Saturday, February 15, 2025, 9:28PM |  39°
MENU
Advertisement
Mount Washington and Downtown photographed on Monday, April 27, 2020.
4
MORE

Pittsburgh planning commisson backs Gainey proposal to expand affordable housing citywide

Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh planning commisson backs Gainey proposal to expand affordable housing citywide

Pittsburgh is a step closer to expanding affordable housing mandates throughout all of its neighborhoods.

After a marathon 10-hour hearing, city Planning Commission members on Tuesday backed legislation proposed by Mayor Ed Gainey that would extend inclusionary zoning requirements citywide.

The decision sends the bill to city council with a positive recommendation, meaning that it will require only a majority vote by that body to approve it. It came after Mr. Gainey himself urged the commission to support the proposal, saying that many residents still feel left behind.

Advertisement

“When do we change the tide? The time to change the tide is now. The time is to look at this legislation and make sure we’re building a city where everybody feels safe, welcomed, and believing that they can thrive,” he said.

Valerie Allman of Troy Hill speaks during a City of Pittsburgh Planning Commission public comment session  regarding inclusionary zoning policy at the Urban Redevelopment Authority downtown Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
What to know about Pittsburgh's inclusionary zoning proposal

He added, “We must deliver for the residents of our city. Everybody deserves the right to have affordable housing.”


The commission made the positive recommendation in an 8-0 vote, with member Steve Mazza abstaining. In his remarks, Mr. Mazza, who’s affiliated with the Greater Pennsylvania Council of Carpenters, said he feared that the expanded zoning would hurt his industry.

Advertisement

“It hurts my membership in slowing down development. That’s my opinion,” he said.

Commissioner Phillip Wu described himself as “agnostic” in terms of expanding inclusionary zoning citywide but ended up voting in favor of the proposal.

“I’m not going to say that I endorse the inclusionary zoning aspect of this package. It is still largely unproven. But I think it’s probably okay for us to forward this to council and let them hash it out,” he said.

Commission Chairwoman LaShawn Burton Faulk noted that the vote provides only a recommendation to council, setting the stage for perhaps additional discussion, debate, and possible amendments.

An aerial view of the neighborhood of Mt. Washington with the Pittsburgh city skyline in the background photographed on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021.
Mark Belko
‘What’s the hurry?’: Developers urge Pittsburgh City Council to be more deliberate in tackling affordable housing

“I feel that I’m very comfortable and assured that whatever additional steps need to be made can be made there,” she said.

Under Mr. Gainey’s proposal, developers who build 20 or more units of housing must set aside 10% of them as affordable to households at or below 50% of the area median income, or $40,500 for a family of two.

Both bills now go before City Council for final action.

 
 
 
View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (@pittsburghpg)

The commission backed his proposal after rejecting a plan by Councilman Bob Charland that would have derailed the mayor’s initiative and left it up to each neighborhood to implement inclusionary zoning requirements.

As a result, Mr. Charland’s amendments go before City Council with a negative recommendation, meaning that it will require the votes of at least seven of the nine members to approve them.

Both votes came in a grueling meeting during which roughly 100 people testified for or against the proposals. The vast majority of them spoke in favor of expanding affordable housing, arguing that people are being forced out of the city because of rising rental costs.

Chris Rosselot, policy director of the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group, said that expanding inclusionary zoning and other reforms proposed by Mr. Gainey represented a “bold and forward thinking approach.”

“We have seen firsthand how the lack of affordable and quality housing impacts historically underserved communities, pushing people out of their neighborhoods and increasing housing costs for everyone,” he said.

But opponents of Mr. Gainey’s legislation argued that inclusionary zoning hasn’t worked in the four neighborhoods where it has been implemented – Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Polish Hill, and Oakland.

Representatives of Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, a nonprofit that advocates for abundant and affordable housing, said that existing policies have created only 35 affordable units since first being implemented in 2019.

Rather than creating more affordable units, expanding affordable housing mandates citywide will do the exact opposite and hinder development, opponents maintained.

Tom Frank — chapter executive director of NAOIP Pittsburgh, a regional association of developers, owners, investors and commercial real estate professionals — said the mayor’s proposal doesn’t provide the incentives necessary to do affordable housing.

