Gainey proposes zoning changes to boost affordable housing in Pittsburgh

Mayor Ed Gainey’s office announced Thursday morning that a series of proposed changes aimed at increasing access to affordable housing will be incorporated into Pittsburgh’s zoning code.

According to City Planning Director Jamil Bey, the zoning changes would require new developments to make a portion of their housing units more affordable. But they would also offer more flexibility to developers, allowing them to build at higher density, particularly around transportation hubs, and develop smaller lots. The changes also include eliminating parking requirements for new buildings.

“This set of amendments is intended to attract affordable housing development throughout the city, or at least make it possible throughout the city,” Bey told WESA.

Calls to change the city’s zoning rules have been growing in recent years, after Existing rules were blamed for prohibiting even developments that were welcomed by the surrounding community.

Gainey administration officials said the proposed changes stem from Recommendations from the 2022 Housing Needs Assessmentwhich found that many low- and moderate-income black residents have left the city in recent years. The study found a need for a diversity of housing types and more affordable housing in the city.

Because Pittsburgh’s population isn’t growing at the same rate as other cities, Bey said, local leaders need to get creative to attract development.

One goal, he said, is “to provide incentives to developers by reducing some of their costs, which will make it easier for them to invest.” At the same time, another key consideration is “being true to the residents who have been here for generations, people who want to stay in those neighborhoods, (and) providing opportunities for those people to stay in or near where they want to be.”

Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the reforms have components that would benefit both developers and residents trying to access affordable housing.

“As we increase the supply of housing being built in Pittsburgh, without some of these cost-saving measures and affordability protections, everyone is building units and pricing them high,” Pawlak said. “By removing some of those cost barriers, but also creating exceptions to ensure affordability, we hope to prevent displacement as we reinvest in our housing stock.”

In a news release issued Thursday morning, Gainey’s office said the proposals would be available for public review and comment online through Nov. 5. The administration says it will also hold a series of public meetings on the topic in September and October.

Changes to zoning rules must be reviewed by the Planning Commission and approved by the council, some of whose members were expected to join the mayor’s office and housing advocates at a news conference Thursday.

The administration said it expects the plan to come before the council early next year, but it wasn’t long before at least one councilman, Bob Charland, raised objections.

“Celebrating proposed legislation as if it were already law, before it has even been introduced, much less reviewed by the Council, is a well-known tactic used to pressure Council members to vote,” Charland said in a statement.

“From what little I’ve been able to glean, some aspects of the proposal could benefit my district, while others will be significantly regressive to the city as a whole,” Charland added. And referring to Gainey’s impending re-election next year, he said, “As our goal is to become a city that truly serves its residents by making housing more affordable, rather than focusing solely on re-election, I am committed to giving all elements of this hodgepodge of proposals the careful evaluation they deserve.”

Inclusionary zoning

By expanding a policy called inclusionary zoning citywide, new developments would be required to make a portion of the units in their buildings affordable.

According to Pawlak, the proposed rule changes would require that 10 percent of the units in a development be affordable to people making 50 percent of the area’s median income. That corresponds to people making about $17 an hour, he said.

“We’re talking about the wages earned by people who are the foundation of our regional economy,” Pawlak said. “We need opportunities for them to live in every neighborhood in our city, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it also supports local economies.”

Inclusionary zoning has already been established in some parts of the city, such as Lawrenceville. Not without opposition from some commercial interests.But city officials say the policy has proven effective.

“Lawrenceville is the most attractive housing market in the city. It worked there and it didn’t discourage development,” Bey said. “Expanding this across the city will give us options for people to find affordable housing in the neighborhoods where they want to live.”

More and more simple ways to build

In Pittsburgh neighborhoods, parking spaces can be closely guarded, and the administration’s proposal to allow new housing without built-in parking is likely to raise questions.

But similar changes have been successful in cities like Buffalo, which eliminated its minimum parking requirements in 2017. And Pawlak said recent societal changes have made the approach more feasible. More people have sought out alternative transportation in recent years, he said, and post-COVID changes in the world of work have made economic activity more distributed across the city, changing the parking landscape.

And the parking requirement can inhibit new housing construction, he said: “We know that parking minimums have been a major factor in the cost of building new housing. The requirement to build parking, particularly structured parking like garages, is extremely expensive… That increases the cost of development and that is passed on to renters or buyers.”

The new rule would not affect existing structures or spaces, but would eliminate the minimum parking space requirement for developers in the future.

Other zoning changes would allow people to build on smaller lots or closer to property lines. Bey said this could help fill some of the city’s abandoned lots.

“In neighborhoods where there used to be dense population, like Knoxville, Beltzhoover or Homewood, under the current rules, a lot of these lots can’t be redeveloped,” he said. “If a house was demolished, that lot is no longer eligible for redevelopment.” Changing the rules “eliminates that and provides other options for building housing.”

Transit-oriented development would allow for higher-density housing around high-service transportation hubs, such as South Hills Junction, Bey said.

“There’s a lot of space in that area with very low population density, so there’s not a lot of ridership or users,” he said. “If we make it easier to build denser housing in proximity to those transit centers, we provide opportunities for people to have access to reliable and efficient transportation … where they no longer need a car, because they’re close or very adjacent to transit centers.”

According to Pawlak, allowing the construction of additional housing units would allow people to add additional housing units to spaces they already have. That option can be useful for multigenerational housing, such as when a grandparent or child lives next door or in an addition. A homeowner could also rent out the additional space and earn additional income that could help cover the cost of owning the home.

“We’re trying to remove as many barriers as possible to allow people to think about some of the options available to them,” Bey said.

This story is developing and will be updated.