the bill — Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the Philadelphia Housing Development Coorporation, and the Vacant Property Review Committee — would also have conflict of interests, per Bass' bill.