Good morning, and welcome to the standing committee meeting for Wednesday, June tenth, two thousand twenty-six.

Uh our first order of businesses roll call.

Please take the roll.

Excuse me, Mr.

Charland, Mr.

Cockhill, Miss Gross, Mr.

LeBelle.

Here.

Mr.

Mosley.

Here.

Ms.

Salonitra.

Miss Warwick.

And Ms.

Warwick.

Here.

Mr.

Wilson.

Miss Strasberger.

Five members present.

Thank you.

Our next order of business is submitted agenda.

There's a motion to amend.

So moved.

Second.

All in favor say aye.

Aye.

The agenda has been amended.

Our next order of business is public comment.

I would like to remind all speakers with the rules of council of state that comments are limited in matters of concern, official action or deliberation, which maybe before city council profanity would not be permitted.

Please restate your name, provide your neighborhood for the record.

Thanks to Council for having me here today.

Subsidies for adopt a lot growers, a twice seasonal material grant program that expands and supplements the work of city farms by providing tangible resources like fencing and soil, an annual educational programming that provides a myriad of topics for growers to learn and expand their agricultural knowledge, among many other things.

In addition to the direct support we provide, Grove Pittsburgh continues to advocate for policies that improve neighborhood food access and food system resiliency.

This advocacy has allowed for continued partnership with the City of Pittsburgh as we've worked alongside partners and city staff last year to make improvements to programs that increase community food security and resilience.

The changes included in the stewardship package that city planning is presenting to you all increases community food security and resilience.

The changes included in this stewardship package will provide greater clarity on protecting and maintaining our city's greenways while also expanding lease terms for adopt a lot growers, among other changes.

Grow Pittsburgh is grateful for this continued and meaningful collaboration, and I am delighted to stand before you all today to provide my strong recommendation that council approve the stewardship package.

We hope this will be a first step for this council and mayoral administration to work to better understand the opportunities that exist within urban agriculture for the City of Pittsburgh.

Food insecurity remains a challenge for residents and one that is not easily solved by a silver bullet solution.

Urban agriculture and community-based food projects are not hobbies.

They make up an important part of our food security safety net.

As food challenge, food system challenges persist, we must seek and continue to support collaborative and sustainable solutions that meet the unique needs of our neighborhoods and ensure equitable and land access, equitable land and food access for all.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is David Bernigan.

Good morning.

Can you hear me?

Yes, we can.

Oh, thank you.

Uh, this is Dave Bringen.

I am the co-director of Lawrenceville Together, which is the newly merged organization of Lawrence Hill United and Lawrenceville Corporation.

Our mission is to build opportunity and community for all who live and work in Lawrence Fall.

And I'll keep my comments comments really brief, but uh was asked also to speak about our experience with community gardens and using the property reserve program at the city.

We've uh long used uh the in our history, we both Lawrence United and Lawrenceville Corporation have used the Bacon Property Reserve Program to as part of our community development and revitalization efforts, both to create affordable housing as well as community gardens.

And I would say, you know, our experience has been that both of those things have been mutually reinforcing and really, you know, two important parts of our overall strategies for community development and revitalization, working alongside partners like Grove Pittsburgh.

Um so yeah, I just wanted to offer that you know our feeling here is that uh housing and um, you know, urban agriculture are really not in opposition, but really mutually reinforcing for overall community development.

So that's all I want to say.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Chief Igahana Helmokina.

The Aboriginal American people.

When it comes to finding money in a future month, it found million of available fund.

Yeah, I think they're training facility, locate it, and however, the issue of housing is still a problem.

I cannot compliment how many calls I get from friends, neighbor, and relative, looking for housing.

I don't understand why the word affordable is such a controversial word.

He wrote extensively about the flight of someone to home or having a perspective of having a home of colonization.

That's the issue already.

Yet housing is still a problem.

All across the city, houses of banner, but they're correct, apartments are already in the pretty clear on a developmental line field of family.

