Pittsburgh develops plan to address housing shortage

Call it a tiny house, a granny shack, an in-law suite or a backyard cottage; accessory dwelling units may be coming to backyards near you.

Mayor Ed Gainey has submitted a package of legislation to increase the number of homes in the city to address the housing shortage documented in the 2022 Housing Needs Assessment .

The assessment, which used data from 2015 to 2019, showed that while the city's population has declined, the number of households have grown as more single people and couples rent apartments, rather than living with roommates or family.

In addition to allowing new units to be built in backyards or homes to be reconfigured to add a unit, the full package of zoning changes announced at a press conference on Sept. 8 would reduce the number of parking spaces needed for developments, provide tax incentives for developments that would be built near the busways and light rail, eliminate the lot size requirement for apartment buildings and require that any new development of more than 20 units include units that are affordable for people who are making half of the area median income.

The announcement of the legislation came on the heels of a contentious hearing before the Pittsburgh Planning Commission during which the commission voted in favor of changing the zoning code to allow for personal care homes — which would also include shelters to prevent homelessness and halfway houses — in every residential zoning district and to expand the number of unrelated people who could share a home from six to 10.

Another section allows for temporary housing to be built in zoning districts that currently allow motels.

Critics of that legislation, including residents who said they were members of the indigenous Iroquois community, said they were worried that the group housing for the homeless and halfway houses would be located in low-income neighborhoods that are already struggling.

Zoning Administrator Corey Leyman said the changes were being made to comply with federal Fair Housing laws and pointed out that they do not include any facilities, such as custodial halfway or three-quarters houses, in which the residents are living there by court order.

To allow longtime homeowners to remain in their homes despite rising taxes, state Sen. Jay Costa (D-Forest Hills) joined Gainey Downtown for a press conference on Sept. 9 to announce legislation signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in July that would either exempt or defer property tax increases because of rising neighborhood values.

Gainey said the city has not determined if homeowners who have lived in their homes for more than 10 years and their heirs would be exempted from the tax increases due to rising values or if those payments would be deferred until the house was sold.

The legislation on property taxes would not apply to changes in a home, such as the proposed zoning amendment that would allow for an accessory dwelling unit, which would raise the value of the property.

"Our goal is to create a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. And that starts with ensuring access to affordable quality housing," Jamil Bey, director of City Planning, said at the Sept. 8 press conference announcing the proposed zoning changes. "Right now the odds are stacked against us when it comes to building affordable housing. The demand far exceeds our capacity to deliver, and some of our existing zoning and planning regulations make it challenging to attract the kind of development that provides affordable units close to the city's opportunities, amenities and public transportation."

The proposed amendment will allow additional units, even in areas zoned for single-family housing. Accessory dwelling units would have to be smaller than 1,000 square feet and less than 15 feet tall, though they could also be located in a second story of a garage or a small unit located in an existing home.

The new parking ordinance will eliminate the requirement to include parking for developments.

The proposed ordinance regarding minimum lot sizes would eliminate the required lot sizes per unit in areas zoned for residential very high density and reduce the lot size requirements for areas zoned residential high and moderate density.

To promote travel by mass transit, the administration has proposed creating new transit- oriented districts, which provide tax incentives for developers along the East Busway at Herron Avenue, near South Hills Junction and in Sheridan near the West Busway.

"While these changes alone won't solve the problem, they are crucial in creating the conditions needed to start building new affordable units soon," Bey said.

"We all know 'the rent is too damn high,'" said city Councilmember Deb Gross of Highland Park, whose district includes Lawrenceville, the poster neighborhood of gentrification and rising housing prices . "It has been for a while. ... We have had outdated barriers to housing in every single quarter of our city."

Gross was particularly excited about the elimination of the parking requirement after one proposed development failed in part because the parking requirement would have added $90,000 per parking space to the cost of the project.

"If we have reduced parking requirements, we're going to see more apartment construction," she said.

"As a whole, this package of zoning changes will make it easier and less expensive to build large projects and additional living spaces for our kids and aging parents," said Councilmember Barb Warwick of Greenfield, whose district includes Squirrel Hill South and Hazelwood.

"It will give us flexibility in sheltering our unhoused neighbors. It will help make our city more walkable and less car-dependent and it will compel our developers to include affordability in their plans, which they can do, without taking a haircut by accessing the ample housing subsidies already available to them through vouchers and other rental assistance programs," she added.

"There's nothing more important than having a place to call home," Gainey said. "We are in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. A crisis that has been coming for decades and we cannot kick the can down the road for the next generation to deal with. That's what got us here in the first place."

He called the proposed legislation "transformational changes to our zoning code. That will ensure that we continue to move closer to the promise of making this city a city for all."

The proposed amendments will go before the Planning Commission for its recommendations before being sent to City Council, which will have to adopt the amendments to make them part of the city's zoning code. Both the Planning Commission and City Council will be required to hold public hearings, which are not yet scheduled.