Topic
City Council
Council may track how developers use the affordable housing bonus available in the new zoning code. Proposed legislation would require the Department of City Planning to send a semiannual report to council. The department will also issue any recommendations for changes to the program in two years.
City Council
New developments in Pittsburgh still have to meet parking requirements. On Oct. 21, council agreed to move forward with a zoning package that would drop them. It would also ease building backyard houses and basement or attic suites, and let developers build higher with affordable units. Council is expected to cast its final vote next week.
City Council
City code requires council to hold a public hearing on replacing a missing Market Square marker about workplace accidents. On Oct. 13, council received a petition from 26 residents asking for that hearing. According to the marker's text, the research it honored led to workers' compensation laws. The hearing isn't scheduled yet, and it doesn't guarantee the marker will be replaced.
City Council
Early this year, the mayor ordered a review of the city's permitting process to make it more predictable and efficient. On Oct. 14, council held the first step at the administration's request. That bill fixes typos, simplifies height rules, and removes outdated sections of the zoning code. The council member who relayed the request didn't say why the administration wanted the hold.
City Council
The city wants 96 vendors on call through $340 million in service contracts. On Oct. 7, council advanced them, though they don't say which departments will use them or why. A budget staffer said she could provide those details, and a final vote is set for Oct. 13. However, extra details sent to council typically don't make the public record.
County Council
Allegheny County hasn't reassessed property values since 2012. In August, a judge ordered the county to start reassessing by July 2027 and finish by 2032. On Sept. 14, a council committee heard the door-to-door work could cost $50 million and bring a wave of appeals. For now, it's holding a bill for regular reassessments until other lawsuits end.
City Council
North Side unhoused residents have lost a drop-in spot that helped with housing and paperwork. The ROOTS drop-in location closed for good on Oct. 2 after the city didn't renew its lease. The mayor's proposed 2027 budget adds money for ROOTS staff but none for rent. For now, council can approve a new lease only if the administration presents one.
City Council
Banksville's Marian Manor, a care facility for almost 70 years, closed in 2024 after continual financial losses. Now, council is set to rezone the 26-acre site for a housing community for people 55 and older. The plan includes 124 townhomes, a community center, pickleball courts, and a pool. Last month, the Planning Commission recommended the rezoning after two hearings.
City Council
The city isn't subject to fines for code violations on property it owns. On Sept. 15, council took up a controller's audit that found 4,330 code investigations of city-owned properties from 2021 through 2023. An audit official said there's no cohesive process for dealing with them. He said that sends taxpayer money toward notices that just end up in a bin.
County Council
Residents keep reporting unsafe, even deplorable, conditions in some of Allegheny County's federally assisted housing for seniors and disabled people. Now, a county council member has called for a public hearing on Sept. 24. He said county council can't fix it alone, and it will take city, county, state, and federal resources. Written testimony will be accepted through Oct. 1.
County Council
Most Allegheny County Council members don't want data centers on county-owned land. Legislation introduced Aug. 25 would ban them there, as members cite worries about soaring water and electricity use. However, it would cover only county property, since state law leaves zoning to municipalities. For now, the proposal sits with council's sustainability committee.
School Board
Several speakers told the school board the district can't stabilize unless the city addresses why families are leaving. At a June 22 hearing, they urged the board to advocate for family-sized housing. The board doesn't set housing policy, but it's one of three local bodies that set real estate taxes. One speaker objected to any school tax money going to the proposed Downtown TRID.
City Council
Downtown property values have fallen $813 million since 2024, the Urban Redevelopment Authority said. On July 22, it pitched council on the Downtown TRID to turn that around. Under the plan, 80% of the money would go to developers and 20% to unspecified public infrastructure. Still, transit got little attention, and one council member called any public benefit murky.
City Council
Pittsburgh ran a $44.7 million deficit in 2025 and expects another this year. Three years of deficits would put city finances under state control. This week, the controller emailed council arguing against the proposed Downtown TRID, citing that financial strain. She warned the city could owe over $3 million in 2027 without money set aside for early debt payments.
City Council
Forty people addressed council about the Downtown TRID, and nearly all were opposed. Critics objected to 80% of the money going to developers and to vague plans for public infrastructure. Many also called the process rushed and opaque. In their own discussion, council members later turned to one speaker, a cleaner recently laid off after nearly 40 years.
City Council
Custodians, security officers, and maintenance workers in Downtown buildings could gain job protections under the proposed TRID. Changes made after a June 3 committee meeting require a prevailing wage and union contracts. However, those contracts must bar strikes and picketing until financial recovery is complete. Council voted 6-3 to move the TRID forward, and a final vote is set for next week.
City Council
ROOTS, a city outreach team, connects homeless residents with shelters and medical and mental health care. On June 17, council advanced an $800,000, one-year county contract to expand it. Currently, it runs weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with 16 staff. The money would add 10 staff and extend hours to 11 p.m. on weeknights, plus some weekend daytime coverage.
City Council
Route 65, built in the 1960s, divides Manchester and Chateau and gutted the commercial core along Beaver Avenue. On June 3, council advanced $750,000 more for study and early design work on the avenue. Part of the Esplanade development's effort to reconnect the neighborhoods, the redesign would make the road two-way. The full $1 million is reimbursable with federal funds.
City Council
Offices make up about 66% of Downtown real estate, an Urban Redevelopment Authority official said. On June 3, the authority asked council to approve a 40-year Downtown investment district. Future real estate taxes would repay loans for projects like turning vacant offices into housing. Still, only the city would pay the interest, and council held the plan a week.
City Council
Permit burdens fall hardest on people without the means to get through the system, a city manager said. In low-income communities, it takes a week longer to start applications for single-family home projects. On May 13, council advanced a free, three-year data partnership with Johns Hopkins University. If approved, researchers would look for common causes of incomplete applications and review delays.