Council's Academy of Natural Sciences hearing is Monday, with subpoena power behind it

City Council's Committee on Legislative Oversight will hold its hearing on the closing of the Academy of Natural Sciences museum on Monday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m., according to the committee's Legistar agenda. The hearing had first been set for Oct. 7. That meeting is listed as canceled, and the public notices give no reason for the delay. Broad and Market and Billy Penn both reported the new date.

The museum, which opened to the public in 1828, closed its doors in late September after Drexel University and Academy leaders cited money problems and lower attendance, NPR reported. For families and schools, it was the city's main natural history museum. The Academy holds about 19 million specimens, according to the Council resolution.

What the resolution authorizes

Resolution 260737 was introduced and adopted the same day, Sept. 17. It directs the committee to investigate:

• the museum's closure and its consequences for Philadelphia;
• the financial and governance decisions behind it;
• options to preserve public access and the institution's scientific and educational mission.

It also authorizes subpoenas "to the full extent authorized under Section 2-401 of the Home Rule Charter." That means the committee can compel witnesses and documents rather than rely on invitations.

The resolution's findings say Academy and Drexel leadership announced the closure Sept. 1. They also say leadership announced talks with the governor's and mayor's offices about the Academy's future, with David L. Cohen named by the governor as a facilitator.

Sponsors, per Legistar: Jeffery Young Jr. (5th District), Nina Ahmad (at-large), Curtis Jones Jr. (4th), Quetcy Lozada (7th), Kendra Brooks (at-large), Jim Harrity (at-large), Nicolas O'Rourke (at-large) and Mark Squilla (1st). Monday's hearing comes 39 days after adoption.

The zoning bill

Separately, Young introduced a zoning overlay in late September that would limit the Academy building and nearby properties to uses like cultural exhibits, libraries, hospitals and government offices, and would bar residential and commercial uses, the Inquirer reported. Young said it would not stop the closure, but would give the community a say over the site's future. The bill would first go to the Rules Committee. It is not on the Rules Committee's Oct. 27 agenda.

The Inquirer reported that Drexel and Academy leaders said no final decision had been made on the building. Drexel did not immediately comment on Young's bill.

Also on the oversight calendar

The same committee meets again Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. on Resolution 260778. That hearing examines the city's oversight of correctional health care contractors and disruptions to medical care in Philadelphia's jails (agenda).

How to follow it

Council hearings are open to the public in City Hall. Check the Legistar calendar on Monday for any last-minute changes to Monday's agenda. Whether Drexel officials testify, voluntarily or under subpoena, is the main open question.