Pittsburgh launches zoning and permit overhaul
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Corey O'Connor at a press conference in the City-County Building. Photo: Ryan Deto/Axios
Mayor Corey O'Connor ran on reforms to help spur Pittsburgh housing development, and he unveiled the first steps to implement these campaign promises at a press conference Monday.
Why it matters: The city wants to make it easier to build to capitalize on the momentum of some growing population figures.
The big picture: The city is streamlining its permitting process and starting to update the zoning code, O'Connor said.
What they're saying: O'Connor said the goal is to make it easier for homeowners to remodel their properties, community groups to attract more housing, and small business owners to start new endeavors.
- "My goal is to see growth. … We have to meet the modern needs of Pittsburgh."
Zoom in: The policies will be rolled out in three phases.
- The first phase will be implemented immediately and includes speeding up building permits and reducing wait times to schedule hearings for projects.
- The second phase will come later and will update the zoning code, including raising maximum heights across Urban Neighborhood Commercial districts, like the Baum-Centre corridor in the East End.
- The third phase will focus on consolidating applications and building guidance into searchable portals and modernizing the city's certificate process.
Zoom out: The city will take the lead on the community meeting process, working with community groups to avoid redundancies, said O'Connor.
State of play: "When a city like New York can get you a permit in four to five weeks, and we can't, we have a problem," O'Connor said.
Between the lines: O'Connor said a citywide inclusionary zoning policy — requiring large developments to include a percentage of affordable housing — is off the table, but targeted inclusionary zoning in certain neighborhoods, near transit or where density bonuses can be applied is still possible.
Flashback: A developer in Uptown paused its 196-unit mixed-use development last year when inclusionary zoning rules were applied under the former Mayor Ed Gainey's administration.
The bottom line: "If we don't make doing business in Pittsburgh easier, it is our neighborhoods that will suffer," O'Connor said.