Gainey pitches major affordable housing reforms, draws councilman's ire

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Thursday unveiled sweeping reforms to boost the city’s supply of affordable housing, seen as a key strategy to combating homelessness.

The reforms, which involve changing the city’s zoning code, would force new housing developments or those undergoing major renovations anywhere in the city to set aside a certain number of affordable units.

“We are in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, a crisis that has been coming for decades,” Gainey said at a news conference. “We cannot kick the can down the road for the next generation to deal with.”

The proposal would expand existing requirements in a handful of Pittsburgh neighborhoods for developers to set aside at least 10% of their units for low-income residents. That is referred to as inclusionary zoning.

Currently, the requirements are enforced only in Lawrenceville, Bloomfield, Polish Hill and much of Oakland.

Gainey’s reforms would enact them throughout the city.

The plan, which must be approved by City Council, would make new or renovated developments with 20 or more apartments dedicate at least 10% of the units to low-income people.

Director of City Planning Jamil Bey said the goal is to ensure affordable housing options for Pittsburghers of all incomes.

“Our goal is to create a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive,” Bey said. “That starts with ensuring access to affordable, quality housing.”

In return for developers lowering rental costs for some units, the city has offered several carrots. They include removing requirements for developers to have set numbers of parking spaces and allowing for taller buildings.

“We’re not asking something and not giving something,” Gainey said.

Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, criticized the mayor for hosting a press conference lauding the proposals before going through any public process or discussing with council.

“Celebrating proposed legislation as though it were already law, before it has been introduced or much less reviewed by council, is a well-known tactic used to pressure council members into a vote,” Charland said. “Though this approach is not new to this administration, it remains deeply disheartening.”

Charland said he believes some portions of the zoning amendments could help his district while others could be “significantly regressive” for the city. He did not elaborate.

“Land use represents one of the city’s most significant powers, and pushing forward with legislation without scrutiny from the community and co-governance partners is both irresponsibly reckless and negligent,” Charland said.

“As we aim to become a city that truly serves its residents by making housing more affordable, rather than focusing solely on reelection, I am committed to giving all the elements of this hodgepodge proposal the meticulous evaluation it deserves.”

Gainey launched his reelection campaign last week.

‘No free lunch’

David Vatz, who heads housing advocacy group Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, said he fears the proposed reforms won’t help bolster the city’s affordable housing stock like Gainey hopes.

Vatz said he worried it could drive away development and raise rents at market-rate units.

Someone has to pay for the cost of making a set number of units affordable housing, Vatz said. If local government doesn’t pay for or subsidize those units — and Gainey’s proposal doesn’t include any new financial help — then market-rate renters are likely to see their rents rise as developers look to recoup money.

“It’s kind of this backwards policy where you force renters to shoulder the burden of all of the affordable housing that’s being built,” Vatz said.

“There’s no free lunch. If you increase the cost of housing by implementing regulatory mandates like inclusionary zoning, you get less housing. If you get less housing, rent goes up.”

Vatz said he’d prefer to see the city slash red tape and incentivize building more housing for people at all income levels.

Tax breaks for developments with affordable housing and a streamlined zoning and planning process would likely be more helpful, Vatz said.

According to Pro-Housing Pittsburgh, only 35 affordable housing units were built since the city first mandated that developers set aside affordable units in 2019.

Not everyone agrees with Vatz.

Dave Breingan, who co-chairs the Housing Justice Table and heads Lawrenceville United, praised affordable housing efforts in Lawrenceville.

“Inclusionary zoning in Lawrenceville has been an amazing success,” Breingan said.

He highlighted four new projects in the pipeline that will create over 100 affordable units in the neighborhood.

Litigation concerns

The Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh filed a federal lawsuit against the city in 2022, after Gainey signed a law expanding the affordable housing requirements to Bloomfield and Polish Hill. That lawsuit is still pending.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jake Pawlak declined to comment on the lawsuit but said it was no reason to pause efforts to expand the policy citywide.

“We see the need is so critical and it is only growing,” Pawlak said. “There is no ‘too soon’ in solving this problem.”

Also included in Gainey’s proposed zoning reform is an allowance for basement apartments, backyard cottages and attached in-law suites.

They would now be permitted citywide.

Currently, the lengthy process to get a special exemption to build such dwellings keeps many people from doing so, said Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, a vocal advocate for such housing.

People can use these units for aging relatives or grown children or rent them for profit.

Rachel Shepherd, executive director of the city’s Commission on Human Relations, said she is concerned about the potential for discrimination claims.

Someone renting an on-site apartment in their house or a cottage in their yard can’t pick and choose their tenants based on race, ethnicity, whether a family has kids or other factors that are protected by fair housing laws, Shepherd said.

The commission already has seen some people who own duplexes and other small properties attempt to discriminate on such grounds, Shepherd said.

Odds and ends

Gainey’s proposal includes a grab bag of other items. They include:

• Permitting multi-family developments around the Herron Avenue Busway Station in Polish Hill, South Hills Junction in Mt. Washington and Chartiers Avenue Busway Station in Sheraden.
• Shrinking the minimum lot size to build a home in various parts of the city. In the highest-density residential areas, there would be no minimum lot size.

The city is accepting public feedback online and in a series of public meetings through Nov. 5.

The zoning package will then move to the planning commission for a public hearing and the commission’s recommendation, before heading to council.