As advocacy consultant or upstream Pittsburgh and the Environmental Justice Table consultant and the Action Oversight Committee consultant for environmental justice.

The environmental justice team and the work that they do on equitable equitable construction policies in Pittsburgh demonstrates that environmental outcomes are directly shaped by governance processes, public participation, and equitable access to information.

Communities most impacted by demolition practices, environmental exposure, and redevelopment decisions rely on timely notice, transparency, budgeting, and accessible public engagement to protect health land use stability and community continuity.

Procedure safeguards addressed in bills 2026-0039 and 2026-0040 are foundational to advancing environmental justice policies goals, including responsible deconstruction practices, equitable resource allocation, and community-informed environment of decision making.

Strengthening participation mechanisms supports the city's capacity to implement environmental justice policies effectively and equitably across resident and community member communities, and the separate and distinct communities have Aboriginal American Nations people.

Thank you so much for keeping transparency in line with environmental justice depressed communities.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is MJ Shaehan.

So we are just working to enable the camera so we can have our interpreter.

We're working on our end here to get the video up, so just working on it.

Thank you.

Hello, hi there.

Hi everyone.

My name is MJ Shaheen.

I'm a deaf individual.

I'm in the Pittsburgh area.

My question is this.

Airbnbs in this area.

It's not good.

For example, for the lights for deaf people.

Where's the lighting for deaf people?

For doors, doorbells, they need flashing signals.

There aren't any.

You know, there's some number, key cooks, keypads, and then for entry, a fire alarm.

There's no flashing fire alarms or requirements.

So you can smell the smoke from a fire, and there's an alarm, or car sorry, or a carbon monoxide alarm that's ownerless and you and there's no flashing alarm.

The TV, a lot of them have not set up closed captioning.

I have the remote, I'm looking, I'm searching for the captioning, and they need to explain that on the list.

Because all TVs are different.

They're different systems, they have different needs.

So it should explain here's how to access captioning on this television and this Airbnb.

A few different examples.

We need ADA laws to be followed, all of them for, you know, and they need to be deaf friendly.

So in the community, we have a, for example, we have an Airbnb, we have, you know, so there's a whole lot, there's a whole lot of them.

The whole area needs to be more deaf friendly and accessible.

There's something to think about, okay?

If if you have any questions, let me know.

Are there any questions?

We as counsel are not permitted to respond to public comment, but certainly we can open a line of communication outside of this public comment period.

Okay.

Yeah, please, but don't forget because the deaf community absolutely needs to follow the AD, or sorry, the city of Pittsburgh and the Airbnb needs to follow the ADA laws for equal accessibility for all deaf people.

Thank you so much.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Callie DeSabado.

Hello, can you all hear me?

I can hear you.

Um, my name is Callie De Savateau, and I live in the north side.

So last night at the Houseback Community Meeting, Zone One police officers fielded a number of questions about short-term rentals.

I want to be clear that the heart of this issue is not policing issue, and policing will not be the solution to a problem.

It's also not an issue of good operators versus listening operators, which is a narrative that benefits Airbnb.

What's really at the heart of this issue is an unregulated and unaccountable industry.

I'd like to remind everybody that the majority of short-term rental operators are out of eight investors who own multiple listings.

Check your neighborhood Airbnb on the county assessment website.

They don't care if the walk is shoveled or the trash is out.

In their own testimony, they position themselves as a hotel alternative and make it clear that there is an entire equation built around short-term rentals.

Cadvice has 112 listings on Airbnb.

Though I believe him to be a responsible operator, and I applaud him for being an adoration because he lives in our beautiful city.

His business operates more facilities than the East Ohio Street Comfort and in Sleet Hut Rooms.

Why is this hotel alternative exempt from similar regulatory and safety stances?

This is a hospitality industry, and it is one that does not abide by regulations and restrictions that other industry players like hotels or bed and breakfasts do.

Our zoning regulations and definitions already provide guidance for regulating these types of properties.

At the beating heart of this all is a hospitality industry that is not only squeezing all our already in crisis housing market, but it is also currently unregulated and unaccountable to operating and safety standards, aside from reviews left within the fact that itself I guess.

This is big business.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Harvey Holtz.

Good morning, Council members.

How are you?

I'm still Harvey Holtz.

And I live in East Liberty.

I want to speak to short-term rentals, but I must apologize.

I can't find the really interesting way to do this to be entertaining.

So I'll just be brief.

So I believe the legislation is designed to ensure that long-time rentals and home for purchase are available and not um oh gee, I'm sorry.

Are available.

And that rents and the purchase of homes are cheap enough.

Short-term rentals will come into this.

I assume your legislation deals with this.

Also, the neighborhood with short-term rentals changes from residential businesses to um.

Um gee, I'm sorry, my notes are up.

To tourist type businesses.

And the legislation would eliminate parties and violence.

And hopefully also it would eliminate outside capital extreme wealth from leaving the city.

Now, I think the legislation does help to do this, but it has to go further.

The five-unit housing limits will not prevent an investor from buying many sets of five properties near the original purchase, which will not decrease the negative effects on the economy or on the community.

And again, not reducing the negative impacts on the economy.

So I suggest instead of limiting short-term units to five per building.

Not just to that, but the five per person or corporation.

No more than five.

Then your moms and pops could have their businesses and live in this economy, and we won't extract capital from here.

So I think it's very important to limit it, or else you're not going to accomplish your goals.

Sorry for my uh lapses here, but that's my position.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Carlin Christie's Carlin with us.

We will come back to Carlin.

Our next speaker is Jody Rafal.

Not seeing Jody with us.

We'll come back to them.

Our next speaker is Maya Fischoff.

So it's a pleasure to be here and to talk to all of you.

And I'm uh just echoing in some ways what the others, your name and neighborhood.

Oh, sorry.

I'm Maya Fischoff, I live in Squirrel Hill.

And I worked for more than a decade for a business school doing corporate sustainability.

So I thought I would just speak speak from that position, which is um that Airbnb was kind of a case study for us in terms of what happens when you start with a good idea and it kind of runs away.

So, you know, here's something that really began as the sharing economy, began as a a way for people to rent out an extra room and has kind of been driven by profit to um and and lack of regulation to lead to over tourism, kind of defined as you know, changing the way of life or the experience of community for for the folks who actually live there and also having the effects that everybody's mentioned on housing availability and pricing.

So really I'm just here to echo and amplify and provide the veneer of research to um to what folks are saying and and to uh say how glad I am to see um the council considering this legislation that I think would help protect the the Pittsburgh that uh that we know and love.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Liretta Payne.

Good morning all.

It's nice to see everyone here.

My name's Liretta Payne.

I'm a longtime resident of the Hill District, and I love my community.

I am here representing Pittsburgh Human Rights City Alliance in the Hill District Consensus Group.

I am here to ask you for legislation regarding Airbnbs.

On my street alone, there are five Airbnbs.

What this does is it diminishes the housing stock in the Hill District, it disrupts families, it disrupts communities, and it disrupts culture.

Umbers of City Council to adopt the SHIFT directives.

It's authored by Lelani Farhar.

She's a former UN rapporteur regarding housing.

The shift directives or the first ever comprehensive framework providing governments and investors with guidance to effectively address the financialization of housing in accordance with human rights law.

There are 10 shift directives, but more importantly, for our meeting, directive number five is regulate short-term rentals associated with flat those platforms.

So I'm implore you for our city.

We have a really nice city.

I have traveled the world, and Pittsburgh is a really nice city.

Let's keep it that way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kathleen Whitney.

Hi, this is uh Kathy Whitney.

Um, good morning, council members.

Um, I live on the 1,000 block of Constance Street in East Georgetown, just steps where uh steps from the steps from where the New Year's Eve short-term rental party ended in gunfire, injuring one of our neighbors.

My husband and I moved here in 2017 to retire, um, honestly believing we'd found the perfect place.

We fell in love with the community and the neighborhood and the promise uh that uh the area offered.

But frankly, the promise has sort of faded.

Um, and today I think our block stands as an example of what happens uh when the city looks away.

Out of the 28 parcels on our block, fewer than half were owner occupied.

Several are long-term rentals that change tenants regularly.

Two sit abandoned, one has been condemned for over a decade.

Several lots are overgrown and trash filled, including city owned lots, which violate the city's own codes.

One address is a known site of ongoing drug activity, and now we have four short-term rental units, all chronic nuisances that have been documented.

Uh, two of those units sit by sit side by side, and these are the same ones used at that New Year's Eve party.

Um, and two more are being renovated for SDR use, and which would bring us to over 21% short-term rentals on one single city block.

