Report from City Council Hearing

First, a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who reached out, sent letters, came to the hearing, spoke publicly, made your voices heard. It is amazing to feel part of a community that seeks to support the good and the just and the very best in communities.

About 20 people provided testimony at Council today, and NOT ONE of them spoke in support of the actual rezoning of the sites. Recurring themes included:

• The need and desire for a housing strategy that will address both short term emergencies and a long-term strategy and ensure equitable access to transit, community services, and economic opportunities;
• The need for public park spaces equivalent to (or greater than) the existing as a common ground and communal gathering place;
• The need for an inclusive and comprehensive planning process that takes the deliberate time needed to develop such a vision.

It is clear that there is a true need for a collective and collaborative vision for these important gateway properties in East Liberty, one which supports affordable and market rate housing, neighborhood serving retail development that enhances a vision of community entrepreneurship, and public parks that serve as our collective living rooms and front porches.

After the hearing, we were pleased and surprised to read a public statement from the Mayor's Office that the City Requires Enright Park to Remain Public. This is an enormous step forward. We are cautiously optimistic that there can be a collaborative solution, but we are holding our breath a bit to see the proposed process for moving forward.

East Liberty is in the midst of a dramatic reinvention - we only have the blink of an eye to catch the reigns. Many feel that is is already too late, but others who call this community home hope that it is not too late to ensure equitable development and invest in our local talents and creativity to establish a vision for the future.

Please continue to make our voices heard by reaching out to members of Council and the Mayor's Office to let them know that we will be heard, and that we will be part of the future of this community. 

We will be ramping up further in the next few weeks with our messages and coordination. We are still all volunteer, so if you are interested in helping to spread the word and participate, please let us know. You can reach us at info@enrightpark.org.

We are also opening a press room for communications. You will be able to find press releases and media alerts about planning and development activities in East Liberty and throughout the East End here. Please stay tuned and stay informed.

And thank you. Thank you for caring about this community, and for the fate of your neighbors. If the past six months has taught us anything, it is that our community will always sustain us.

Sample Letter and Contact Information for City Council

This post will inevitably be linked to many times, and in many ways, but here is the complete list of contact information for members of City Council. Please write to them to let them know that the Penn Plaza - Enright Parklet site must have a community-driven master plan that defines a vision for livability that includes both affordable and market-rate housing, transit access, neighborhood-scaled retail, and, of course, a public park that serves all members of our community.

In addition, if you are at a loss for words, you can use this sample letter as a starting point for your correspondence. Please add your own voice and specific concerns that you have about the proposal.

Bruce A. Kraus, Councilman, City Council President, District 3
Email: bruce.kraus@pittsburghpa.gov
Tel. 412-255-2130

Darlene Harris, District 1
darlene.harris@pittsburghpa.gov
Tel. 412-255-2135

Theresa Kail-Smith, Councilwoman, District 2
theresa.kail-smith@pittsburghpa.gov
Tel. 412-255-8963

Natalia Rudiak, District 4
ashleigh.deemer@pittsburghpa.gov [Ashleigh Deemer Chief of Staff]
Tel. (412) 255-2131

Corey O’Connor, District 5
curt.conrad@pittsburghpa.gov  [Curt Conrad, Chief of Staff]
Tel. 412-255-8965

R. Daniel Lavelle, District 6
daniel.wood@pittsburghpa.gov  [Daniel Wood Chief of Staff]
Tel. 412-255-2134

Deborah Gross, District 7
District7@pittsburghpa.gov
Tel. 412-255-2140

Dan Gilman, District 8
erika.strassburger@pittsburghpa.gov [Erika Strassburger, Chief of Staff]
Tel. 412.255.2133

Rev. Ricky V. Burgess, District 9
reverend.burgess@pittsburghpa.gov
Tel. (412)-255-2137

Public Hearing at City Council on the Rezoning of the Park and Penn Plaza Sites

Public Hearing at City Council on the Rezoning of the Park and Penn Plaza Sites

·        There is a public hearing on Tuesday, March 22nd in City Council chambers (5^th Floor, 414 Grant Street aka the City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh). This hearing is for the rezoning of the park and the Penn Plaza site from residential districts to a mixed-use commercial district. PLEASE come to make our voices heard at City Council. 