They address the affordability issue.

I don't think it has always been affordable and the picture until the developers have made five fields with God and too, but we're all suffering as a result of housing naturally being affordable.

And we will need to the council to address the concerns of the children.

Thank you and have a good day.

Thank you.

Our last registered speaker is Mara Velu.

Hello, all.

So I am Mayor Valu, and I am a parks and conservation planner with Trust for Public Land.

So Trust for Public Land is a national nonprofit with a mission to connect everyone to the outdoors.

We've been working across the country now for over 50 years to protect lands and work alongside communities to connect people to vibrant green spaces.

In Pennsylvania, over the past 15 years, we've preserved over 4,800 acres, built six parks, and transformed 18 asphalt schoolyards into green spaces.

In Pittsburgh, our work includes supporting Greenfield Elementary with their schoolyard renovation and supporting the city's greenways through working with the planning department and groups like Hazelwood Initiative and Land Force.

So we engage with communities to design and develop public spaces and we stay engaged after completion.

We work with communities to understand how to care and maintain their public spaces, and we connect them with resources for programming and activation.

We understand the challenges of taking care of a new public space, and we strongly support processes that help communities in their work.

We believe that stewardship is key to sustaining high-quality, welcoming spaces that can contribute to people's health and well-being.

Each component of the package brings opportunities to engage in spaces that can be underutilized in the city but hold strong potential.

We see the legislation as a strong foundation to build long-term sustainable investment in the green spaces across the city.

And we also see it as a model that we could be sharing with cities across the nation who are also finding a similar need for a framework to support their public open spaces.

So again, we strongly recommend adoption of this package.

Thank you.

Good morning.

Carlino Giampolo, Panther Hollow.

Today I am continuing my comments from yesterday on the actions of the mayor and focusing on the illegal skate park in Panther Hollow.

On May 4th, I sent a letter to the mayor mentioning that throughout his tenure, he will face issues that could be defining moments for his administration, such as the illegal skate park in Panther Hollow.

Keep laughing, Mr.

Charlie.

And then it gave him seven reasons to shut down the illegal skate park.

Here are just the first two, Mr.

Charlie.

Either one of them can help him to do what is right and end this injustice against our community.

One, your own personal dignity.

Take a moment to reflect upon your valued self, principles and ideals, beliefs and attitudes, and the other components that comprise your own personal dignity.

Is the illegal skate park in harmony with your dignity?

Two, I hand delivered to you photos of examples of the vulgar language and the graffiti that permeates the illegal skate park.

Would you want to bring your wife and children to this playground?

Is the issue is the noise of the skateboarders crashing onto the concrete, permeating into our homes and throughout our neighborhood.

What you would want for your own family and neighborhood.

The neighbor, the mayor ignored all seven reasons.

Once again, he shamefully never responded.

This is one more example of the mayor's elitist attitude that is putting him on the path of tragedy.

Last week the mayor went on television deploring the almost out of control violence in our city, speaking as if he's above the violence, rather than a part of the overall horrific consciousness behind it.

When the mayor condones 12 incidents of harassment emanating from the users of the skate park, just because they do not rise to the level of beatings, stabbings, or murder.

And when he ignores the pain and suffering of the residents, knowing that the illegal skate park in their neighborhood is not their will, then he can be considered a part of that criminal consciousness he spoke about permeating our city.

I will repeat what I said yesterday.

Staff members and administrators who understand dignity.

Speak up now to guide the mayor back on to the path of dignity.

Shut down the illegal skate park in Panther Hollow.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Good morning, Council of Selective Service.

I wish I had a job like y'all.

It's been over 20 years, and y'all haven't started at 10 o'clock.

Why do y'all still have that y'all start at 10 o'clock?

That'll make no sense.

And then y'all have mascots for the day that want to come out and speak to people while people are speaking because you don't care about what the person that's speaking is saying.

They only get three minutes.

You get paid to listen to their three minutes.

