Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission is considering a proposal to put a large video screen in a new plaza near PNC Park where people could watch Pirates games, though commissioners have voiced concerns that the screen may be visible from as far as I-279.

A new plaza space is set to be built on North Shore Drive in Pittsburgh’s North Shore area, near the homes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers. The Planning Commission and City Council will need to decide whether to permit an approximately 916-square foot LED screen which would be used to show Pirates games in the plaza.

According to plans presented to the commission Tuesday, the screen would be nearly 23 feet tall and 40.5 feet wide.

There are questions about whether the proposal is in line with a portion of the city’s zoning code that restricts video screens from being visible from roadways, Zoning Administrator Corey Layman said.

“There’s good faith on both sides to explore this issue further but to not delay the application from going through the process, up to this point at least,” Layman said.

Joe Luzio, project developer with Chicago-based Barker Nestor architectural firm, said the 30,000-square-foot plaza will have a restaurant and could host private events like weddings in addition to offering fans another way to view sporting events.

“It’s going to be a major step in activating the North Shore with more entertainment and restaurant areas,” he said.

Colin Kolano, project manager at Pittsburgh-based Kolano Design, said the plan is to obstruct the screen from vehicles traveling on I-279 by planting mature deciduous and evergreen trees.

Despite Kolano’s assessment that the screen wouldn’t be visible from I-279 through the trees, some commissioners seemed uncertain that trees would properly cover the LED screen.

Commission Chair Lashawn Burton-Faulk said she was “a little less comfortable” with mixing in deciduous trees that would drop their leaves for part of the year and therefore provide less cover during certain months.

Shawn Gallagher, an attorney from Pittsburgh-based Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney representing the development team, said the video screen would only be in use during the baseball season.

It was unclear whether the screen also would be used for Steelers games.

“I don’t know that I’m seeing that 279 is not going to be visible,” Commissioner Rachel O’Neill said.

Commissioners requested additional landscape information ahead of their next meeting in two weeks, when a vote is scheduled for the project. If the Planning Commission recommends the proposal, it then moves to City Council for final approval.

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