The conditions on our block didn't happen by accident.

Uh, they're the result, frankly, of years of underinvestment and inconsistent enforcement.

When SDRs arrive in a neighborhood already stretched thin, they act as accelerants.

They lead to more turnover, less accountability, and no one to call when things go wrong.

Residents like me are doing our part.

We report, we attend meetings, we clean up, but too often the city's response is slow or fragmented, and bad actors quickly learn there are few, if any, consequences.

That's why this short-term rental legislation matters, but honestly, I feel it matters only if it's going to be backed by real action.

Dedicated SDR enforcement officers, after hours coordination with police, and platform accountability, so problem listings are removed and not simply recycled.

I'm asking you to see our block, which I believe is a typical example in our community as proof of what happens when enforcement fails.

And I'm asking you to pair this legislation you're proposing with the staffing, funding, and coordination that's needed to truly protect our neighborhoods, and do it now, not after the next incident and not after the next headline.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Katherine Broski.

Good morning.

First of all, I want to thank whoever did the slideshow.

They did a nice job.

However, I'm a little confused by the inclusion of a provision to allow existing units to be grandfathered into legitimacy.

And said the answer should be to enforce the zoning definition of what constitutes a residential use, and only allow short-term stays in the additional dwelling units of owner-occupied highlands.

I share my neighbors' concerns regarding the harm short-term rentals create, including trash, noise, and the loss of potential housing opportunities.

But my greatest concern has been and continues to be safety.

There's a reason why hotels require identification and have staff on site.

Allowing these small inns or vacation businesses to take advantage of lapse zoning and operate residential neighborhoods only encourages more unsafe, unwelcome behavior.

Any vacation in or short-term rent or without out-site staff is a flashing to attack potential bad actors who are looking for a place without observers to have their parties with drugs or guns or whatever.

They would never attempt to do the same thing at a staffed location.

On-site staff should be a requirement residential areas not only to deter bad behavior, but to provide an immediate response should give me any type of emergency or hazardous situation.

Any delay in response jeopardizes the safety and well-being of every resident in the neighborhood where the unmanned rental area is located.

Permitting unstaffed hotels to exist in residential neighbors is a convenience that benefits investors, not the residents who are the neighborhood stewards, the baseball coaches, and the corner gardeners.

I don't understand why council wants to provide a benefit to the zoning rule breakers, especially when it's not necessary.

Investors can still profit by having long-term rental units with annual leases in residential air list.

Council has proposed that having contact information can resolve the issues with non-occupied units, but I don't think this helps the neighbors of the property in Athens that hosted a party this past Sunday, February 8th, where the police had to remove over 50 underage individual and China.

This property has been familiar as a mission property for years.

Why does council want to reward this kind of behavior by grandfathering it in?

My grandfathering it in.

Today my public comments are directed to the public safety director of Sheldon Williams.

The gun industry has a responsibility to keep American people safe from gun violence.

Yes, there's no transparency as to which gun stores are violating the public safety laws in the public trust.

Whether or not law enforcement is doing anything about it or not, is the big question.

Backblack, Brady United, a nonprofit organization is exposing never before released records that identify gun stores cited for breaking the law.

Now the American public will no longer be kept in the dark about businesses that contribute to gun violence in our community, and whether federal, state, and or local authorities are failing to hold them accountable.

These records took years to access from Braden filing many freedom freedom of information act requests and fighting enforcement secure the federal inspection report.

Which represents remedial action taken by the federal bureau of alcohol and tobacco firearms, the APS against gun stores fighting for violations of the law.

These records are available, and I highly recommend you all seek them out.

It no many of violations that gun stores right here in our community, like Neville Island Fire Arms, now operating under island firearm.

Under this new assumed name, their bad records were systematically erased because now they're operating under a new name.

It still doesn't undermine the fact that they have improper storage practices and also a multitude of straw purchases happen at this gun store on the daily basis.

And it only further emboldened bad actors, criminal enterprises to keep causing harm to Allegheny County and in this city of Pittsburgh.

In conclusion, as this city continues receiving funds for violence prevention, millions of dollars that is.gun source.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Jake Tovey.

Hey, can you guys hear me?

Yes, we can.

Awesome.

Uh, my name is Jake Toby.

I have lived here in uh Shady Side for the past 10 or so years, and I'm speaking as a board member of Steelstrut, the short-term rental alliance here in Pittsburgh in regards to short-term rentals.

Um I've been a short-term rental host for the past six years, and this business is what I do full-time.

Uh I've spoken a few times in the past and had the pleasure of meeting with a few of you in person to discuss these last September.

Um, so first off, I want to be clear that I fully support a healthy licensing process for short-term rentals.

But these two bills combined, introducing drastic zoning changes and building caps, just goes way too far, way too fast, and risk killing off an industry that has a ripple effect of positive impacts on our community here in Pittsburgh.

Well-run short-term rentals are a great thing for our community.

They add tremendous benefits to a wide range of people.

They create jobs, they generate millions in tax revenue for city, county, and state, support local businesses, and help expand Pittsburgh's tourism capacity for larger events like the NFL draft in April, which is expected to inject 125 million into Pittsburgh's local economy.

Again, well-run short-term rentals are a great thing for the city.

However, poorly run short-term rentals are a bad thing for the community.

If a property routinely has noise and trash violations or doesn't screen their guests thoroughly enough to block those guests from booking that are likely to throw parties, those properties shouldn't be run as short-term rentals.

A licensing process to identify those problem properties and help professionalize the industry rather than introducing drastic zoning changes that kills off the industry as a whole will be a great move for the city without destroying countless jobs and businesses for our locals here in Pittsburgh in the process.

Bill 9 introducing zoning changes along with the heavily restricted building caps just goes way too far at this time with no real data to support the need for this.

One piece of data we do have is that there are roughly 4,000 short-term rentals in the city of Pittsburgh, according to Air DNA, which is very generously rounded up.

That makes up less than 1% of the city housing stock.

Implementing zoning and restrictions for such a small share of the housing stock is a really big step.

Given there's no oversupply issue, I urge council to prioritize licensing and enforcement as opposed to guessing at drastic zoning changes and blanket building caps.

Let's implement a licensing process, let's enforce the rules that we already have.

Let's collect real data, and then if truly necessary, consider zoning changes.

So I respectfully urge you to move forward with Bill 8, make some small necessary revisions to improve it where needed, make it even more effective, and then take a data-driven approach before implementing permanent zoning restrictions that impact hundreds of local jobs and businesses.

Chad and I with SteelStra are available to anyone on council that wants to seek local guidance as experts in the industry.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with council and discuss these bills.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

While most of you know me as part of Steelstra, today I'm speaking as a founder and CEO of Hostwise.

Hostwise is the largest host in Pittsburgh.

We manage around 120 properties.

We have a 4.94 out of five rating across more than 17,000 reviews, making us the number one highest rated urban operator in the U.S.

We focus on guest experience, community integration, and operational excellence.

We work with around 50 property owners, and over 80% of them own just one property.

They're therapists, MIT professors, State Department employees, real estate agent, Carnegie Melling grads, Pit Grads, restaurant owners, stay-at-home moms.

All of them have a direct connection to Pittsburgh, whether current or previous neighbors come for sports, family, health care, or education.

These aren't faceless investors.

They're Yinsers.

I know people in this room are upset.

And as a community member, I completely understand that.

When things go wrong with STRs, the impact on neighbors is real.

That's why we need a bill that protects our neighborhoods by punishing irresponsible guests and hosts.

And as I've said before, I fully support effective precise regulation.

I want to briefly talk about my company's local impact.

Last year, hostwide paid our 40-plus cleaners over $670,000 at an average rate of $35 an hour.

We paid over $900,000 in tax revenue to the county and state.

We partner with local restaurants, local coffee roasters, and candy stores.

We're part of an industry that contributes over $200 million annually to Pittsburgh's local economy when you include guest spending at restaurants, shops, and attractions.

Hotels simply don't provide the same type of accommodations as short-term rentals, and they're not always in areas that our guests require.

But the reality is very different.

This is a challenging low margin, high cost 24-7, 365 brick and mortar business.

I know many of the hosts in the city, and I can assure you most of them are local, and most of them are small mom and pop investors that work incredibly hard for every dollar that they earn.

They want to be great neighbors and they want to highlight Pittsburgh to the world.

Last week there was a quote in the news from an underage guest at the Brighton Heights party who said they did nothing wrong.

That quote should concern all of us.

Until there are real consequences for guests to throw these events against Airbnb's roles and against the host's will, this mindset will continue.

Hosts don't want parties.

We actively work to prevent them.

