Metro21 Attends 11th Annual Community Development Summit

Metro21 attended the 11th Annual Community Development Summit. The Keynote Speaker was Andre Perry.

• Black homes are valued less than other homes
  • Life better if homes valued more
  • Better schools, more opportunity to start business
  • Drug use wouldn’t have been criminalized
• $156 million = 4.4 million black-owned business
• Home values show how we value black people
• “Just because you follow the law doesn't’t mean it will lead to positive outcomes”
• As the neighborhood gets blacker, Yelp reviews go down à less customers; costing these business up to 4 Billion a year.
• • Need new credit scoring systems, that don’t penalize black people from having low wealth
  • Equity = Stimulus
  • Step 1: Plan for investment – black communities are not getting the investments they deserve but we don’t have any systems to hold banks accountable for not investing
  • Perry is funding a challenge for new zoning ordinances, mortgage products, new credit score system, and additional innovations to find solutions to repair federal government broken system.

   

   

  11:30 am Session: Creating Transit-Oriented Communities, starting with Zoning

  • A talk by Benjamin Estell, Breen Masciotra and Lydia Morin Borough of Dormont, Port Authority of Allegheny County and Congress of Neighboring Communities (CONNECT)

   

  • Transit Orient Development (TOD) vs. Mixed Used/Walkable Developments

   

  • Transit Orient Development encourages local business patronage
  • TOD Reduces infrastructure cost for parking
  • TOD is a connection to transit
  • TOD is First and Last Mile (FLM) à Walkable experience can be improved using TOD, improving the places people walk encourages public transit. 
• • Port Authority TOD Work
    • Created TOD Guidelines containing best practices for the planning and design and recommendation for entire service area of Port Authority
      • User experience, station context, equity
    • Station Improvement Program – Invest in infrastructure in key locations of TOD
    • Joint Development – Real estate development on Port Authority property in conjunction with an outside developer
    • Community Planning
      • TOD Zoning, Municipal Planning, Neighborhood Planning
      • Improve zoning codes to encourage TOD in partnership with CONNECT
    • CONNECT
      • Congress of Neighboring Communities
      • Share transportation information between municipalities and the city of Pittsburgh
        • Pass resolutions decided unanimously by CONNECT to advocate for transportation legislation changes in the City of Pittsburgh
      • Local Example of Reframing Zones: Borough of Dormont
        
        • Multifamily housing (Typically Low SES and POC Residents) – zoned in industrial areas à zoning protected those who were wealthy and punished those who were not + created a separation of wealth within the community
        • DCED provided a Grant + advisership to help reframe zones in Dormont + guidelines provided by Port Authority
        • Community Engagement to introduce/educate community of Zoning channels and get community input:
        • Drive In Movie + Presentation about Zoning + Follow-Up of results of community engagement
        • Chalk Walk – Take a piece of street/pathway in community and divide it into sections. Allow residents to come in and Code each color to represent what they value in the community (example: yellow = environmental landscape, pink = community gathering spaces)
        • Walk and Tell – Go pro camera + walk = Zoning info chat while pointing them out in the community (driveways next to each other, housing placements) + pamphlet to do walk on your own and provide input on keeping certain elements on current zoning codes
        • Now Zoning split up by TYPE and not by USE
        • New zone code make it easier to allow for residents to use their home as additional income to stay in the community
        • Improve the zoning code PDF, reorganization, more user friendly + visual to help residents better understand and use the code
        • Use zoning code to improve community wellbeing
          • Example: 10% of neighborhood convenience store must be fresh produce à prevent food islands

   

   

  • TOD Guidelines Developed by Port Authority
    • “Form Based Code - a land development regulation that fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm by using physical form (rather than separation of uses) as the organizing principle for the code. A form-based code is a regulation, not a mere guideline, adopted into city, town, or county law” à Organizing zones by type, not use
    • Port Authority hosted a Developer Discussion with these communities and provided professional advice on transforming their community into TOD, tips on how to evaluate zoning code, tools to achieve affordable housing
    • Ultimately developed TOD Guidelines and Zoning Best Practices to serve as a guide to communities who are looking into improving zoning to better the community
    • TOD Guidelines: https://www.portauthority.org/link/8b41404f2c4d466bb5882e4e3a85c1a2.aspx
    • TOD Zoning Best Practices: https://www.portauthority.org/link/5b159c8e0f7347b992b6f175daa81b0c.aspx
    • Above used by Dormont