PITTSBURGH — Tuesday night marked a long, but seemingly productive, discussion inside the URA Building on how to bring more affordable housing options to Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
In the end, the city’s planning commission voted in support of Mayor Ed Gainey’s Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) proposal, rejecting city councilman Bob Charland’s proposed legislation.
Eight of nine commissioners voted in support of the Mayor’s plan that would require any developer, building a unit with 20 or more apartments, to make at least 10% of those affordable options and offer certain incentives.
“The absence of sufficient housing for the residents of Pittsburgh has been for some time and continues to be an ongoing challenge,” said Tim Stevens of the Black Political Empowerment Project
Charland’s proposal would allow developers to opt in, but not require, affordable housing. Similar to Gainey’s plan, incentives would be offered for opting in. The commission voted against the bill. But, not all city residents are on board with Gainey’s plan.
“Developers will simply flee to these other areas where they can get deals done and qualify for these loans. It all sounds great, but some of this does not work,” said Tom Frank, executive director of NAIOP Pittsburgh.
Dozens of residents, representing various organizations and neighborhoods, spoke for and against each plan to bolster affordable housing options, with many convinced that a comprehensive overhaul is needed.
“All of the ways the city regulates housing is, essentially, a dysfunctional mess that makes it extremely hard to get any housing built,” said Kendall Pelling of Rising Tide Partners. “The math has to work on housing development.”
“We should be taking our time to make sure we do this correctly and we don’t put people out on the street,” said Connor Hayes of Lawrenceville.
Pittsburgh City Council will vote on these measures in the coming weeks.
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