We need a regulatory framework that holds guests accountable and not just indifferent hosts.

At our properties, we use what's called a minute device.

It monitors decibels, occupancy levels, alarm sounds, temperatures, and more, all while respecting the guest privacy.

When noise or occupancy thresholds are exceeded, our 24-7 safety teams alerted and we intervene.

This is proactive management.

I'd encourage council to consider remote monitoring requirements as part of this bill.

Technology like this uh promotes responsible hosting.

We want effective regulation.

We want accountability, we want bad actors out of the industry.

We're asking for is a bill that's precise, one that targets actual problems, holds guests accountable, and preserves the economic tourism benefits that responsible hosts bring to the city.

Our next speaker is Ellie Harward.

Hello again.

I'm Ellie.

I live in the North Side in Spring Garden.

I want to start to say I was at the Spring Garden community meeting last night.

I listened carefully.

I heard about the neighborhood walkthrough that included members from the council, members from the community group, and local authorities.

I understand that there were approximately 45 properties that were looked at in that area, and three of them were identified as nuisance properties.

Three of them.

So my question is this when organizing these walkthroughs and conversations, why are they happening without including those of us who are running responsible uh operations that benefit the city and the neighborhood?

If the issue is a small number of problem properties, why is the entire category dominating the conversation?

Why are we walking and spotlighting homes that are being cared for instead of walking all of those properties that for 10 years longer have been declining and are unkept and sitting vacant and creating long-term blight?

If three out of the 45 are causing issues, it tells me we don't have a short-term rental problem.

We have a nuisance enforcement problem.

I need the ability to rent my home responsibly while I navigate what the next year looks like.

At the end of this month, my house house is rent the head makeup artist for mayor of Kingstown, 100% rent and peanuts.

And that's a great thing.

It's a it's an incredible part of what a growing city looks like.

We have great things happening in Pittsburgh from the film productions, the NFL draft, tourism, development, and across our neighborhoods.

We're actively branding ourselves as a destination.

So I ask respectively, do we want options for visitors coming to Pittsburgh or don't we?

Are we growing or are we signaling we only want growth on certain terms?

Short-term rentals, when operator operated responsibly, have positive impacts.

They bring film crews and production teams who spend money locally.

They support weddings, medical stays, and visiting families.

They increase property upkeep and neighborhood investment.

They generate tax revenue.

They give small business owners like me a way to build financial stability without relying on corporate structures that we don't have access to.

I'm not arguing against standards.

We all want them.

So let us be part of that conversation about what those standards are.

We hate parties.

We want to stop them.

I tried to stop the one on Friday.

Talked to Chad, I talked to multiple people.

Um I knew people that knew people in the council that had kids going.

Um and they were able to stop their child from going, but the party wasn't stopped.

We couldn't find an address.

So we believe in accountability.

There has to be a way to put a criminal idea of who's renting these properties that is not telling them who's staying in them in them.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Paul Costello.

Hi there, can you all hear me?

Yes, we can.

Great.

Thank you.

My name is Paul Bestello.

Um I don't live and work on Wall Street or at a hedge fund in Toronto, but I live in Highland Park for two and a half years.

I manage um business and Airbnb units within a five to ten minute drive where I was born and raised in Easton and Pittsburgh.

I employ a few dozen housekeepers, maintenance staff, property managers, quality assurance assistants, each of whom rely on the income my business provides them to support their families.

I think thousands of guests uh ranging from families visiting their students who just want to be able to make their sons and daughters a home cooked meal.

Uh tourists who enjoy all of the attractions restaurants, shops our communities have to offer uh to transplant patients and their families who are dependent on a place to feel like they're at home while they recover.

Each of my units have security cameras at the entrance that's whole monitors within.

Uh that's the few times I've had guests who did not abide by my house rules, have been able to be at the property immediately to address the situation.

Now getting to the proposed bill, as I understand the intent is to institute reasonably tailored regulations to protect the public health safety and general welfare of our communities.

Portions of the bill don't seem to serve that intent uh to me though.

Uh namely the maximum of 28 days.

Uh I mean, as I mentioned, transplant patients and their families visiting professionals.

Um it's sort of a their general welfare would be negatively affected by this measure.

Um another one that stood out to me was the no more than two units per building of less than twenty units anyway.

I'm not sure that does this support the intent of the proposed bill.

I I mean I would ask about three or four reasonably managed licensed units, or responsibly managed rather, uh, somehow worse for the safety and general welfare of the community.

Uh, what about five or six, you know, reason responsibly managed and licensed units.

Um and I agree with Jake and Chad that some regulations would be extremely helpful.

Um something like a license to expel negligible hosts, or the manager being reasonably nearby in case of emergency.

And as Shad mentioned the you know, required mitigation technology, the decibel monitors, uh security cameras, I think all the above um would would be great measures, uh just what the intent of the bill.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Richard Mardoyan.

Hello.

We can hear you.

Okay.

Um I'm calling from the state capital in Harrisburg, where the shadow system I identified yesterday has just been forced into light of record.

This morning, the Office of the State Inspector General formally refused to take my reports of tampering the fiscal progression, explicitly stating they cannot investigate the Ocono O'Connor Secure Nexus because the governor is their boss.

Furthermore, I'm documenting that the Attorney General Dave Sunday personally appeared in my March 2025 civil deposition to confer with attorney Catherine Wakefield, the very attorney whose disal disgraceful misconduct the city is currently trying to hide behind a prohibited cash protocol.

Because Pennsylvania is officially admitted it cannot police its own executive branch.

I'm walking the fiscal receipts over across the street to the FBI and sending us to the Department of Justice.

The shadow system is now is now a matter of Dutch American foreign relations.

Under Article 36 of the Dana Convention, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now legally obligated to investigate by the courts of Collegiate, a really denied us consulate access and attorney Catherine Wakefield's involvement in it.

This creates a permanent international record of the root abandonment that the city of Pittsburgh cannot sanitize.

This is what I would like to have done.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Madeline McGrady.

This is Maddie McCrady.

Um I'm a co-chair of the Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table.

Um I want to thank council for taking action on short-term rentals.

Um for for putting this legislation forward.

Um behalf of the housing justice table, we support uh this legislation.

Um as you know, uh for the zoning uh piece, we would prefer for short-term rentals to be made of variants in rent residential areas, uh, not a special exception, which which essentially streamlines Airbnb approval.

Um and then speaking, you know, for myself as a resident.

Um I think just because right now many Airbnbs are locally owned and operated does not mean that's what is coming.

The housing market of 20 years ago is not the housing market of today, and the housing market 20 years from now will also not be the housing market of today.

Um we know that Airbnbs have increased in this city.

Um and I want Pittsburgh to remain a city that has homes for people, not for profit.

I don't want to see Airbnbs increase in my neighborhood.

I want neighbors.

Um and I want my local government to have information about this industry to understand its scopes, its scope and its impacts, and I want you to have levers that you can pull to balance any positive impacts of this industry with the well-being of residents.

Um so I support this legislation uh personally as well.

Um thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Mary Babish.

Hello, my name is Mary Barbush.

I live on the North Side in Allegheny West, a longtime residence, and I I would like to say that I um I don't think what you're doing goes far enough.

I challenge the whole idea of the uh short-term rentals being in residentially zoned areas.

If the city feels that it is advantageous to them to have short-term rentals, they should not be where there are people who live in residence.

The people the property owners who purchase those buildings in our districts were purchasing a residence that had had families in it before, and now is part of what is a hospitality industry.

That the people who spoke in favor even said that they are businesses and they should be treated as businesses and put in districts that have zoning for businesses and not where people are living.

Every one of those homes takes away from a family living there, somebody long term who's going to vote for you, who's going to put children in those schools.

And these uses are more to a um uh like a a hotel kind of uh idea.

If a re if it's a residence, that's what's on your driver's license.

Your permanent home.

That is not what these short-term rentals are, though they're trying to act like they should be where residences are, where people are living.

So I challenge that.

I ask you to go further and zone short-term rentals to be in places that are for short-term residences like a business because they destabilize neighborhoods, they do not create community, and we need more housing for people to live here to build community to keep us what we are here in Pittsburgh.

And I thank you for your time and hope that you will make changes to make this even stronger for us here in Pittsburgh.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Bill Schlechter.

Hi, my name is Bill Schlachter.

I'm a resident of Val Washington.

I've spoken many times to the council on this uh particular issue and the structure of Airbnbs in our community and how it has overall weakened the community fabric.

Uh back in 2022, there was uh very tragically a shooting on the north side in a building owned by an outside LLC.

