Pittsburgh Zoning Districts - RIV-IMU 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. In some cases, the district also sets the required level of zoning review. 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 challenges when working on a site in the RIV-IMU (Riverfront Industrial Mixed-Use) subdistrict. Other posts will cover the RIV-IMU’s use regulations, the other subdistricts of the RIV district: RIV-RM, RIV-MU, RIV-NS, and RIV-GI, and the complexities of the RIV regulations, including the RIV’s density, height, and parking regulations, design standards, environmental standards, as well as the application of the performance points system in the RIV district.
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 RIV-IMU zoning subdistrict covers 2.08 square miles or 4.27% of Pittsburgh. Like the rest of the RIV, the RIV-IMU subdistrict is located along Pittsburgh’s rivers. Areas zoned RIV-IMU are located in riverside areas of the neighborhoods of Central Lawrenceville, Chateau, Highland Park, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, Lower Lawrenceville, South Shore, South Side Flats, the Strip District, Troy Hill, and Upper Lawrenceville.
Challenges
The purpose statement of the RIV-IMU subdistrict (905.04.A.2.e) makes note of the historic industrial uses of these areas. It sets a goal of maintaining some industrial uses, particularly those that are focused on technology and research, but also expanding the uses in these areas to include commercial and denser residential uses.
Like all RIV subdistricts, the RIV-IMU includes Floodplain and Riparian Zone Overlay areas, as well as Potential Steep Slope Overlay areas mainly located immediately along the shorelines. The Interactive Zoning Map can confirm if any environmental overlays impact a given site.
Due to the noncontiguous nature of the RIV-IMU subdistrict, some RIV-IMU areas are within Registered Community Organization (RCO) areas, but others are not. Where review by Planning Commission is required for projects in the RIV, as outlined in code section 905.04.C.3, or in cases where Zoning Board of Adjustment, Art Commission, or Historic Review Commission hearings are required, projects whose sites also fall within an RCO area will need to fulfill those requirements.
In addition to environmental and process-based overlays, some of the RIV-IMU subdistrict is located in the Inclusionary Housing Overlay District (IZ-O). Provisions of the IZ-O can be found in zoning code section 907.04.
Conclusion
Projects in the RIV-IMU are subject to all requirements that apply to the RIV as a whole, including standards setting level of review by project scope. As in any zoning district, environmental and public process reviews may be required, and, in particular in the RIV-IMU, the Inclusionary Housing Overlay may also need to be taken into consideration.
