City Council's Standing Committee on Land Use and Economic Development held the IZOD for a public hearing. Stakeholders are invited to speak about the proposed IZOD on Tuesday, April 5, at 1:30 pm. The hearing will be conducted via Zoom, and livestreamed on the City's website and YouTube channel.

At its meeting of January 11, 2022, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended that City Council approve the proposed expansion of the Inclusionary Zoning Overlay District to Bloomfield and Polish Hill.

This proposal would require new construction or renovation projects that produce 20 or more units (for sale or for rent) in Bloomfield or Polish Hill to price 10% of those units affordably.

The Inclusionary Zoning Overlay District would not apply to renovation or construction of less than 20 housing units.

You received a postcard because you own property within Bloomfield or Polish Hill, OR because you own property within 150 feet of those neighborhoods' boundaries. We are required by law to inform property owners within this radius of any proposed zoning changes.

A Zoning Overlay District is applied to a specific geographic area of the City. It DOES NOT change an area's base zoning. It DOES provide additional zoning controls in a specific area where existing zoning doesn't provide sufficient standards for the area's current activities.

Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) ensures neighborhoods can offer new housing units at a variety of price points by tying the construction of affordable housing to that of market rate housing.

IZ is used in a variety of cities across the country, and was identified by Pittsburgh's Affordable Housing Task Force to address the City's shortage of affordable dwelling units.

Pittsburgh's first permanent Inclusionary Housing Overlay District was adopted in Lawrenceville in 2021, after two years as a temporary measure.

You can find the zoning text here.

The IZ-O requires new residential developments to make a percentage of the units affordable to low- or moderate-income residents.

No. In 2019, with the partnership of District 7 Councilwoman, Deb Gross, and Lawrenceville community organizations, the City piloted the Inclusionary Housing Interim Planning Overlay District (IPOD-6) in Lawrenceville. This IPOD was a temporary tool to ensure that the neighborhood would continue to be one of choice for people with a variety of incomes. Since its adoption in September 2019, the IPOD-6 has been responsible for the creation of 40 affordably priced housing units.

The Inclusionary Housing Overlay District was made permanent in 2021.

Additionally, Pittsburgh has incentivized inclusionary zoning in its Uptown and Riverfront neighborhoods. In these districts, developers can increase building height or build closer to the river by including affordably priced dwelling units.

Rent or Sale prices are based at certain percentages of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Department and varies by household size. Inclusionary rental units will be set aside for households earning no more than 50% of AMI. Inclusionary for-sale units will be set aside for households earning no more than 80% of AMI. Inclusionary units will be priced at no more than 30% of income, based on these AMI standards.

Pittsburgh MSA Area Median Income by Household Size

Monthly Rental Unit Cost by Household AMI and Unit Size