Uh at that time, I repeatedly called for the councilman from the north side to enact legislation that other cities have done, such as in Denver in Philadelphia, that make these uh Airbnbs to be owned primarily by residences and not by outside LLCs who don't have core interests in our community at stake.

But here we are years later in the wild west, of our lack of regulation continues, even though this was brought to the council's uh desk multiple times through many hearings on this topic.

Uh in addition to safety concerns, um there are economic concerns regarding Airbnbs in our communities.

Um I personally uh used to live on a building on Gran View Avenue, a five-unit building.

I lived there for 12 years.

It was an apartment.

And during the pandemic, like what happened with a lot of these outside LLC owners coming in our community, uh, they purchased the building, and we all had to leave.

Uh we had been longtime residents of that particular building, all voters as well.

And now it's owned by Chad and his company.

And this has happened throughout Mount Washington, as well as in Lawrenceville and other communities.

And it's a shame.

And other cities have found ways to prevent this from happening.

And I I really urge our council to look at Denver to look at Philadelphia to see how they have addressed these concerns.

But because they passed legislation, they've now come to the wild west of Pittsburgh.

And here we are, we have another shooting upon ourselves for lack of security issues.

All of this, which could have been prevented many years ago, and I urge the community to pass legislation that protects our community and listens to the residents who are here every day and part of this fabric of this community.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kelly Bethkey.

Good morning, council.

My name is Kelly Bethke, and my property is in Lawrenceville.

I'm a short-term rental owner and property manager here in Pittsburgh.

I want to share my story because I think it represents what short-term rentals mean for a lot of everyday people.

I didn't grow up wealthy.

Both my parents worked hard to support four kids while working middle class jobs.

My parents don't have investment properties.

They don't have a huge 401k.

For a long time, I thought that saving enough for my future wasn't an option for me.

But I had a goal.

I wanted to own a home by the time I turned 40.

So I wanted to build something for my future.

Um, have a way to save for retirement outside of a stock market that I don't understand.

And short-term rentals gave me that opportunity.

I own one property, and it's my first and only investment property.

And it's allowed me to invest in my future in a way that felt achievable.

It gave me an opportunity also to learn new skills from designing and furnishing it to taking good care of it to fixing things that needed repair, and it's something that gives me a lot of purpose.

Um, but I want to be clear, this isn't passive income.

You get out you get out what you put in.

And because of my experience as an owner, I eventually found work in the short-term rental industry.

I even left a really good paying nursing job.

Um, moved to Pittsburgh for this opportunity, and I'm so proud to call this city my home.

I've embraced the ENSR spirit, I work hard on being a part of this community, and I contribute to something bigger than myself.

Because of my home, I see every day how hard operators strive to maintain quality, respond to issues, and be good neighbors.

Short-term rentals gave me financial opportunity and it gave me a career, and now it gave me Pittsburgh.

I tell people now that as a former nurse, I used to take care of patients, but now I take care of houses, and I take it just as seriously.

Because of my guests, I've learned a lot about Pittsburgh, where to find the best restaurants, the hidden local gems in Lawrenceville, the unique things to do that only the locals know about.

And I love giving my guests the opportunity to experience the city like a local rather than a hotel guest.

I want to address something that I think gets overlooked in these conversations.

Bad behavior isn't unique to short-term rentals.

My long-term tenants next door to my property smoke cigarettes in marijuana constantly.

It permeates through my wall.

They throw disruptive small parties, they have people over, they let their dog go to the bathroom in the backyard and never pick it up.

Um the house is just dilapidated.

And you know what?

I'm powerless to stop it.

There's no accountability, there's no mechanism to address it.

I've called 3-1 on multiple times.

I've even talked and talked to police officers, and it's just fallen on deaf ears.

Um, if they were my short-term rental guests, I would be able to have their reservation canceled and removed from the property.

Um, short-term rental properties can be great neighbors.

Can short-term rental guests behave badly?

Absolutely, but so can renters, so can homeowners, so can neighbors.

The difference is that short-term rental operators have strong incentives to prevent bad behavior because our investment depends on it, our views depend on it, our relationships with neighbors and our community depends on it.

Thank you very much.

Our next speaker is Nicholas Patrillo.

Afternoon, council.

Uh, my name is Nicholas Patrillo.

I am the president of the Brighton Height Citizens Federation.

Uh last Thursday, I brought this legislation to our board, and uh we voted to support it.

So I'm standing here speaking for the organization as well.

Three days later, all of a sudden there's a party in our neighborhood broken up by cops.

Uh one of the one of the previous commenters mentioned a quote from there that he said you should take heed of.

I would like to say another quote that you should take heed of from one of my neighbors who said, we try to find out who owns this.

It's some LLC in Arizona.

We can never get a hold of them.

Look, I really feel like you guys are on the right track here.

Uh these short-term rentals.

Maybe some people here think, oh, they won't find our neighborhood because maybe they're not right next to the stadiums, or maybe they don't have the biggest um drags of bars here in Pittsburgh.

Well, Brighton Heights doesn't have either of those either.

You know what Brighton Heights has what I love about Brighton Heights, the neighbors.

The short-term rentals in Brighton Heights, they're not going to provide anyone that's going to come to our Halloween parade to our Brightonight celebration.

They're not going to have anyone that's going to come to my meetings and tell me what's going on.

So I just wanted to come up here, let you know that the the lake the neighborhood that had the last party that had to be broken up supports this legislation.

They want you to support this legislation, and I hope you do.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Stephanie West.

Good afternoon.

My name is Stephanie.

I grew up in Pittsburgh and I live and work in the North Side.

I'm going to try to make a very long story short.

I moved back to Pittsburgh after my dad passed away, expecting to find work quickly.

I graduated a year early from high school.

I have three degrees and left a 10-year career to move home.

But I didn't.

I worked multiple jobs and cleaned houses just to stay afloat.

That's how I entered the short-term rental industry.

Not as an investor, but as someone trying to survive.

Seven years later, I operate one of the highest-rated STR companies in the country.

Let me be clear.

And most importantly, there's an entire ecosystem behind this industry.

To keep my time short, I'd like to share just some of my own data.

My top cleaner grew from $14,000 a year doing residential cleans and annual income to $110,000 working under 20 hours per week.

The resident who handles our trash will earn $46,000 this year working fewer than 15 hours per week.

Our laundry vendor, family-owned for over 50 years, had their best year ever, making over a hundred thousand dollars in sales just from us.

Commonplace coffee, we placed over $70,000 worth of their coffee into our units.

Three cleaners have started their own cleaning companies, two have become real estate agents, one who sold me my home on Middle Street.

Eleven people who work with us are in recovery.

It has proved a safe space for people who needed a second start.

Four people on my direct team became first-time homeowners, both in the north side and Lawrenceville.

Entry-level workers in this industry are making $35 to $55 an hour without any specialized training.

95% are Pittsburgh residents.

With these regulations, it would drastically reduce their income.

It's not a small number.

It'll affect hundreds of workers and their ability to make a living.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you.

Thank you.

There being no further registered speakers, we will now take comments from those in the audience wishing to speak.

Carlino Giampolo.

Panther Hollow.

I come before this council once again to ask Council members Barbara Warwick and Bob Charlin to end their support for the illegal skate park in Panther Hollow.

That is harming our community.

All the reasons why that noble action should be taken are discussed and documented in detail on the website, Panther Hollow Playground.com.

The devaluation of dignity is at the foundation of many problems around the world and here in Pittsburgh with the injustices against our black Jewish and immigrant communities.

Those injustices, the thrill of the injustice against our Italian community must end.

Following my testimony here last Wednesday, I visited the offices of Mayor O'Connor and the following departments to discuss this issue.

Public works, parks and recreation, city planning, and permits licensing and inspections.

I left those encounters, feeling hopeful about this issue and the future of Pittsburgh.

I was most impressed with their quality of character, empathy, and willingness to do what is right simply because it is the right thing to do.

My personal will and desire to honor the Italian legacy of my great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents generations are stronger now than when I began this journey.

They made Panther Hollow a special place because of their love and sacrifice and their legacy will be protected and preserved.

It is time to awaken your dignity.

It is time to end the injustice.

It is time to heal our community.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, John Hanahan from Fine View on the North Side.

As usual, the only opposition we heard to these short-term rental regulations was from the industry.

We heard from Kelly, an everyday person who owns an investment property in the hottest real estate market in the city, and who, if I understand her correctly, would have her neighbors evicted for smoking weed.

We heard from Chad again, whose properties did apparently contribute $900,000 in property tax, but nothing in wage tax because there are no neighbors in those homes.

There should be neighbors in those homes.

We heard from Allie again.

