Pittsburgh planners swing behind optional affordable housing proposal

Pittsburgh’s Public Source is an independent nonprofit newsroom serving the Pittsburgh region.  Sign up for their free newsletters. By Mia Hollie, Pittsburgh’s Public Source A Pittsburgh City Council bill that replaces a proposed citywide affordable housing mandate with an optional program will soon return to the body with the City Planning Commission’s blessing.  On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously recommended the legislation package, which proposes an affordable housing bonus program, would permit accessory dwelling units by right for certain buildings and would remove minimum parking requirements for new developments.  Pittsburgh Councilor Erika Strassburger looks to a TV screen during an inclusionary zoning hearing in the City-County Building on Sept. 10. (Photo by Alex Jurkuta/Pittsburgh’s Public Source) “The best inclusionary housing policies recognize the economic realities of residential development in the local rental market and incorporate flexibility,” said City Councilor Erika Strassburger prior to the commission’s vote.  The bill, if passed, would allow developers to earn points based on the number of affordable units that they incorporate into their housing developments — a system that already exists along the riverfronts, residential mixed-use areas and urban centers. The points allow developers to add height to buildings.  If developers don’t want to participate in the point-based program, then they would pay $25 per square foot of housing they build. Those funds would support affordable housing development.  The commissioners’ recommendation wasn’t without conditions. While City Planning staff proposed expanding the duration of affordability for units in the optional bonus program from 20 to 35 years, the body ultimately went with the shorter term.  Developers who do not want to build affordable housing can instead opt to pay a fee per square foot of housing th