Expanding Discrimination Protections & Unsafe Affordable Housing - City Council Week of Jan 27.

Update

• After an 11-hour meeting, the Pittsburgh Planning Commission approved Mayor Gainey’s zoning proposal for affordable homes. The proposal now goes to City Council for a final vote.

On the Docket

• The Council considered 3 new changes to Pittsburgh's Home Rule Charter:
• To align with the city's existing discrimination policies
• To limit future amendments from restricting or expanding the city's authority
• Restricting the Lease and/or Sale of the City’s Water and Sewer System to a private company
• Council held a special meeting on ongoing problems with NB Affordable Properties, a manager of affordable housing.

Council continued discussion and heard public comments on three proposed questions related to amending the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter. These referenda could be included on the May 2025 Primary Election ballot. Council’s votes authorized the ordinances necessary to have the referenda added to the ballot by the Allegheny County Board of Elections.

• Councilperson Coghill expressed concern that referendum questions can be confusing to voters if not worded carefully and wanted to ensure none of the proposed items are misleading, even unintentionally.
• Council members expressed concern that a community-advocacy-led referendum intended to bar the city from doing business with companies tied to Israel could hamper Council’s ability to fulfill its obligations. Both the anti-discrimination referendum and the referendum addressing the potential misuse of the Home Rule Charter amendment process are in response to that ballot initiative.

Action Items

Let the City Council know how you feel about the above issues by taking this brief survey. I’ll share everyone’s thoughts directly before they take a vote.

Take the survey here (~1 minute)