I'm sorry if you're I'm sorry if I'm the first to tell you this, but yours are among the nuisance properties on Vinial Street.

Your Airbnbs diminish the quality of life there.

We heard from Jake again, who last year told you that if these regulations were implemented, it would wipe out 70 per 75% of his business.

I doubt it, frankly, but I hope to God he's right.

Next speaker, please.

Happy New Year's.

Weak or inconsistent regulations often allows negative impacts to outweigh the positives.

First, stricter laws are necessary to protect affordable housing.

And many cities, landlords, and investors convert long-term rentals units into short-term Airbnb term properties because they generate higher profits.

This reduces the number of homes available for local residents, driving up rent prices, making it harder for working families, state-ins and low-income individuals to find stable housing.

Well when housing is treated primarily as a business opportunity rather than a basic need.

Communities suffer, stronger regulations, such as limits on number of short-term rentals or requirements that hosts live on sites, help ensure housing remains accessible for residents.

Basically, I'm here because in 2009 I bought a home.

My home cost me $60,000.

Roughly 16 years later, that same home cost 200,000.

It makes no sense.

Also, that they're talking about the day the things that have happened to the Airbnbs with adulterating them and children being in them.

People's kids are getting hurt.

People's kids have lost their lives, and as a mother of five, I don't think that's fair.

I'm here today to ask you guys to do what's right.

And I know most of you are parents.

So if you don't do anything, do it on behalf of your kids.

Thank you, and I'm done.

Have a good day.

Peace.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon, special agent sunshine.

The missing child, Cerese Taylor, I'm still saying the missing child because people are now looking for me.

And somebody has found me.

Thank you for finding me.

Jesus knew where I was all the time.

Thank you, Laura, for divine intervention in this case.

Without you, the truth wouldn't, the world wouldn't know about the truth of identity theft fraud.

My identity was stolen.

I was abducted.

It all has to do with judicial misconduct.

Justice Department.

I think it's amazing that cameramen have left.

They are being paid bribe money, you guys.

Listen, Justice Department, please listen.

They're paying being paid bribe money not to get disinformation.

By these people right here, by our court officials.

They're being paid bribe money to divert the courts of justice.

A judge is being paid for the attempt of my murder.

The plot, he's being paid.

Somebody lied under oath, and a judge allowed it, mostly.

You know about it.

You know about it.

My parents are narcissists.

Gang stalking started with the MK Ultra program with the CIA and our government.

Donald Trump.

Donald Trump, the people around you know about this.

The people standing right next to you know about this injustice.

They know about identity theft fraud.

They're part of it continuing.

Corrupt government officials are not doing their jobs.

The wisdom for today comes from Proverbs 10-9.

It says the man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out, mostly.

For fire apparatus and vehicle training.

Really?

And you want a grant that requires a match amount from the city, these guys right here.

$95,871 and 28 cents.

Total cost for this project $1,054,584.

I can't.

I just can't.

It's an inside job.

They get this grant money.

It's stolen from people who have inheritances like me.

They have trust funds.

They have money from wheels that these people steal.

Donald Trump, please pay attention.

Justice Department, pay attention.

You will not.

Your heads will be removed if you try to leave this country and lay on the beach.

Go ahead.

Go ahead.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Wanted to return to two registered speakers to see if they've joined us.

Carlin Christie.

Jody Rafalco.

If we could please return to our registered speakers to see if Carlin Christie or Jody Rafalka has joined us.

We will move on to our having exhausted our public comment period, we'll move on to our standing committee agenda.

And our first committee is the Finance and Law Committee.

Recommitted papers, Bill 39.

Ordinance directing the Allegheny County Board of Elections to place before the qualified voters of the City of Pittsburgh at the 2026 May primary election, a referendum question.

Shall the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter, Article 3, legislative branch, be amended by changing the budget approval rules to ensure timely passage at the end of legislative sessions?

Motion to hold four weeks.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of holding Bill 39 for four weeks, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Bill will be held four weeks.

New papers, Bill 85.

Resolution authorizing the issuance of a warrant in favor of Justin Hickcock's for a single payment in 2026 in an amount not to exceed $10,000 in full and final in full and final of an employment matter.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion?

Discussion.

Did we have an executive session on this?

Yes, this was yesterday.

This was yesterday.

Okay.

Oh.

Okay, gotcha.

Thank you.

Any further discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 85, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

That moves us on to invoices.

Is there a motion on invoices?

So move to approve.

Second.

Second discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor of invoices, please indicate by seeing.

That came up really fast.

This is a short agenda.

I do have a comment on one.

May I?

Absolutely.

Under Bureau of Police, there is an invoice for leads online LLC Cell Hawk Software Renewal.

I want to thank the administration for very quick response.

Yesterday, my staff caught this specific invoice.

It's for $2,754.

There's media coverage in the Intercept, which is an online news publication, that points out that this company is able to do exactly what we were talking about.

What I was asking our public safety director and our chief of police candidates about.

I was saying that the difference between you know having some street cameras out on the street, you know, 20 years ago, 10 years ago, is fundamentally different than software these days being able to tell you in live real time.

Jason Lando just left CVS.

Jason Lando is approaching East Liberty.

Jason Lando is now you know going into Home Depot.

And it sounds crazy.

This specific company, according to the Intercept, is a tool for automated continuous surveillance, not just processing occasional spreadsheet from a cellular company.

Let's say send one of us text and email alerts in live time about when a target moves, enters or exits a particular location or geozone.

Like exactly where they are in real time.

So I contacted the administration and said, you know, hello, what's the deal with this contract?

And um we are only using it.

Um we have been using it for seven years.

We only request information when we have a war a judge's warrant.

Which is exactly what the public is looking for nationally, right?

That that law enforcement never, not that we never that it never used tools, but it does so only with a search warrant.

Um and so that is the current policy for this software that our Pittsburgh police are using.

But I still, you know, this is what we know today.

I you know, we had it under contract for seven years.

I know we've recently, as yesterday, had conversations with other council members about how we do more learning about what technology is able to do.

I've reached out to some technology people that live in my district, and I think we all really need to know and understand more.

Um so I I'm not objecting to it today.

Um, but this is just a small um 2,754 invoice.

Um, but I think it does help us understand that this is real, and it is it means that our policies and our legislation need to be better in order to protect our citizens' right to privacy and in order to prevent them from being subjected, even unintentionally by us to surveillance and surveillance technologies.

Um so I just thank you, appreciate that, and I appreciate that the administration's um very quick response because we just caught this ourselves yesterday and reached out.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any further discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor of invoices, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Invoices are approved.

That moves us on to P cards.

Is there a motion on P cards?

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of P cards, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

The cards are approved.

That moves us to public works and infrastructure committee chaired by Councilwoman Salonetra.

New papers, Bill 78, resolution amending resolution number 264 of 2025, entitled Resolution Authorizing the Mayor, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure to apply for grant funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Partnerships Program to provide funding for the rehabilitation of Emerald View Trail Project.

The grant proposal includes an ask of 250,000 with a match of 250,844 and 42 cents from the City of Pittsburgh's capital budget for a total project cost of $500,844 and 42 cents for this stated purpose to accept the grant, increase the grant amount, reduce the required match, and authorize necessary expenditures.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 78, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation, Bill 79.

Resolution amending resolution number 522 of 2025 entitled Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and the Office of Management and Budget to apply for a grant from Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development's Multimodal Transportation Fund for the planning and engineering of the Liberty Avenue, Main Street, and Bloomfield Bridge Intersection.

The grant proposal includes an ask not to exceed $533,111 for this stated purpose to accept the grant, update the grant amount, and authorize necessary expenditures.

Second.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 79, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

Bill 80.

Resolution amending resolution number 521 of 2025 entitled Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and the Office of Management and Budget to apply for a grant from Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development's Multimodal Transportation Fund for the Lincoln Avenue Multimodal Safety and Accessibility Improvement Project.

The grant proposal includes an ask of $750,000 and 69 cents for this stated purpose to accept the grant, decrease the award amount, and authorize necessary expenditures.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 80, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

Bill 82.

Resolution providing for an agreement or agreements with Norfolk Southern Railway Company for costs associated with the preliminary engineering phase of the Heron Avenue Bridge Project.

Providing for the payment of the costs thereof not to exceed $25,310 reimbursable at 100%.

Motion to approve.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 82, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

Bill 83.

Resolution providing for an agreement or agreements with Allegheny Valley Railroad for costs associated with the preliminary engineering phase of the Elizabeth Street Bridge Project, providing for the payment of the costs thereof not to exceed $10,000 reimbursable at 100%.

