Pittsburgh Zoning Districts - RIV-MU 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-MU (Riverfront Mixed-Use) subdistrict. Other posts will cover the RIV-MU’s use regulations, the other subdistricts of the RIV district: RIV-RM, RIV-NS, RIV-GI, and RIV-IMU, 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-MU zoning subdistrict covers 0.78 square miles or 1.60% of Pittsburgh. As is the case with the rest of the RIV, the RIV-MU subdistrict is located along Pittsburgh’s rivers. Some portions of this subdistrict are separated from the rivers by other RIV subdistricts. Areas zoned RIV-MU are located in riverside areas of the neighborhoods of Bluff, Central Lawrenceville, Elliot, Esplen, Highland Park, Morningside, Troy Hill, and Upper Lawrenceville.
Challenges
The RIV-MU’s purpose statement (905.04.A.2.b) emphasizes a mix of land uses and good connectivity without calling for a specific urban form.
Like the other RIV subdistricts, the RIV-MU includes areas within the Riparian Zone and Floodplain overlays, as well as areas immediately adjacent to the rivers that fall within Potential Steep Slope Overlay areas. A few relatively small areas also fall within the Landslide-Prone Overlay.
Other than the environmental overlays, few other overlay areas impact the RIV-MU subdistrict; at time of writing, no RIV-MU areas fall within any Registered Community Organization (RCO) areas. When researching a particular site or parcel, the Interactive Zoning Map can be used to confirm any overlay areas the site does fall within.
Conclusion
Projects in the RIV-MU 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 reviews may be required.