Sign-up to speak at the hearing here: http://pittsburghpa.gov/cityclerk/form/signup.php

The hearing is for Bills Number 2015-2300 and 2016-0033 for Enright Parklet. If you do not sign-up to speak, you will have one minute of time. If you sign-up, you will have 3 minutes (same as at Planning Commission)

Here are some key points to think about for preparing comments or writing to voice your opposition to the rezoning as proposed:

• The second community meeting on the project was disappointing. LG Realty offered no specific plans for the overall project that contained any specific details as to building sizes, shapes or uses. The community repeatedly requested more information since the project first came to light in October. The "diagram" of potential green space was essentially identical to the plan submitted in October. The neighborhood gets a small green space; the developer gets a profit-driven "festival street" and an increased building footprint on the rest of the park. You can see more on the Facebook page here.

• This lack of information about building form and uses stands in stark contrast to what we have seen provided to the Lawrenceville community by the Milhaus interests or, indeed, in any PLDP (Preliminary Land Development Plan) for recent projects that can be found posted on the web: Bakery Square, the Strip produce yards, and the Lower Hill. Why is Council being asked to approve a zone change with so little solid planning work behind it?

• The zoning code requires that City Council receive a PLDP as a condition for considering a change of zoning to AP Planned Unit Development, as is the case with Enright Park and Penn Plaza. When we asked the Planning Director what would be submitted to Council (of the sketchy diagrams shown at Tuesday’s meeting) and when the submittal to Council would be available for public review, he indicated that he would get back to the community with this information. We have no further information, and we have nothing to provide comment on.

• As a result, we believe that at both the hearing and at any subsequent Council vote in the near future, no meaningful project plan or plan for the future of Enright Park or the Penn Plaza development site will be made available to either the public or Council members. For this reason, we are asking that City Council either postpone action on this matter until such a plan is available or vote against the rezoning. 

East Liberty needs and deserves a master plan for this critical site that is both a gateway and a bridge between several communities. Until a plan has been developed in collaboration with the community, and properly vetted, there can be no rezoning of these properties. Our message is that City property is not for sale, that public parks are not meant to serve developers' interests, and that development in our neighborhoods has to be driven by the people who live in them, not by outside interests who look to profit from public lands.

Join the Enright Park Neighborhood Association Today!

It's official!

We have launched the Enright Park Neighborhood Association, founded to give voices to residents, business owners, organizations, and other community members adjacent to Enright Parklet a voice.

Being a member helps to build a forum for community dialogue, and a way to share information about what is happening in our community. And it helps us to build strength as our community questions the development that is being proposed without our input.

Our goals are to:

FOSTER community engagement in the planning and development process in our neighborhood
ENHANCE the livability of the neighborhood through collaborative processes
SUPPORT existing community members and the struggle to maintain affordability in the face of a changing East Liberty
COMMUNICATE information about what is happening in our neighborhood, East Liberty, and throughout the East End

Please become a member today by completing the membership form here. You don't live or work in the neighborhood? You can still become a Friend of Enright Park and support the community goals! Use the membership form to indicate your support.

Community Meeting on the Future of the Park!

PLEASE JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORS FOR AN UPDATE ON THE FUTURE OF ENRIGHT PARKLET!

 

WHEN: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 from 6 PM - 7:30 PM
WHERE: Community Room at East Liberty Place South, located at 5836 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15206

 

Join your friends and neighbors for an update on the planning efforts for Enright Parklet and the Penn Plaza redevelopment project. Community participation in this process is critical to its success and to the future of East Liberty’s public spaces!

Children are also welcome to this meeting. Community members will have activities for them.