Motion to approve.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 83, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

That moves us to land use and economic development committee chaired by Councilman Wilson.

Deferred papers, Bill 8, ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title VII, Business Licensing, Article 7, Service Businesses, adding a new chapter, 768, short-term rental housing.

I'm gonna refer it to the Councilman Gross.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

We've been hearing testimony about short-term rentals now, honestly for about six months or more, and even even beyond that.

And this is there are two pieces actually in front of us in land use.

This is the licensing bill.

And uh honestly, most of the public testimony that we've been hearing is really about the zoning bill, which is the next bill.

Um and they really are um go together and kind of point to each other in the code.

Um we'll be talking about the zoning bill next.

But the licensing bill um really needs to be paired with the zoning bill.

The zoning bill will probably take at least 12 weeks to move to the planning commission, have public hearings, comment a vote, come back to us with a recommendation, and then we have our own public hearing.

Zoning moves very slowly.

And so um just so people don't get nervous about this hanging out there.

I suggest that we hold the licensing bill for about 12 weeks, which will, for the record, put us into May, which is well past the NFL draft.

So nobody has to fret about impacting uh what impacts they have.

Um so uh I'll if any I don't know if anyone else has the comment, but I'll motion to hold 12 weeks.

Second.

Discussion.

Discussion, President Lavell.

Thank you.

This is a question, Councilwoman Gross, or any of the part of what we've heard is also a lot around enforcement.

I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that.

So I said this is a question.

Some of what we've also heard has been around enforcement, or even today we heard about fully understand it, but technical tools that can monitor noise, things of that nature.

Um I don't believe it's probably not in the zoning bill, but it's probably in the this bill where language of that would go, is that appropriate?

That's right.

And so we would have time to make sure that all members are comfortable with it.

Another good reason to hold the licensing part is that we still um haven't circled back around with the new solicitor.

Um and so just to have those briefings with the next administration.

We talked to the zoning administrator, I chatted with you know that we had the same PLI director, so we think that that's all fine for their ability to um enforce or administrate the licensing section.

Um but we just we want to make sure that we're all on the same page.

Um yeah, thank you.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

Further discussion on the pardon me, 10-week hold.

Oh, 12-week hold.

Seeing none, all those in favor of holding bill eight for 12 weeks, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Bill be held 12 weeks.

That moves us on to Bill 9.

Ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code, Title IX zoning, Article 5, use regulations, Chapter 911, primary uses 911.02, use table, and adding section 911.04 A 101 short-term rental, and amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh Code Title IX zoning, Article 5, use regulations, chapter 912, accessory uses and structures by adding section 912.09 short-term rental.

Motion to approve discussion.

Second.

Thank you, Mr.

Wilson.

Um, so again, this is the bill that um I reintroduced with co-sponsors at the beginning of January that was identical to last year's bill.

Um we had a meeting recently with the new zoning administrator.

What's before you is really just a series of technical amendments.

It was literally like this word is repeated or you know, you you know, make it consistent, capitalization throughout those different sections.

So there's no substantive change.

Um you can see it's only three pages long, and it's really just to be consistent on the numbering and the wording.

Um but there were lots of little changes, so um I will motion to approve um by substitution.

A motion to amend by substitution.

Second.

Discussion on the motion to amend by substitution.

Seeing none, all those in favor, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

And then let me just reiterate some of the talking points council members have heard before that we did do some research on the numbers of operators in the city extensively last year.

We bought the data from one of the kind of data companies that gives you a rough location of where Airbnb operators are.

It also gives you the redacted, like identifying numbers, right?

So you can tell if there's only one unit with that operator number.

And so of the 3,000 or so properties that are rentable in the city, there's about half of them really are only, you know, those that operator number only has two units or less.

Really a quarter of the 3,000, that operator only has one unit.

So I do think that we do have a lot of small scale operators.

Making this zoning change does not take anything away from them.

Additionally, it doesn't tell you whether someone lives in their house with their operator number, but I think we could take that as a proxy, right?

It's like one operator with one property, right?

So if that's true, um I think it's a really important thing for the public to hear that if you live in your house, there's basically no zoning change for you.

It's just by right.

So it says like, you know, permitted for you.

It's it's by right.

So you don't have to go for a zoning approval.

But if you are one of those out-of-town operators who wants to buy a house and operate it basically like a hotel, uh, yes, there will be there will now be a path.

Right now there's nothing.

So we really have been operating like the Wild West.

Right?

But now there will be a path.

Just like you need a permit, a zoning permit if you plan to open a grocery store, or you need a zoning permit if you plan to open a hotel.

Or you even need a zoning permit if you plan to open a bed and breakfast.

And so that out-of-town operator zoning permit will be identical to what we require bed and breakfast and always have for decades, required bed and breakfast operators to get, which is a special exception.

Um that's in the residential areas.

So while we're not doing what a lot of the public has asked us to do, which is to completely prohibit short-term rentals from residential areas, right?

There are members of the public and my constituents included, have asked us to completely prohibit them.

This isn't this is not a complete prohibition.

Um we think it's a good compromise, though.

It's a model that a lot of cities have used to both allow those people who need rental income to have not just long-term rental income but also short-term rental income when they live in their house.

Um, but then also allow a path that we think is a reasonable path that will allow uh transparency that will allow uh public input, public process, um, and that when we when we it pass the zoning amendments, finally we will have matched also to um a business license so that there are standards for behavior uh that can be inspected and holds um for to um to accountability.

So those are the two pieces we've been discussing them for a while.

Um and I I I hope we have the support today to move the zoning bill um to the planning commission for report and recommendation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Wilson.

Thank you, Chair.

And uh thank you, Councilwoman Gross and uh for the work and um the conversation around this topic.

And then also thank you to um everyone who will support us today to send to the planning commission also thanks to um other sponsor, um Councilman Coghill.

So if we go back in time before my time, there was individuals here that were working on this uh to regulate short-term rentals.

We you know, we use the term Airbnb.

BMBs pretty loosely, obviously it's a company that has uh definitely rented uh rented space houses in neighborhoods to um operator to guests that completely just almost attempted to ruin um you know the the experience that uh residents have in their own neighborhoods and they've taken action to to ban these individuals uh from future but as we can see it's definitely not enough and what came about in 2022 uh after early Easter morning where there was a mass shooting in uh one of the neighborhoods that I represent on the north side.

And what came about in 2022 after early Easter morning where there was a mass shooting in uh one of the neighborhoods that I represent on the north side all the work uh that was discussed previously came you know bubbled up uh during that week.

And if we go back, there was a bill that was introduced uh it was a bill that I introduced that seek to put a license on it.

And so I'm glad that I'm glad that I mean it's very unfortunate that you know this conversation had to be put back on the table because of this mass shooting.

Um, all the work that's been done since that piece of legislation was introduced, it speaks to the the um, you know, the speaks to the amount of uh attention that this council uh has you know really is just speaks to the where we where we really think STRs have a place in Pittsburgh because you know, it just didn't it's just in it like it wasn't like we all gave up.

You know, there was a moment where we did shift, we did put STRs in the short the uh rental registry bill, which was previous guidance, and then since then I know our offices have worked together uh in meetings to see where we could go further.

And I know the zoning piece was always a piece that you know you felt was was very important.

So I'm happy we're at a place where we're gonna send something that will uh seek to reduce these these experiences that people have in their own neighborhoods because people don't deserve to experience their neighborhood this way.

So I appreciate all the work that's going into this, and I just want to recognize the continued uh abuse that we see from uh these short-term rentals that happens in neighborhoods.

It's it's widely unacceptable, and it was it was it was great to uh have the experience of walking through uh one of my neighborhoods or you know, multiple neighborhoods on the north side are uh they're not um some aren't some are bigger than others, and uh this one is is definitely a walkable area in uh East Dutchtown, if right out, you know, on each side of Chestnut Street on the lower north side.

And I've I've heard all the I've heard all the complaints, you know, whether it's via email or community group meeting, but it was really impactful to walk through the neighborhood with uh residents that are experiencing this.

And to hear the stories of not just these nights that get unruly or out of hand and a shooting happens, but just the constant uh issues that occur from them.

And enough is enough, and it's it's about time that we did something.

Uh, even though you know we have operators that come and say that they are operating their their property appropriately.

This is uh an issue nationally that is getting out of hand.

Recently I found that you can not only rent, you know, we all know we can rent through Airbnb and VR BO and all that, but you can also rent through Marriott.

So large uh hotel uh you know corporations, you can go on their website and you go to homes and villas, and you can see that you can actually zoom in on the map.

You can rent properties right in this area that I took the walkthrough, right on the lower north side, several properties.

