In this week’s column we’re going to talk about Darrell Clarke — he’s the president of Philadelphia City Council and he represents the 5th District, which includes parts of Northern Liberties and Fishtown. His district has the most city-owned vacant property, some of its most valuable real estate, and among elected Philadelphia officials is arguably vested with the most individual power.

Clarke worked for longtime Councilman and then Mayor John Street, and was picked to represent the 5th District in a 1999 special election. He was elected president of City Council in 2012.

As Council President he decides the Rules for Council, and in the incredibly important question of the sale and transfer of Philadelphia public property, one which by city-code must be heard by the Vacant Property Review Committee (VPRC), Clarke retains a key control.

An amendment added last-minute to 7th District Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez’s 2013 Land Bank bill, intended to pare down the laborious process of disposing of city land, includes the requirement for VPRC approval.

Philly Mag’s Andrew Thompson reported, at the time the amended bill was passed, how it kept publicly-owned land “trapped in a governmental hall of mirrors:”

“The VPRC effectively functions as the first arbiter in the land sale process. If a buyer expresses interest in a property, the VPRC decides whether that property will actually move forward in a chain of events to eventually get the land to the buyer.”

To get on the agenda for consideration by the Committee, a transfer must be put there by the Committee Chair. The Chair of the VPRC is picked by—you guessed it—Council President Clarke.

The following chart explains the ways it did, does, and could work, and why the former two are broken.

Clarke has backed his own plan to build 2,000 residential units throughout the city, mostly in what could be described as gentrifying areas. Clarke’s plan gives properties to developers for a processing fee, but many the aspects expected to fund it — including federal money and an agreement with labor unions for reduced wage rates — have yet to be fully worked out.

We’ve contacted the Riverward Council members — Clarke, Mark Squilla, Bobby Henon, and Maria Quinones-Sanchez — for their plans to put our vacant parcels to use in spite of the time-honored bureaucratic obstacles. They are all currently on the traditional three month legislative vacation — something Clarke had said he wanted to do away with when he became Council President.