Current Status
- The rewritten zoning text has been in effect since
1999.
- Mapping has been
underway for three years and the City anticipates completion in the next two
years.
Sixteen of Pittsburgh’s 88 neighborhoods have been completely
mapped and 26 are in the process of being mapped. The mapping process, known as
“Map Pittsburgh,” has improved with each neighborhood. Each has taken about nine
months to complete. This is a much slower pace than the City anticipated, but
City staff are now content with the length of the process.
Process
- Neighborhood groups work with a city planner to create
re-mapping proposals.
- Volunteers conduct land use surveys in their
neighborhoods.
- The Planning
Commission reviews the proposals, makes changes and recommends a final
proposal to the City Council.
The public process is lengthy but thorough. A planner is
assigned to each neighborhood to provide technical assistance. Interns
occasionally assist with the mapping process. An urban designer is assigned to
neighborhoods with special design issues or unique zoning districts. Other
specialists, such as environmental planners, GIS specialists, and zoning
consultants, are used as needed.
In each neighborhood, the process begins with a meeting
between representatives from neighborhood groups and the Department of Planning.
The meeting includes an introduction to zoning and a simple training session to
help prepare volunteers to analyze and map land use in their neighborhoods. The
City uses the land use information to prepare an analytical map and preliminary
recommendations for rezoning.
Next, the City advertises and convenes a second meeting to
review material covered at the first meeting, the map that was generated, and
its preliminary recommendations. Neighborhood representatives and volunteers
present their comments on existing land uses in the area and how they might be
changed. The final mapping recommendations are crafted from the information and
suggestions generated at the meeting. There is a third neighborhood meeting to
review the final recommendations. Finally, the recommendations are submitted to
the Planning Commission at a public hearing. The Commission develops its
recommendations by reviewing the proposals put together through the efforts of
neighborhood groups and presents a final map and recommendations to the City
Council. Finally, mapping is then done based upon the neighborhood proposals and
other input from the Planning Commission.
Special Provisions and Innovations
- Shift the city from 1950s large lot zoning to
increased residential density.
- Incorporate mixed-use
districts and increased density at transit nodes.
One primary goal of the new ordinance was to stimulate the
revitalization of areas zoned in the 1950s to reflect auto-oriented, suburban
development. By setting new, smaller minimum lot standards for single-family
areas, the Commission hopes to see density increase and revitalization
follow.
The ordinance includes
mixed-use districts and increased density allowances at transit nodes.
Political Challenges
- Public confusion regarding the mapping process.
- Realtors’ resistance
to ordinance text changes.
Because the general
public was not involved during the rewrite of the text of the new zoning
ordinance, there was some confusion about the mapping process.
Realtors posed a
serious challenge to the City’s process by vehemently questioning the reasons
behind the text. In response, the City developed a database of issues voiced by
various neighborhood groups in order to help the city respond to questions about
the reasons behind their actions.
Interim Procedures
- The city established a
deadline for development proposals to be considered under the old zoning
ordinance.
The city anticipated a
problem that did not occur.
In
fact, there was no rush of proposals seeking consideration under the old zoning
ordinance.
Lessons Learned
- Outreach efforts by the City paid off as participants
generally felt they had had an impact on the new zoning code.
- Volunteers were very satisfied with the process.
- A
training guide to help staff prepare for public outreach sessions would have
been helpful.
City staff reported
that participants were generally very satisfied with the process and felt they
had had an impact on the new zoning ordinance because of the high level of
public involvement. In general, all parties involved saw the new text and the
mapping process in very positive light.
Difficulties with the lack of public understanding could have
been reduced with a series of educational meetings on zoning before beginning
the mapping process. A short training guide to explain the new text and process
would have better prepared staff for the public outreach session and thereby
reduced confusion and improved efficiency.
Comments
Administratively, the process followed a very strong protocol.
The City drafted clear criteria neighborhood-involvement process. (see
Appendix, below)
Important elements included a residential zoning matrix, provided
to residents online, which combined density and zoning codes for mapping
(see Appendix, below) and test cases to see how the text translates to the
map.
Neighborhoods with the most pressing issues were the first to
go through the mapping process.
Appendix: Pittsburgh
‘Map
Pittsburgh,’ City of Pittsburgh Planning Department
- Overview and Definitions
- Information on the Mapping Process
- Residential Zoning Matrix and Codes
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Lay of the Land 2003: A National Survey of Zoning
Reform