And it says this is this property is uh monitor 24-7, and we're gonna, you know, make your stay the best day ever.

You know, maybe maybe those properties are well managed.

But the th the part the part that is really difficult to understand here is who is responsible for that property if something happens.

I mean, i is it just this whole trickle-down thing that goes into you know, some AI chatbot that Marriott has to let you know, you know, uh for you to report if there's an issue with their property.

I I just don't trust uh these large entities to, you know, like Airbnb and Marriott to really make sure that uh you know they're putting the best product forward, and how could it be a best product for whenever they're literally taking out and they're buying these these properties and or they have some sort of agreement with uh you know LLCs like Mary all may have to um to rent out properties that could otherwise be you know families and neighbors like you know, my um uh there was a uh Brighton Heights president that came and spoke about that.

I thought that was very impactful because we are missing out on neighbors that could be living in these residences.

And that's a larger conversation about how we prevent speculators from getting in these homes in the first place.

Uh you know, however the path was that these these opera these uh owners came to be.

Obviously I'm gonna have to make a little pitch for the land bank here.

That that is uh and also uh a good real estate park department working together so that we can prevent this uh you know as much as possible where we don't have to sell to the highest bidder.

And so this conversation will continue to be ongoing uh so that we can uh build communities uh the way the communities want to see them.

So uh appreciate what's happening now and look forward to whatever this um Bill gets back to the table, but there's still a lot of work in between for uh you know there to be full support from from uh everyone at city planning.

So once again, thanks everyone who took a part of this bill and thanks to all the commenters that came.

And it looks like we're getting somewhere.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilman Cockell, follow up by Councilmember Warwick.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Uh first I want to start by uh thanking the two I'm a co-sponsor, but I I will say that Councilwoman Gross and Councilman Wilson have done, you know, all the research and background and coming up with what we hope is going to be a good solution to this.

Um, Councilman Wilson, I know you jumped in after, you know, that unfortunate incident in one of your neighborhoods, and I commend you for that.

It was uh really really good move.

Councilwoman Gross, you've long been a strong advocate for housing.

And I'm just and I decided to sound sign on as a co-sponsor because it's twofold for me.

It's both.

I have um reports of houses that are Airbnb or whatever we want to call them rentals, short-term rentals, where I've had wild parties, shootings, and you know, just unrolly uh incidents where we couldn't get a hold of the, you know, the um the rightful owner or the rightful manager.

And that needs to be regulated.

We need to have some sort of accountability there.

Uh councilwoman Gross long warned me that this is coming to my neighborhood and you know that um they're gonna start gobbling up these properties and big LLCs from out of state, and I have seen it over the past seven or eight years.

I have one LLC that owns eighty some homes in just one of my neighborhoods, and I don't know if half of them are occupied or rented.

Um I'm not quite sure the status of them.

But I just wanted to say and thank you both for your work.

Uh I know we'll get to the right spot here.

And I do hear the commenters today, and and I sympathize with them as well, and I'm confident that we're gonna come up with the um the right solution and in the in the right direction to go uh on this.

But um, but yeah, so I signed sign on twofold.

You know, I have unruly parties and I have LLCs gobbling up properties that could be meant for Pittsburghers and therefore monopolizing the industry and you know, raising the rent prices and you know, uh home ownership prices.

So uh I just want to thank you both for your work.

Uh I'm I'm a supporter and I look forward to the outcome.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Councilmember Warwick.

Um one thing I wanted to uh comment on, because I didn't I don't think I actually heard it in the in the testimony of folks that came up.

So, you know, I I do understand that there are folks who have they have a business, there are folks who who there, as they said, like the ecosystem around that business, whether that be cleaners or property man, or whoever it is, right?

So so that there is um you know, there is this universe that has grown up around the short-term rental industry.

Um and and and maybe this is uh a question for Councilman Gross, but at least my understanding is um, you know, if you have a furnished home, right?

You furnish it, you've made it nice.

It isn't this bill does not prevent you from renting to say a traveling nurse who's coming to stay in Pittsburgh for a few months, right?

Or a PhD student who is coming to work at the university or do some kind of re or professor is coming to do like a research project, or anybody who's kind of in Pittsburgh, maybe moving to Pittsburgh and you know, needs to live for a t in a place for a while, you know, short term while they find, you know, sort of midterm, I'll say, well, they find a place, right?

So there is a market for people who need a place to stay, who are not going to be, you know, creating a problem, who are like feeling out Pittsburgh, staying in Pittsburgh for a little while, and who also presumably are working in Pittsburgh, and so we're getting wage tax off of those folks.

Um but but you know, the opportunity is still there to have your cleaner come in and clean, you know, I don't know, maybe you're running to two people in one's house or something to have the cleaner come in and clean the common errors, all of this stuff.

So and I'll have the councilman, you know, comment on this perhaps, but there's nothing in this bill that like kills that business.

You know, oh now I have to sell the house and I can't do anything with it.

So um I and I hope that at the Planning Commission that um that comes forward, right?

That that that someone raises that at the planning commission because I think that there is and and maybe it is um you know the business owners who are worried, right?

They this is the business that they operate now, and um, you know, maybe there needs to be a little bit of understanding about other options that that they may have sort of similar to this business model, but it does not seem to me like it is the end of anything, or that's gonna, you know, pull the rug out from under somebody who's saved up and bought this additional property or whatever their personal situation may be.

And you know, generally I, you know, this kind of and we've heard this this sort of like what about ism arguments.

Well, what about you know, like, you know, what about other disruptive properties?

What about vacant and abandoned properties?

Look, like, you know, we have lots of issues around properties in the city of Pittsburgh, and one problem does not justify, you know, you know, grappling with one problem does not justify another problem.

Like we should just not do anything.

So um, I just thank you to Councilman Gross and Councilman Wilson and and and everyone who who worked on this.

I think it's gonna be a good thing.

Thank you.

Further discussion, first round or second round.

I I just wanted to say I um I'm so glad we're we're moving forward with these bills.

Um I'm supportive.

Um I wanted to introduce as an idea or to contemplate, this is probably more relevant to the last bill that we just um held, is currently if you have made changes to a home to allow for an Airbnb without proper permits, occupancy permits, and you're really skirting the law and under operating under the cloak of darkness.

Um there's very little redress aside from being forced to maybe confront a magisterial district judge or um being going through then the proper process, and I would uh imagine then under these bills also then getting seeking the license for operated a short-term rental, being denied that, and then not being able to, you know, re to uh to receive the income that you were expecting.

But currently no actual additional penalty that the city can issue for skirting the proper process.

And I just wanted to bring it up in case there was I know that starts to get into the enforcement piece, and I know that starts to get into issues kind of like quality of life ticketing, like who has the power to issue a fine, what is the fine?

Is it the magical district judge or is it the city?

But wanted to introduce that as an idea.

The thinking being that if we can demonstrate that if you skirt the law, the penalties are stiff on the front end.

Hopefully that discourages the bad behavior and the conversion of you know, homes into short-term rentals without going through the proper process before that happens.

So something that's you know, uh prevalent in my communities and um yeah, just something that maybe we can contemplate offline.

But fully supportive, thank you, and you know, looking forward to seeing how the discussions take place um on both of these bills.

Any further discussion on this bill.

I need to make a motion to refer for a report market.

Yes, we need the we need to send to planning commission for report and recommendation.

So motion to refer the bill to the planning commission for report and recommendation.

Second.

Discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Bill B sent to planning commission for report and recommendation.

Um that moves us to intergovernmental and educational affairs committee chaired by councilman Mosley.

Resolution authorizing the mayor and the director of the Department of Finance on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a cooperation agreement with the school district of the city of Pittsburgh, the County of Allegheny, and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation to document local co op cooperation and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporations agreement to make payments in lieu of taxes for still workers tower 46 B200, 2639 Perry's Villaven, Council District 6.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion?

Discussion.

Councilperson Charland.

Yeah, so I see those three of these here.

Does anyone good morning, Jen Gula Finance Director?

I think it's still morning anyway.

If you could just tell me what these are about, um so these specific properties of which there's three specific pieces of legislation, all had pilot agreements already existing with the city and the school district and Allegheny County.

And they expired last year in March, if I'm not mistaken, and I think they were 20 year agreements.

Um the the development company reached out to the school district about extending them, I think for an additional 10.

And so I think that's what we're looking or asking to do.

All three of these properties are senior high rises or senior housing.

And um, after reviewing with Solicitor Kubyak, who you know, they actually approached law before they approach finance, um, these properties, even if we should challenge their tax exemptedness, would probably lose because of their actual, you know, being actual senior housing.

