Philadelphia Passes New Demolition Rules

A five-bill package intended to strengthen Philadelphia’s regulation of demolition practices, imposing more requirements on contractors and demand closer supervision by city inspectors won unanimous passage in the City Council.

Many of the changes – such as requiring safety plans as part of an application for any demolition permit – have already been implemented by the current administration.

Other elements of the legislation include:

Experience requirements and safety training for all demolition contractors, with enhanced background checks on their work history and finances.

A requirement that all demolition workers complete a 10-hour safety course developed for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Mandatory site inspections by the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspection.

Mandatory safety training for city inspectors and their supervisors, and a requirement that contractors hire independent safety monitors for their work sites.

This all of course comes after a building under demolition collapse last June killing 6 people.

So do you think other cities across the country will start to take this same type of action?