This meeting is hosted by the Department of City Planning, City of Pittsburgh.
For more information, contact Justin Miller, senior planner, at justin.miller@pittsburghpa.gov.

For information about the efforts of the East Liberty community to preserve and improve Enright Parklet as a public asset, please check out the following:

TALK to us on the community blog: enrightpark.org
FOLLOW us on Twitter: @enrightpark
LIKE us on Facebook: Save Enright Parklet
VISIT Enright Parklet, located at the intersection of Eva Street and Amber Street in East Liberty. Bring your basketball, your bike, your picnic basket, or a good book!
QUESTIONS? info@enrightpark.org

Download the poster and share with your neighbors here. 

Rezoning Hearing Postponed! Community Meeting about Park Planning Next Week!

Big updates in these parts!
The Mayor's Office announced yesterday that the rezoning hearing on the park and Penn Plaza would be postponed until Tuesday, March 22 at 1:30 PM in order to allow the community planning process to move forward without predetermined outcomes. See the full press release here.

This is fantastic news and we really appreciate the Administration's efforts to fully engage the community in this important planning process.

Thank you to everyone who helped us lobby for this important schedule change.

(and remember to come to the rescheduled hearing as well!)

Community Park Planning Meeting: Tuesday, February 23 at 6 PM
The next big step will be a public meeting on the planning efforts for the proposed redevelopment of the park and Penn Plaza. A core working group of residents, stakeholders, the City, and the developers will be reporting out on the work to date to the community, and soliciting input.

The meeting will be held at East Liberty Place South, 5836 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15206. Children are welcome to attend and to participate! We will have activities for them as well.

Save the Date: Tuesday, March 15 at 6 PM, location TBD.
This will be the second of the two community meetings about the park planning efforts. Stay tuned for more details.

Important Updates and Upcoming Meetings!

This is why we do what we do. This is our community. This is our future

 
It’s been a while since there has been an update and apologies for the long silence. There have been a number of conversations happening and trying to get a handle on how to deal with the park situation. 

Public Hearing at City Council on the Rezoning of the Park and Penn Plaza Sites

·        There is a public hearing on Tuesday, February 16^th at 1:30 PM in City Council chambers (5^th Floor, 414 Grant Street aka the City-County Building, Downtown Pittsburgh). This hearing is for the rezoning of the park and the Penn Plaza site from residential districts to a mixed-use commercial district. PLEASE come to make our voices heard at City Council. 

Sign-up to speak at the hearing here: http://pittsburghpa.gov/cityclerk/form/signup.php

The hearing is for Bills Number 2015-2300 and 2016-0033 for Enright Parklet. If you do not sign-up to speak, you will have one minute of time. If you sign-up, you will have 3 minutes (same as at Planning Commission)

Unlike Planning Commission, Council are elected officials. Which means that if large groups of voters show up demanding that they either deny or table the zone change request, they will be more likely to listen. Help us buy time for a REAL community process to get under way and bring our neighbors to the table!

Park Planning Workshops and Meetings

·        There is a planning process that is beginning to get under way about what COULD happen for the park and the adjacent property. A group of neighbors have been meeting with City Planning and pushing on them to hold a community process. There will be a meeting on Tuesday, February 23^rd at 6 PM to talk about park planning. This meeting will be held at East Liberty Place South, located at the corner of Penn Avenue and South Beatty Street. PLEASE come and share this with others. More information to follow.  A second meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 15^th at 6 PM, so please save the date. Location TBD.

Isn't this all a little backwards? Yes, yes it is...

·        Under normal circumstances, the planning would happen BEFORE the properties are rezoned. These are not normal circumstances. 

      Because this planning process is happening AFTER the public hearing on the zone change, we are asking that Council TABLE the decision on the rezoning until the process is complete. If you plan to speak at Council, please consider including this in your talking points. We don’t need them to outright deny the zone change, but as a community, we need more time to work with the City on the planning process, and ensure the best possible outcome for the community that lives here! 

There will be additional updates in the next few days as well, so please watch here, on Facebook, and on Twitter.