Quote:
Originally Posted by Lobick
FWIW...I think it helps if we name names. David Demko and Stephen Pascal...and ultimately just Pascal.
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I did almost say "North Side NIMBY" in singular instead.
I was aware of almost all of the backstory, and have posted about it before, but I felt like something short and pithy and angry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bossride
You can blame the NIMBYs all you want, but the real blame lies with the URA and city council. They've had decades to change the zoning laws to accommodate the changing neighborhood. If the zoning laws had been changed, there would not have been the need for a variance and special exception.
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This is a good point. I've mentioned to people before there's something deeply wrong with Pittsburgh zoning insofar as it just takes someone willing to hire a lawyer to essentially kill any project which requires a variance. The logical conclusion here would be to overhaul city zoning. It's been done to a limited extent in select parts of the city (Uptown, and now the riverfronts) but we really need to have something more comprehensive.
I'd like to see the city drastically simplify the zoning code. I realize that the areas zoned for single-family residential aren't going anywhere. But I think the city could roll Residential Multifamily (RM), the commercial zoning types (LNC, UNC, HC, and the little used NDO), and a lot of the land now zoned for light industrial (NDI and UI) into a new "mixed use" category. Make there be three different potential building heights, but have the areas open to just about any use other than heavy manufacturing. Then see what happens.