Final vote on controversial Oakland zoning package expected next week

Pittsburgh City Council is expected to take a final vote next week to approve what has been a heavily debated zoning package for the Oakland neighborhood.

City Council had initially planned to vote on the zoning package in December after a lengthy public hearing where residents, developers and officials from universities in Oakland voiced an array of concerns.

Instead, council postponed the vote to provide additional time for further conversations with the community about the proposed zoning changes. The deadline for a final vote is March 5.

The Oakland community has been largely divided over the proposed zoning changes, even as council members have offered minor amendments to the bill in an effort to strike a compromise amid competing neighborhood interests.

The legislation would create three new base zoning districts for portions of Oakland.

The proposed Urban Center-Employment district would allow for a range of commercial uses and multi-unit residential housing, but only if all housing units are affordable for lower-income residents and housing doesn’t exceed more than half of a property’s gross square footage.

The proposed Urban Center-Mixed Use district would allow for a range of commercial and residential uses, while the Residential-Mixed Use area would allow some smaller-scale commercial uses in addition to housing.

The proposed package also would expand inclusionary zoning that would require developers with 20 or more units to designate at least 10% of them as affordable housing. Inclusionary zoning already has been approved for Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Polish Hill.

Developers have called for allowing larger building sizes, while many residents want buildings to be smaller. Universities expressed concerns about limits on building additional educational spaces, while others have said they are worried about parking requirements.

City Council in December amended the zoning bill to allow new buildings to stretch up to 300 feet in length. Initially, buildings in the Urban Center-Mixed Use areas would have been capped at 400 feet, though the number was later changed to 250 feet. An exception has been made for grocery stores, which can stretch up to 425 feet.

Related:

• Pittsburgh City Council won't decide on proposed Oakland zoning changes until next year
• Debate persists over proposed zoning changes for Oakland neighborhood
• Pittsburgh Planning Commission adopts Oakland Plan as concerns persist about proposed zoning changes

Council also tweaked the legislation to cap the allowed building height in the Urban Center-Employment district along the Boulevard of the Allies at 185 feet.

Before giving the proposed zoning package preliminary approval on Wednesday, council members acknowledged the long, frustrating process the Oakland community has gone through as the package has been debated.

“In my opinion, this is not the end-all, be-all of what Oakland looks like and what zoning looks like in Oakland,” said Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill. “There will be opportunities to continue the discussion.”

She acknowledged “there are many things to balance,” and said some elements of the zoning package may be revisited “sooner rather than later.”

“There’s got to be a balance, and I think council’s really tried to strike that balance,” Council President Theresa Kail-Smith, D-West End, said.