So she didn't see potentially uh legal issue with extending the agreement.

I mean, we'd be getting some tax dollars as opposed to none.

So that's basically what we're looking to do is extend an agreement that had already existed, and they already and they had paid us religiously, it's just for an additional period of time.

Okay, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Sure.

Thank you.

Councilmember Warwick, um yeah, so this is this definitely caught my eye as well.

So what I mean, you can maybe just take one as an example.

What are they paying in you know, payment in lieu of taxes versus what they would be paying based on their property value?

Do we know for the first bill?

I think the assessed value is about six point five million dollars.

Okay.

Is that I think that's the steel workers high rise, if I'm not mistaken, on Perrysville Avenue.

Okay.

Um they were paying fifty, I think it was a percentage.

Um it was based on our it was fifteen thousand dollars.

They used a I think as a base assessment value, and then we got like fifteen thousand dollars times our millage rate.

So obviously substantially less than what we would have gotten on six point five million dollars, but six point five million dollars is also treated as zero because they are tax exempt.

Because they're tax exempt.

Yes.

And how did it come about that this do we know how this came about that this deal was made 20 years ago to do this pilot?

I wouldn't have been in a position in order to be able to know all the ins and outs of that actual agreement.

So what is this NCSC USA housing?

Is that it's it's a development company, and I believe that they rehabbed and either built that actual tower or they rehabbed it in order to make it into senior housing.

So they're a deeper developer and they are the owners of all three of these specific properties.

And are they a nonprofit?

I don't know that they are, but the the actual use of the property is for a nonprofit use.

Okay, so this is not it's not necessarily the owner of the property, it's what the property is actually used for that also plays into the fact of whether or not it's tax exempt.

Got it.

And are these is this low income senior housing?

I can't confirm that if it is or isn't, but I could find out.

It is because I've been inside still worker tower multiple times.

The council president's campaign manager we used to have many advanced distill workers is definitely low income.

Yeah.

So I mean I'm just good because this is this feels like a good template for many of our other property owners.

And I just I I don't know.

It would be interesting to know just kind of the history about how this came to be.

Like what you know what I mean, what the city, I don't know who if would our archivists do that or figure out what the negotiation was that led to this in the first place.

Yeah, I don't I wasn't part of those negotiations, so I can't say I mean there would be information in the agreement at the same time.

But any of the sidebar conversations that actually spurned that, I wouldn't be privy to.

So and I don't know that they would actually be in the agreement itself.

And do we have other just to your knowledge pilot agreements out there with other large property holders?

Yeah, most of them, I think a lot of them revolve around like housing authority developments that are low-income housing, whereas the housing authority obviously is a tax-exempt government entity, and they take property and turn it into low-income housing, and based on their rental occupancy, they give the city a certain portion that would be you know in lieu of taxes because they're tax exempt and the use of the property is an exempt use.

And so in order to compensate for that, they do have agreements with the city, then they pay us a certain amount of money based on occupancy of the buildings.

Okay.

Okay.

Well, that's um that's interesting.

I guess I didn't I didn't realize that.

So that is good to know.

And lots of our other large nonprofits should maybe know too.

Um at any rate, okay, thank you.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you.

Further discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of bill seventy-four, please indicate by saying aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bill 75.

Resolution authorizing the mayor and the director of the Department of Finance on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a cooperation agreement with the school district of the City of Pittsburgh, the County of Allegheny, and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation 3 to document local corp cooperation and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation 3's agreement to make payments in lieu of taxes for the Lynn Williams Apartments Building 3710 Brighton Road, Council District 1.

Motion to approve whose district who's this motion to approve?

Second.

Discussion?

The next one.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 75, please indicate by saying aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

Bill 76.

Resolution authorizing the mayor and the director of the Department of Finance on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh to enter into a cooperation agreement with the school district of the city of Pittsburgh, the County of Allegheny, and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation 2 to document local cooperation and the NCSC USA Housing Development Corporation 2's agreement to make payments in lieu of taxes for the IW Abel Building, 4720 Hatfield Street, Council District 7.

Motion to approve?

Second.

Discussion.

Councilwoman Gross.

Thank you.

So thank you, Director.

We're staying at the table.

This one is in my district, and we're really grateful that there still is a affordable senior housing in the district.

And it's, you know, a really important property.

But could you just say again for me?

Because I wasn't quite paying close enough attention.

How is the the agreement?

You said that it was like some portion of so they pay.

If I remember correctly, their their agreement that just expired that they would pay, I think they used maybe $15,000 as a base assessment, and then we got whatever our millage rate was times, you know, $15,000.

So I'm sorry, wait.

So you can't do this for the whole parcel?

Yes.

I mean the whole parcel and structure?

Yes.

Of like a hundred unit residential structure.

Yes.

In Lawrenceville.

Yes.

It's being assessed at $15,000.

That's what was negotiated at the end of the year.

And so that's what you're intending to react.

I think it went up a little.

I think it went to 16 instead of 15 1,000 increase.

Yes.

Over the last 20 years of property increase in Lawrenceville.

Yes.

What happens if the property is reassessed?

Nothing.

Because you've set just a kind of proxy number.

Like regardless of what the assessment of the property is.

You're asking people to pay the millage on $15,000.

Right.

Or maybe 16.

Yes.

And so what this resolution does is it just gives you all permission to negotiate that.

Yes.

Do you know if the school board and the county are negotiating the same terms?

I can't speak to the county, but the school district.

Yeah.

So again, it's really important that I know that it's very difficult to operate one of these low-income senior properties.

And I mean they're really deeply affordable.

These are certainly people who would not be able to live anywhere else in my district if they were not in that building.

And the really important members of our community.

So I understand the impulse.

But I think it's a possible it's also important that like we had to ask at the table, and and so it's it wouldn't be on the record, like let's say a year from now.

Two years from now.

Somebody wants to know.

What is the pilot for that property?

Where would they go to look?

Because it's not anywhere here, and it's not in the text file.

Because this just says this literally is like, you know, we always give, you know, this is like you have to ask us for permission.

You can't actually enter an agreement without our permission.

So we've we've given you permission to just kind of like do whatever.

It doesn't say what the agreement is.

And so where would they look?

They would have to probably look on open book with the controller's office because it would be a contract then that would be signed not just by us after we had approved legislation, but also the school district and the county after they pass their own legislation in in order to allow them to accept the agreement.

And that's where it would live.

Are the old agreements on there?

What's that?

Are the old agreements on there?

I want to say yes, but I can't guarantee because they were so long ago.

I know I made it.

So but but yes.

This is why I should we've had situations where we look for all the agreements that the city had about the nonprofit and there were 17 on open book with one entity.

But in reality, there were 52.

So I was like, you know, I threatened it was I had legislation to demand all of the cooperation agreements that pass standing committee, and then at the final vote, it you know, colleagues didn't want to pass it because the administration came running over with an additional like you know 35 um agreements that were just kind of in people's door drawers or offices or whatever, and we're we now have them all in one place.

Um so it's important to ask because it's not a free system.

This is why I'm just gonna very briefly mention to my colleagues that while we're giving permission, then the agreements we don't the public doesn't know what the agreements are, they just gonna go off into space.

So, you know, if we had them in the legislative record, they would be in one place.

Um I'll just point point that out.

That's all I'm supportive today.

Again, we're very appreciative that we have this deeply affordable housing in in Lawrenceville.

Thank you.

Further discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 76, please indicate by saying aye.

Iffirmative recommendation.

Thank you, Director.

Bill 77.

Resolution authorizing the Pittsburgh Land Bank to acquire all the city's right, title, and interest, if any, in and to the publicly owned properties in the 10th ward of the city of Pittsburgh, designated in the deed registry office of Allegheny County as block 50 F, lots 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, and 122, zero North Windbiddle Street and block 50 F lot 123, 0 Rosetta Street, Council District 9 at no cost to the city.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Discussion.

Seeing none, all those in favor of Bill 77, please say aye.

Aye.

Affirmative recommendation.

That exhausts our standing committee's agenda.

We do have meeting announcements.

This afternoon at 130 p.m.

Council will hold a pre-agenda interview for the city planning director.

Next week, council will hold their regular meeting on Tuesday, February 17th.

And standing committees meeting on Wednesday, February 18th, both at 10 a.m.

To register to speak at these meetings, please fill out the sign up form on the council meeting webpage by the deadlines.

You may also call the clerk's office at 412, 255, 2138.

Anything for members.

Seeing none, I'll take a motion to approve the minutes and adjourn the meeting.

Second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Meeting is adjourned.