Pittsburgh council forwards zoning changes for short-term rentals, holds licensing bill
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Summary
After two hours of public comment, Pittsburgh council members sent a zoning amendment defining short-term rentals to the planning commission and voted to hold a separate licensing bill for 12 weeks to allow coordination with enforcement and solicitor briefings; public testimony included both neighborhood concerns and operator pleas for licensing over caps.
Council members on several standing committees advanced zoning changes on Feb. 11 designed to regulate short-term rentals while pausing action on a paired licensing measure.
After roughly two hours of public comment, members moved bill 9 — an ordinance to add a short-term rental use to the city’s zoning code — to the planning commission for a report and recommendation. Separately, Councilwoman Gross successfully moved to hold bill 8, the licensing measure, for 12 weeks to allow time for solicitor briefings and to align the licensing language with upcoming zoning action.
Why it matters: Residents and community groups told council that short-term rentals have reduced housing stock, disrupted neighborhoods and created public-safety risks in places such as the Hill District, East Liberty and Brighton Heights. Supporters of tighter controls urged limits and stronger enforcement; opponents from the operator community said abrupt zoning caps or strict stay limits would harm local workers and small businesses and called for registration and targeted enforcement instead.
Public comment was sharply divided. Kelly DeSavito, speaking on behalf of a community group, called the short-term rental market "a business model that leverages Pittsburgh's affordability and lack of regulation to maximize profit," and urged the city to use zoning and other tools to restrain out-of-town investors. Loretta Payne of the Hill District urged adoption of international "SHIFT directives" that include regulating platform-associated rentals.
Local operators and workers urged a different approach. Chad Wise, founder and CEO of HostWise, described his company’s local employment and tax contributions and asked the council for a precise regulatory regime that holds guests accountable while preserving economic benefits. Jake Tovey of a local short-term rental alliance said the preliminary data show about 4,000 rentable short-term units in the city and argued for licensing and enforcement rather than sweeping building caps.
Council members framed the action as a compromise that protects resident hosts while creating a public-review path for out-of-town or larger operators. Councilwoman Gross said the pair of bills "go together" and that holding the licensing measure would permit more briefing and ensure members are comfortable with enforcement language. Councilman Wilson, a co-sponsor, said the effort responds to neighborhood incidents and longtime constituent concerns about safety and accountability.
Next steps: Bill 9 will be reviewed by the City Planning Commission for public hearings and a recommendation; the licensing bill (bill 8) will remain held for 12 weeks for additional drafting, solicitor briefings and coordination with the planning process. No final licensing or zoning restrictions have yet been adopted.
Quotes and sources are drawn from the committee meeting transcript and on-the-record public comment and council discussion. The meeting concluded with the council sending the zoning amendment to the planning commission and shelving the licensing bill to give staff and members time to reconcile enforcement language and process details.