Communities nationwide are suffering from a lack of affordable housing, and housing production is not meeting the increasing demand for accessible and available units in many urban and rural areas, particularly areas of high opportunity.

In response to this need, HUD has issued the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO: FR-6800-N-98), Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO HOUSING) grant under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-12242, approved March 9, 2024), which appropriates $100 million for competitive grant funding for the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation.

Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh intend to submit a joint application to secure $7 million dollars in funding to encourage and facilitate the production and preservation of housing affordable for low and moderate income households throughout the County and the City.

Where you live and how you move through life are closely linked. Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh want residents to get to work, school, or their favorite park, shop, or loved ones' homes in accessible, convenient, and economical ways that work for them.

The All In Allegheny Action Plan was released after a five-month process to translate community priorities into County government policy. Nearly 19,000 residents from all 130 municipalities throughout Allegheny County engaged with the All In Survey and over 650 residents joined five County Conversations, small-group discussions between County employees, elected officials, and residents about community priorities. County and community leaders worked together to analyze data on community priorities and develop the suite of recommendations contained in the All In Allegheny Plan. The All In Plan contained 14 discreet actions under the banner of “Housing For All” specifically:

“Support the development of affordable housing near public transit stations” and “Introduce and scale model zoning ordinances that can be adopted by willing municipalities”.

Recently, the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning introduced a suite of proposed zoning code amendments that would increase affordable housing and lower barriers to development of a variety of housing options. The suite of amendments are a result of the recommendations from the 2022 Housing Needs Assessment.

Creating density and opportunities for both housing and commercial spaces through zoning code changes and pre-development support will help residents remain in communities and create sustainable mixed-use and mixed-income opportunities.

Recognizing that development can induce displacement of residents, both the County and the City will also use PRO Housing Grant funding to create anti-displacement policies.