Council Bill 2021-1906, “Oakland Crossings,” Meets Opposition at Final Public Hearing

Council Bill 2021-1906 and DCP-MPZC-2021-01666

Council Should set this bill aside in favor of passing the proposed zoning from the Oakland Plan

On May 25, 2022, City Council held a public hearing on Council Bill 2021-1906, formerly known as “Oakland Crossings,” which makes way for high-end, market-rate development in Oakland. 

OPDC joined Oakland residents and community organizations from around Pittsburgh in fierce opposition to the bill, which has been heavily criticized since it was introduced last fall for disregarding inclusionary zoning, affordable housing requirements, and equitable development. 

Residents took issue with the “extreme dimensions” requested by developer Walnut Capital, which are “totally out of scale with adjacent residential areas,” according to community member Elena Zaitsoff. 

Referring to a 3-D model, community member Millie Sass added, “The people are small next to the structures. Developers will always build to what is permitted.” 

Mayor Ed Gainey, who intervened to reduce the footprint of the zoning change, include affordable housing, and remove the most noxious uses, received praise for his efforts. Even so, residents and community organizations urged Council to set the bill aside in favor of passing the proposed zoning from the Oakland Plan. 

“The pressure is on from Walnut Capital,” said Greenfield community member Barb Warwick. “Not only would [the bill] be a slap in the face to residents and community groups who have sacrificed their time and energy to create the [Oakland Plan], it would set a terrible precedent of large-scale developers throwing their weight, money, and power around in order to bully through projects at the expense of local communities.”  

For more, check out Executive Director Wanda Wilson’s full testimony. Check back on the project page for updates on Council committee dates and the date it will be on their agenda for a vote.

Rental Registry in Jeopardy? Judge Stays Ordinance Amid Legal Challenge

In April, we posted about the City Council’s revised rental registration ordinance, which was set to go into effect May 29.

Now, the enforcement of the ordinance by the Department of Permits, Licenses, and Inspections (PLI) has been stayed by a judge as a lawsuit filed by the Apartment Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (AAMP) proceeds.

This “commonsense regulation,” as Mayor Ed Gainey’s office put it in a statement, would protect renters by requiring permits from PLI for occupied rental units. Permitting entails:

• An initial inspection of the rental property and payment of a fee. Initial inspections are good for three years; following that, properties earning consistent, acceptable ratings are eligible for five-year terms.

• Collecting contact information for the owners, responsible local agents, and property managers of each rental property. Rental registration and inspection data will be public information, viewable on Civic Central. PLI will also give its data monthly to the Western PA Regional Data Center.

• A lead dust wipe inspection for structures built before 1978. This is required by the city’s new Lead Safety Ordinance.

In addition, the ordinance aims to encourage best practices through Good Landlord Academy, a training program on inspections, government resources, and enforcement. Those who pass the course will be eligible for reduced rental registration fees for the upcoming year.

The lawsuit brought by AAMP aims to challenge the associated fees, which, in our view, are nominal: a $16 application fee, a $5.50 per parcel fee, and a $14 per unit fee to cover travel and inspection costs. AAMP is also demanding exemption from lead inspection.

Speaking to the objections, Mayor Gainey stated, “Our fee is fair and does nothing more than recoup the costs to carry out the program and it is a shame that once again the work to protect renters in our city is being delayed.”

We couldn’t agree more. With widespread problems of safety, cleanliness, and over-occupancy, a rental registry is needed to assure code enforcement and ease of communication with landlords. Unfortunately, AAMP’s lawsuit throws all of that into question.

Oakland Planning and Development Corporation will continue to fight for rental registration and provide information to the community on this developing situation.

Inclusionary Zoning Threatened in Court: Community Organizers Rally in Response

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) is a tool to ensure neighborhoods have available housing units at a variety of price points. It does this by tying the construction of affordable housing to that of market-rate housing. IZ has been in effect in Lawrenceville since 2019, when Council approved a pilot of the initiative. Since then, it has expanded to Bloomfield and Polish Hill, with Oakland hoping to be the next neighborhood to reap its benefits.

Last Friday, only 10 days after Mayor Gainey signed IZ into law for Bloomfield and Polish Hill, the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (BAMP) filed federal and state lawsuits against the city, claiming that IZ is unconstitutional.

In response, community organizers across the city have joined in a coordinated effort to defend IZ. Neighborhood partners including Lawrenceville United, Lawrenceville Corporation, Bloomfield Development Corporation, Polish Hill Civic Association, Pittsburgh United, and OPDC drafted a press release in response to the lawsuit filed. You can read it here.

The Mayor and your City Council people need to hear from you—IZ is an essential tool for protecting communities and providing opportunities, helping working families to put down roots in our neighborhood, and ensuring Oakland’s continued vibrancy and sustainability. You can call the Mayor’s Office at 412-255-5626. To find your City Council representative, click here. We’ll continue to provide updates as they become available.

On Wednesday, May 25, at 1:30 p.m. City Council will hold a hearing on Council Bill 2021-1906, formerly known as “Oakland Crossings.” Council needs to hear from you about how important it is to preserve affordable homeownership. We encourage you to attend and provide feedback to Council members.

City to Request Continuance for the Oakland Plan to the Planning Commission

On Tuesday, May 17, Deputy Director Andrew Dash from the Department of City Planning announced the requested continuance for the Oakland Plan to the Planning Commission. See the content of the announcement below:

Dear Oakland Plan Stakeholder,  

Thank you for all your hard work in getting the word out about the draft plan and providing feedback as well!  Over the 55-day public comment period we received over 750 comments on the plan and 200 on the related zoning proposals.  The comments are publicly available online at https://engage.pittsburghpa.gov/Oakland.   Early on in the comment period staff created criteria by which to review the comments:  

1. Non-substantive changes:

   1. Punctuation, grammar corrections

   2. Language consistency

   3. Updates to the “What We Heard” and the “When,” “How long,” “How much,” and “Whom” sections of projects and programs to provide clarifying details.

   4. Changes that are clarifying or further support the existing written goal/policy/strategy

   5. Additions of supporting data and best practices.

2. Substantive Changes

   1. Does this improve or build upon the components of the equity strategy?

   2. Does this further sustainability?

   3. Is this a broader concern shared by multiple constituencies?

Staff, including those from Action Teams, have reviewed all the comments and have been able to resolve 95% of them.  There are around 40 comments that required additional time to have conversations with organizations.  Most of these comments are around responsibilities and funding.   

At the Planning Commission meeting today, Tuesday, May 17th, we will be asking for a continuance until June 14, 2022 so we can have those conversations and bring a full set of recommendations to the Planning Commission.  That full list of recommendations will be available 1-week in advance of the Planning Commission meeting.  In the meantime, over the next week the Engage page will be updated with staff responses and zoning proposal updates. We look forward to having those conversations and for your support at the June 14th Planning Commission meeting.  

Thanks again for all your hard work throughout the process! 

Resources:

• All the comments from the first draft of The Oakland Plan.

• OPDC’s comments on the draft.

• Oakland Plan page on our website.