Title
Ordinance amending the Pittsburgh Code, Title Nine, Zoning Code, Article III, Overlay Zoning Districts, Chapter 907, Development Overlay Districts, Section 907.02, IPOD, Interim Planning Overlay District, by adding a new section 907.02.I to establish a new Interim Planning Overlay District for Uptown.
Body
The Council of the City of Pittsburgh hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1.
*Amend Article III, Chapter 907.02.I - IPOD-4, Uptown, to read as follows:
907.02.I IPOD-4, Uptown
907.02.I.1 General Boundaries
The Uptown Interim Planning Overlay District is generally defined by properties located in the Bluff/Uptown and West Oakland neighborhoods bounded by Colwell Street/Fifth Avenue, Beelen Street, Crosstown Boulevard, Boulevard of the Allies, and the western edge of the OPR-D zoning district, but does not include existing SP or EMI zoning districts. Specific boundaries of the district are mapped as a supplement to the City's Zoning District Map.
907.02.I.2 Intent
The intent of the Uptown Interim Planning Overlay District is generally to create a regulatory mechanism in an area where substantial development growth is imminent and where both the impact of individual development projects and the collective impact of such development on public resources and private properties is not mitigated through the existing zoning classification. Due to the unique circumstances in Uptown at this point in time, the existing zoning classifications do not serve to carry out the purpose and intent of Chapter 901 and all the provisions of this Zoning Ordinance. Specifically, the intent of the Uptown IPOD is:
(a) To protect existing residential, commercial and office uses and encourage new uses that are complementary to the context of the mixed-use nature of Uptown;
(b) To protect and enhance the area's architecture, which includes building siting, massing, facade treatment, materials, proportion, and scale; and
(c) To allow for a thorough and effective community process that encourages quality development in Uptown.
907.02.I.3 Need for Interim Zoning
The Uptown Overlay District is necessary to provide the proper balance between competing land uses, development pressures and regional economic factors. Characteristics of existing zoning which render it inappropriate include its failure to provide:
(a) A mix of uses and magnitudes of uses which stabilize and conserve the value of land and buildings;
(b) Design requirements for development consistent with the existing character of the neighborhood;
(c) Development criteria which facilitate high quality development;
(d) The ability for neighborhood stakeholders to provide input on small and medium size projects which have a high impact on the public realm;
(e) The ability for neighborhood stakeholders to provide input on building demolitions and the proposed re-use of such properties.
907.02.I.4 Applicability
In the Uptown Overlay District, every building demolition; every new, enlarged or reconstructed advertising sign; every new or enlarged parking area with frontage on a major street; and every structure erected or enlarged by more than 2400 square feet shall, in addition to conforming to all regulations the Zoning Code, be in accord with an Overlay District Project Development Plan (PDP) of Sec. 922.10.E.2 approved by the Planning Commission.
907.02.I.5 Standards
(a) All Project Development Plans within the IPOD-4 shall be subject to Design Review.
(b) All developments of the use type Parking, Commercial are prohibited (as described in the Use Table; Sec. 911.02).
(c) No parking, accessory or primary, shall be constructed with frontage on Fifth Avenue, Forbes Avenue, or Boulevard of the Allies. All such uses shall be located to the rear of the lot with access to be provided from secondary streets or ways.
(d) Landscaping and screening standards (Chapter 918) shall apply to all Project Development Plans within the IPOD-4 district. No exemptions to landscaping and screening standards for small off-street parking areas (as outlined in Sec. 918.01.B.2) shall be granted.
(e) Project Development Plans that are filed for building demolitions shall include a report, study, or statement of the property's future use that meets the review criteria of Sec. 922.10.E.2.
(f) For properties which are proposed to be used as vacant lots following a demolition as part of a Project Development Plan, such vacancy shall be considered to be a site feature subject to screening standards (Chapter 918.03), with no exemptions (Sec. 918.01.B).