Lawmaker says he expects action on safer demolition sites

Bob Warner, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Wednesday, July 10, 2013, 1:08 AM Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2013, 11:53 PM

The chairman of the state House Urban Affairs Committee said Tuesday that he expected the legislature to move to strengthen safety requirements for city demolition projects.

"I don't see it as an issue in rural areas, but where you have larger cities where there's a tremendous amount of people, you need to take precautions, and the people that are taking down those type of buildings need to be professionals," said State Rep. Mario M. Scavello (R., Monroe), a former mayor of Mount Pocono.

"I think Philadelphia needs to do something quickly," Scavello added. "They cannot have somebody walking in saying, 'Here's $300. Let me take down a building.' "

Scavello presided at a three-hour committee hearing at the Independence Seaport Museum discussing ways to improve demolition safety standards throughout the state, particularly in Philadelphia.

The hearing, attended by two dozen legislators, was spurred by the June 5 demolition accident that killed six people at 22d and Market Streets, when a four-story brick wall collapsed on a Salvation Army thrift store.

Before the legislative session ends in late 2014, Scavello said, "we want to develop sound public policy which, God willing, will prevent anything like this from ever happening again."

The ranking Democrat on the committee, Bill Keller of South Philadelphia, sponsored a bill June 27 to require the city to beef up demolition requirements for any projects involving commercial and multifamily buildings.

Among other provisions, the bill would:

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Lawmaker says he expects action on safer demolition sites