Bob Damewood, RHLS Senior Staff Attorney, prepared a report in 2015 for the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, titled: Building Inclusive Communities: A Review of Local Conditions, Legal Authority, and Best Practices for Pittsburgh. He has now written an update to this report to help facilitate a discussion of strategies to expand and improve upon Pittsburgh’s existing IZ framework and preserve Pittsburgh’s diverse and vibrant urban character. Click here to download the updated report.
The original report recommended the institution of inclusionary zoning policies in Pittsburgh to help retain the city’s character. Inclusionary zoning policies can either require or encourage local real estate developers to make a percentage of new housing units affordable to tenants with low incomes. In exchange, developers may receive approval for zoning or land use as well as other public benefits.
The reasoning behind Bob’s recommendation was in response to the shortage of decent, safe, and affordable housing in the city. The housing market has historically failed to meet the demand for affordable housing, creating a ripple effect negatively impacting a broad spectrum of people. In response to the housing crisis, Bob suggested that a well-designed inclusionary zoning policy could help unlock available subsidies. Some important points he considered were the impact on the housing market in Pittsburgh and the legal authority of the city government to enact inclusionary zoning. In his report, Bob concluded that the housing market was strong enough to support inclusionary zoning policies. In addition, Pittsburgh does have the legal authority and can design a policy that would avoid constitutional challenges.
Since this report was first published, Pittsburgh has adopted an “incentivized mandatory” inclusionary zoning overlay district (IZOD) in Lawrenceville along with voluntary IZ tax incentives citywide, in part due to Bob’s work. At the same time, Pittsburgh’s housing market continues to grow more expensive and thousands of long-time residents have been displaced. As of the writing of this update, legislation has been introduced to expand the Lawrenceville IZOD to two other neighborhoods, and Mayor Ed Gainey has expressed his commitment to reversing the trend of displacement and developing a citywide IZ policy.
Read more about Inclusionary Zoning and relevant updates in the updated report.