Pittsburgh Zoning Districts - OPR Overview
By Kathleen Oldrey
Introduction
Zoning districts are a fundamental building block of zoning regulations and set the base use, height, and density standards for the area they cover. Pittsburgh has over 50 distinct mapped zoning districts. This series of guides is unpacking each of these districts.
In this post, we provide an overview of the OPR (Oakland Public Realm) zoning district. Additional posts will dive into the use and density regulations for each of the four subdistricts: OPR-A, OPR-B, OPR-C, and OPR-D.
Refer to our Introduction to Pittsburgh’s Zoning Districts for the complete list of base zoning districts in the city. Pittsburgh’s interactive zoning map can be used to verify the project site’s zoning district.
Overview
The OPR (Oakland Public Realm) zoning district covers 0.16 square miles or 0.33% of Pittsburgh. It is one of three public realm districts in Pittsburgh. These districts are intended to provide special regulations in areas experiencing substantial development that could affect their unique importance to the City.
Oakland is a cluster of Pittsburgh neighborhoods east of downtown. It has the highest concentration of institutions and cultural amenities in the city. It is home to Carlow College, the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), multiple UPMC hospitals, the Phipps Conservatory (Phipps), Schenley Park (the second largest city park), and the Carnegie Institute complex (housing the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History, the main Carnegie Library, and the Carnegie Music Hall). These institutions create unique development pressure on the surrounding streets. The Public Realm district seeks to find a balance between the differing needs of the neighborhoods.
Challenges
Public realm districts often require a higher level of review for proposed development. In the Oakland Public Realm district, proposed development is subject to review by Planning Commission unless:
all proposed exterior work has a cost of less than $50,000;
any proposed exterior work doesn’t impact the public realm; or
the proposed development consists of only interior work, unless this interior work creates four or more dwelling units.
Planning Commission review requires documentation beyond what is required for a basic zoning review, as well as presentation of the project at two Planning Commission meetings. There is an additional fee for this level of review.
Proposed development in the OPR that does not require review by Planning Commission may still require site plan review if it meets a site plan review threshold such as creating a use that always requires a site plan review or being subject to Residential Compatibility standards.
Depending on a project’s location, standards associated with environmental overlay districts such as the Landslide-Prone (Chapter 906.04) and Steep Slope (Chapter 906.08) Overlays may apply. If a project is across the street from, adjacent to, or within 200 feet of property zoned residential (R1-D, R1-A, R2, R3, or H), some Residential Compatibility standards (Chapter 916) may apply; depending on the distance from residentially-zoned property, these could include dimensional or operational standards.
Part of the OPR zoning district falls within a Parking Reduction zone; in areas of the OPR affected by the parking reduction, the parking requirement for non-residential uses is decreased by 50%. Parking reduction zones are mapped on Pittsburgh’s interactive zoning map.
Conclusion
OPR use and density standards vary across its subdistricts, which will be discussed in future posts, but regardless of the subdistrict, zoning reviews of development in the OPR may require public processes or additional documentation beyond basic review requirements.
