The measure is a hard-won victory for neighborhood organizers, and mayoral candidate Ed Gainey wants to expand it throughout the city.
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
Inclusionary zoning, a policy that requires developers to build a certain amount of affordable units, is gaining momentum in Pittsburgh. A pilot program in Lawrenceville has been made permanent by City Council, and state Rep. Ed Gainey, who will likely be Pittsburgh’s next mayor, says he supports expanding the policy throughout the city.
As housing costs keep rising and construction continues even during the pandemic, advocates say the policy is vital to preventing mass displacement of lower-income people, especially the city’s Black residents, while some developers and residents worry about its effect on the local economy.
A pilot program that began in Lawrenceville in 2019 gave Pittsburgh its first look at inclusionary zoning, after the city’s Affordable Housing Task Force recommended the policy. The Lawrenceville policy required all new developments with 20 units or more to set aside at least 10% of units for lower-income residents at affordable rates.
City Council voted 9-0 to make the Lawrenceville pilot program permanent on June 15. Council heard not only overwhelming support for the policy at a June 2 hearing, but many speakers also called for the policy to be expanded beyond Lawrenceville and with a higher percentage of affordable units.
State Rep. Ed Gainey speaks to reporters at the Hamilton House in Homewood on May 21, three days after he won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Pittsburgh. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
On top of that, key people throughout Pittsburgh support expanding inclusionary zoning — Urban Redevelopment Authority officials, City Planning Commission members, City Councilors, community leaders and, most notably, Gainey.
“I want to make sure that every housing project that comes before the city, affordability is already embedded into it,” Gainey said in an interview with PublicSource three days after he defeated incumbent Mayor Bill Peduto in the May 18 Democratic primary.
Peduto has said he does not support citywide inclusionary zoning, but does support it in neighborhoods under certain conditions.
A blanket inclusionary zoning policy could be challenging for a city with 90 distinct neighborhoods with different market conditions and needs.
Butler Street in Lawrenceville. (Photo via Adobe Stock)
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