Pittsburgh council holds public hearing on Bill 12‑14 to add 'interim housing' as a zoning use

Pittsburgh City Council held a public hearing Aug. 26 on Bill 12‑14, an ordinance that would add a new zoning use called “interim housing” and add use standards to Title 9 of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances.

City zoning administrator and chief zoning officer Corey Lehman told the council the proposal grew out of earlier work on temporary managed communities and fair‑housing amendments and that the planning commission reviewed the package and recommended it to council with two conditions: remove a proposed four‑year sunset for interim housing and add wraparound services as a program to be reported in the operations and management plan.

The bill would add “interim housing” as a special‑exception use in primarily mixed‑use commercial zoning districts and require applicants to submit an operations and management plan describing site layout, living arrangements and services. That plan would be reviewed in a public hearing by the city’s zoning board, city staff said.

Public commenters urged amendments or cautioned against relying on housing alone.…