Skip to content
The COVID Project
  1. Library
  2. Philadelphia
  3. MET-PHL-023

Ex. MET-PHL-023 Order Primary source read

Construction Authorization (Apr. 29, 2020 Construction Order)

Authorization for the Conduct of Certain Construction Activity Currently Prohibited by the March 22, 2020 Emergency Order Temporarily Prohibiting Operation of Non-Essential Businesses and Individual Activity to Prevent the Spread of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Mayor James F. Kenney and Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley, MD, MPH; adopted as a Board of Health regulation Apr. 29, 2020 (effective Apr. 30, 2020) · City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (City)

The COVID Project

The record

Jurisdiction
City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Philadelphia · Pennsylvania
Level
City
Authority
Philadelphia Code sections 6-205 and 6-206; Board of Health regulation of Mar. 26, 2020
Issued
2020-04-29 Apr. 29, 2020
Effective
2020-05-01 7:00 a.m. (authorized work may begin) (read as 2020-05-01)
End
Amended May 15 and May 26, 2020 (Exs. MET-PHL-024, 025); continued to govern construction under Section 8 of the Spring 2021 Order (Ex. MET-PHL-013) into 2021 (read as 2021-06-30)
In force
May 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021
Quarters
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q2
Limitation types
Business closureCapacity limitWorkplace rules
Addressees
  • construction contractors, subcontractors and owners of projects in the City
  • Site Safety Managers / Pandemic Safety Officers
Functions reached
  • JS job sites shut Mar. 23 - Apr. 30, 2020, then reopened under density caps and screening
  • SB subcontractors and trades
  • PM permits (projects permitted after Mar. 20, 2020 excluded until May 26)
  • OW owners and lenders (project suspensions)
  • WF worker travel and screening
Collection
Philadelphia MET-PHL

Operative words

WHEREAS... the 'March 22, 2020 Prohibition on Non-Essential Business'... prohibited, inter alia, most construction work in Philadelphia... Section 1. Scope. A. This Order pertains to projects for which a building or demolition permit was [issued on or before March 20, 2020]... C. No work shall be performed under this Order on the interior of occupied [residential buildings]... D. The following types of construction work remain prohibited, unless authorized... Section 2. Periods of Authorized Work. Work authorized under this Order may begin on May 1, 2020 at 7 a.m.... Section 3. Safety and Mitigation Requirements.... A. All work must conform to requirements of the Order of the Secretary of the [Pennsylvania Department of Health Directing Public Health Safety Measures for Businesses] Permitted to Maintain In-person Operations issued on April 15, 2020... D. All work must follow all aspects of the Governor's April 23, 2020 'Guidance for Businesses in the Construction Industry...,' including but not limited to the following requirements... Requiring social distancing (six-feet minimum distance between workers) while working... [no more than four workers on any enclosed portion of a site] less than 2,000 square feet; one additional worker is allowed for each additional 500 square feet of enclosed area over 2,000 square feet... Employ jobsite screening based on CDC guidance... requiring all sick workers to stay home... Ensuring, when feasible, that workers travel to and from the site separately. E. The Site Safety Manager at each job site, who may also be the 'Pandemic [Safety Officer]'...

Enforcement

Orders to cease operations; fines under the Apr. 29, 2020 fines regulation; Department of Licenses and Inspections enforcement

Notes

Recites the Commonwealth's Apr. 20, 2020 amendment authorizing limited construction from May 8 and the Governor's Apr. 23 guidance allowing May 1 'absent the establishment or maintenance of more stringent requirement by local governments'; Philadelphia imposed more stringent requirements

Retrieval note

Bracketed words paraphrase lines partly cut in the text layer; the Board adoption date is recited in Ex. MET-PHL-025.