He predicted that developers “will simply flee to other areas” to get better deals.

But proponents of the legislation pushed back against some of the assertions.

Emma Gamble of Lawrenceville United community group said that inclusionary zoning has not been “a hold-up to development.” The group’s executive director, David Breigan, said that total housing production is up 96% since the policy took effect in 2019.

And while some feared that extending inclusionary zoning citywide will make it harder to drum up development in smaller, less booming Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said that is not likely to be the case.

He explained that many of those markets currently don’t have the density to do 20 or more units of housing. If anything, the inclusionary zoning mandate will serve as a protection to prevent displacement if development in those neighborhoods skyrockets as it has done in areas like Lawrenceville and East Liberty.

Although the commission ended up rejecting Mr. Charland’s proposal, some members were sympathetic to some elements of it and urged the councilman and planning staffers to continue to discuss it to try to find a common ground.

In addition to leaving it up to the neighborhoods to decide whether they want inclusionary zoning, Mr. Charland’s bill would have required the city, its Urban Redevelopment Authority, or Housing Authority to “fully fund” any financial gaps in projects involving the creation of affordable housing — a proposal that Mr. Gainey decried as amounting “to writing a blank check of city tax dollars to corporate developers.”

First Published: January 29, 2025, 6:27 a.m.
Updated: January 30, 2025, 8:06 p.m.

RELATED
The Pittsburgh skyline seen from the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, near the Fred “Mr. Rogers” Memorial on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. A prominent Pittsburgh attorney says Mayor Ed Gainey's proposal to expand inclusionary zoning is unconstitutional and would cripple development.
Mark Belko
Prominent attorney says Pittsburgh's proposed affordable housing mandate is illegal
An aerial view of homes in Lawrenceville, which is one of four city neighborhoods with inclusionary zoning requirements mandating that developers who build more than 20 units of housing set aside 10% as affordable. The other neighborhoods are Bloomfield, Polish Hill and Oakland.
Mark Belko
Pittsburgh officials tout proposals for housing-related zoning amendments
SHOW COMMENTS (70)  
Join the Conversation
Commenting policy | How to Report Abuse
If you would like your comment to be considered for a published letter to the editor, please send it to letters@post-gazette.com. Letters must be under 250 words and may be edited for length and clarity.
Partners
Advertisement
In Fayette County, voters express renewed hope under the Trump administration, praising his early actions like spending cuts and immigration crackdowns, and grading his first few weeks an "A." Many in the county, where Trump secured 68.4% of the vote, support his executive orders on immigration and federal spending, believing he is fulfilling campaign promises and taking decisive action.
1
news
As Trump's executive orders sow confusion and chaos for some, Western Pa. supporters who voted for him approve
The North Shore offices of the Post-Gazette
2
business
Federal judge denies NLRB's injunction attempt against the Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) looks on with head coach Mike Tomlin, left, prior to the NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Philadelphia.
3
sports
Steelers position analysis: Defensive line the most glaring need heading into NFL draft
Pittsburgh Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett (5) goes for a layup while playing the Miami (Fl) Hurricanes at the Peterson Event Center on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Oakland. The Pittsburgh Panthers won 74-65.
4
sports
Instant analysis: Pitt's point guard committee covers for Jaland Lowe's absence, sparks win over Miami
Marc Fogel, a teacher from Oakmont steps off a plane after arriving back in the United States on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, following his release from Russia, where he had been imprisoned since 2021.
5
news
'Humbled and overwhelmed' Marc Fogel expresses appreciation as his transition from Russia continues
Mount Washington and Downtown photographed on Monday, April 27, 2020.  (Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette)
The Downtown Pittsburgh skyline, with the view from Station Square on Thursday, May 30, 2024.  (Lucy Schaly/Post-Gazette)
The Downtown skyline from Riverwalk on the North Shore.
This aerial view of the downtown skyline and Point State Park, with the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers forming the Ohio, was taken on Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in Pittsburgh.  (Darrell Sapp/Post-Gazette)
Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST business
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story