Pittsburgh City Council poised to vote on $62.5M plan to help fund URA housing programs

Pittsburgh City Councilman Anthony Coghill acknowledges there’s a need for more affordable housing in the city, but says he has reservations about a “vague” proposal to direct $62.5 million to the Urban Redevelopment Authority for housing initiatives.

Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration and the URA have been tight-lipped about spending specifics and what URA programs the city money would support.

“There’s a lot of things that don’t sit right here,” said Coghill, D-Beechview.

Coghill said the proposal would allow the URA board to make all determinations about how to spend the money, without City Council having any input.

“The fact that we have no control over it scares me,” he said.

Many council members in prior discussions also voiced concerns over the proposal, though most ultimately supported it in a preliminary vote last week.

The proposal would have the city provide the URA with $2.5 million a year for 25 years, or a total of $62.5 million. The URA would use the money to pay back its debt on a bond that officials estimate would bring in between $25 million and $40 million for the URA to spend on affordable housing programs over the next three years.

Council last week amended the legislation to include a set of goals for the bond, including that the proceeds be used to “respect and stabilize existing communities,” create quality affordable housing, preserve existing affordable housing and prioritize projects that ensure housing remains affordable for at least 40 years.

Another amendment would require the URA to present City Council with a spending plan within 90 days of receiving the funding from the city. Council would not be able to vote on that plan. Rather, it’s merely meant to inform council of how the authority plans to spend the money.

The proposal also includes a new provision that would require the URA to submit annual performance reports to council and that the funding would be subject to an annual audit by the city controller.

Even with the amendments, Coghill said, the deal leaves “a bad taste in my mouth.”

“As far as our amendments go, they don’t really have any teeth to them,” he said.

Other council members had also voiced concerns about the amount of money and lack of a specific plan.

URA Executive Director Susheela Nemani-Stanger told council members last week that the URA is hoping to use the money to produce and preserve a “diverse range” of housing types throughout the city.

“I’m very much struggling with this — not the spirit of it by any means, just the finances of it,” said Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side.

Still, others argued that the need for affordable housing was so great it warranted the expense.

“There’s significant demand for affordable housing,” Nemani-Stanger said.

Councilman Ricky Burgess, D-Point Breeze, said properly funding affordable housing was a “moral imperative.”

He has repeatedly urged other officials to consider taking out additional bonds over the next decade until the city brings in closer to $100 million for housing efforts.

According to the legislation, there was a need for more than 17,000 additional affordable housing units for households making up to half of the area median income as of March 2016. More updated numbers were not immediately available.

The URA said it created about 500 new affordable housing units throughout the city last year.

Jake Pawlak, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the extra cash infusion could allow the city to “actually catch up on the demand lag.”

Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle, D-Hill District, who also sits on the URA board, said the expense would be less than half of 1% of the city budget.

“Our city continues to lose population because our residents can’t afford to stay here,” he said. “For us as a city, there’s a very real social and economic imperative.”

Despite concerns from several members, council supported the measure in a preliminary vote last week with only Coghill voting against it. Council is expected to take a final vote Tuesday.

Related:

• Pittsburgh looks to issue bond for affordable housing efforts

• Some Pittsburgh City Council members question URA's city-funded affordable housing plan