Pittsburgh City Council approved legislation this week to create a committee to address the city’s affordable housing needs.

Councilman Ricky Burgess, who introduced the legislation in February, said the measure was spurred by his belief that everyone in the city deserves access to “clean, decent, affordable housing (that is) affordable to their income level.”

Much of the city’s housing stock is older and in need of repair, though many homeowners can’t afford the necessary upgrades, the legislation said. The legislation also pointed to “very low rates of home ownership and high rates of absentee-owned properties” in some Pittsburgh neighborhoods.

More than 23,000 Pittsburgh households pay more than half of their income on housing costs, leaving them more likely to experience eviction, foreclosure and utility termination, according to the legislation.

The newly formed committee will explore financial tools to bolster private and public investment in affordable housing. It also would be tasked with hosting public meetings on the issue and providing quarterly reports on their findings and recommendations to the mayor and council members.

Burgess has said the idea is to “jump-start affordable housing” and increase the number of affordable housing units throughout the city. He suggested incentivizing private developers to include affordable housing in their market-rate developments and creating both a public-private fund and a public, city-run one to provide additional cash for affordable housing initiatives and predevelopment loans.

The committee will include the mayor, the city’s chief economic development officer, up to four members of City Council, the director of the Department of City Planning, the executive director of the city’s Housing Authority, the executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the executive director of the Pittsburgh Land Bank.

The measure was approved unanimously. Councilman Corey O’Connor was not present for the vote.

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