Zoning requirement to spur affordable housing made permanent in Lawrenceville

A requirement that 10% of multi-unit housing is made affordable in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood was made permanent Tuesday with approval from city council and support from Mayor Bill Peduto.

The inclusionary zoning change codifies a program that started in 2019 that requires 10% of any housing project that includes 20 or more units be affordable for people who earn 50% of the Allegheny County’s area mean income. That figure is defined as $38,000 for a family of four.

The move is designed to limit the effects of gentrification in Lawrenceville, which has been the center of the city’s housing boom for several years.

The pilot program was extended in January and would have expired in July if council hadn’t taken action to make it permanent.

Mayor Bill Peduto supports the program.

“Mayor Peduto has long supported inclusionary zoning if supported by the community, and that is certainly the case with stakeholders in Lawrenceville,” spokesperson Tim McNulty said.

The city’s Planning Commission endorsed it in April, and it has the support of Lawrenceville many residents, community groups and Councilwoman Deb Gross, who represents the neighborhood on council.

“It’s a very big day,” Gross said Tuesday.

Making any change to the city’s zoning is a tedious process, filled with public hearings, mailings to residents and other hurdles.

“Any zoning change is always very methodically slow,” Gross said.

No one spoken against the requirement and the building boom in Lawrenceville has withstood the coronavirus pandemic, Gross said.

Because the program was set to expire, council passed the action without increasing the percentage from 10% to 20% as some residents had lobbied for because it couldn’t have been done before the pilot program expired in July.

Instead, city officials are looking at ways to expand the program to other neighborhoods and may consider increasing the percentage moving forward, Gross said.

Groups in Polish Hill and Bloomfield which border Lawrenceville have asked for the requirement to be effective in those neighborhoods.

Council President Theresa Kail-Smith said the city may look at expanding the requirement to other neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis as it may not work in every area.