Planning Commission again denies Point Park's plans for fence at Pittsburgh Playhouse

The Pittsburgh Planning Commission this week declined to approve Point Park University’s proposal to build a fence at the public open space at its Downtown Pittsburgh Playhouse, a move university officials said is necessary to ensure security at the site.

The school has twice presented proposals to the Planning Commission for a fence and gate to secure a parklet area on Forbes Avenue that university officials said has seen people urinating and participating in unsafe behavior, particularly at night.

Their plan was to leave the gates open during normal business hours, but close it off at night.

The Planning Commission in September nixed a proposal for a simple bar-style gate and fence. The university revised its plans and returned the Planning Commission this week.

“We had concerns that it wasn’t a friendly pedestrian space,” said Kate Rakus with the Department of City Planning. “The way the gate and the fencing was, the urban space didn’t make it feel like it was a public open space.”

Rakus said staff had the “same concerns” with a new proposal brought to the commission Tuesday.

That plan called for 10-inch square fencing that aimed to create a “window frame” look, said Chris Haupt, of DLA+ Architecture.

“We tried to make them look like windows and have a light cable system infill to make it less dense,” he said.

They also proposed adding a “comedy and tragedy” logo to the fence for decorative purposes.

“The primary objective here is safety and security,” Haupt said. “This is a sunken pocket park. As the university’s described, there’s a been a lot of questionable activity and risk to people who occupy and move through the parklet, particularly after hours.”

The Planning Commission had previously recommended a “green option.” Chris Hill, vice president of operations for Point Park, said the university explored those options and determined they didn’t seem practical.

They had previously had potted plants at the site when the Pittsburgh Playhouse opened in 2018, he said. There was “a lot of vandalism with those plants,” he said, which university officials feared would happen again.

“We’re also concerned that if they filled in too much, they would block the entire look into the parklet,” he said.

Hill said they were also concerned with whether planters would take up space used for seating and the additional maintenance costs that would be required.

“I’m not sure, frankly, what else we can do here,” Haupt said. “I don’t know how else you secure this parklet.”

The existing proposal uses the “widest spacing you can get” in the fence and gate that would still prevent people from entering the park, Haupt said.

“It’s a difficult situation,” Commissioner Holly Dick said, acknowledging that the university is looking to maintain security, while the Planning Commission is demanding a more artistic and open approach.

“I would like to see an opportunity for a unique experience to be provided here, something that we can definitely all be proud of,” Commissioner Lashawn Burton-Faulk said. “While I recognize that there are some significant challenges around safety, I think it’s got to be some welcoming space.”

She said the updated proposal is “inching (in) the right direction,” but said she’d like to see more potential options.

Shawn Gallagher, an attorney for Point Park, said he felt that what the school had already presented was “legally sufficient” by zoning code standards.

“We’ve underscored the need to get this done as soon as possible. A fence is permitted here, so long as it’s open to the public during normal business hours — and it will be,” he said. “Not everybody’s going to have the same kind of agreement as to what is artistic and what is appropriate here.”

The Planning Commission voted to continue the measure again. They urged the university to explore more options before bringing another updated proposal to the commission.