And I know you want to look at me in my face because you know I'm talking to you.

But anyway, good morning.

My name is Janik Brown, and I'm here today representing the forgotten neighborhoods of this city.

The ones you only seem to see when the person asking looks a certain way.

I have a vision for our community.

I already spoke about it, and I've already started to work to make it happen.

I want to put the pictures of our soldiers at one of the polls throughout our neighborhoods.

I want to know what I need, what permits am I supposed to people like me every day.

Just look right past us.

I need to know it from y'm here today because I don't want to start this and then I'm being told I'm breaking the law.

So I'm asking for the rules because I've noticed that the rules in this chamber tend to change depending on who's standing at this mic.

And that brings me to the other issue of convenience that I spoke about before.

I've been here telling y'all that I'm going through, and it's like I'm speaking a different language that y'all don't understand.

But the minute I brought a white woman in here with the exact almost same problems, suddenly everyone was fluent.

You all ran to her like she was the last rat on the Satanic.

And Anthony, that's probably going to come rolling in in a couple minutes.

He practically set the last week record for sprinting out of here to hand her $20.

I didn't know that city uh council has an instant ACL service for some people, but uh don't call us will call you service for the rest of us.

So since I'm here today trying to honor our soldiers, people who actually know what sacrifice looks like, I'm sure a few council members, and Anthony will be the first one to reach out and donate to help me get these pictures up.

I know how much he loves to help the less fortunate.

So I'm waiting for the information on permits and my $20 donation from him.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Hi everyone, my name is Sakhith Rajworth.

I'm a Pitt Law grad and a student of Professor Dangles' uh wicked problem innovation class.

Hi, uh my name is Stephanie Dangle.

I am a professor at Pitt Law School.

I'm also a community member of the Hill District.

Um, and for the past five years, uh my students and I have been working with members of the Hill District in Knoxville to green vacant lots.

Why are we doing this?

Because greening vacant lots has been shown by many studies to decrease rates of impression, depression, and gun violence.

We're here today to um talk about the proposed improvements to the Pittsburgh Greenways and Adopt a Lot Program and how those improvements will allow us to move forward with our projects.

The first project is the Soho Native Flower Garden in the Hill District.

This is on a steep overgrown lot between Center and Wiley Avenue.

We'd like to transform that into a beautiful native pollinator garden.

However, the area is uh prone to landslides, which makes it an ideal candidate for the Pittsburgh Greenways program.

We believe that adopting the Greenway Stewardship Program would allow our community members to move forward with this important project.

The second project is in Knoxville, it's the Jacunda Strawberry Patch.

This proposed project would transform a vacant lot into a community garden that would provide fresh strawberries to the Knoxville neighborhood.

This project began as an adopt a lot lease project, however, due to the limited length of adopt a lot leases, the community member had to renew this three times.

Adopting the City Farm Gardens program will allow for five-year leases, and removing the natural resource code will formally permit urban agricultural projects like the Jacunda Strawberry Patch.

The final garden that we're working on is the Grandma Bees Hill History Garden.

If you know Grandma Bees, you know it's a thriving but small restaurant where overflow customers have to sit on milk crates outside the restaurant.

The proposed improvements to the adopt a lot program would allow the lots next door to Grandma B's to be transformed into a gathering space with benches, public art and signage that would honor the Hill District's amazing past, present, and future.

In conclusion, by adopting the proposed improvements to adopt a lot in Greenways, City Council will allow our community members to move forward with these important projects that will improve their neighborhood's public health and safety.

Thus, we strongly urge that you move forward with the proposed amendment.

However, it's also important to note that without community input such as today, community control and community ownership, greening neighborhoods can lead to environmental gentrification that would increase rents and displace long-term residents.

Thus, it's important that in the near future, City Council adopt pathways to community control and ownership of vacant lots through proposals to improve the Pittsburgh side yard, Community Land Trust programs, and the Pittsburgh Land Bank.

But for now, I want to thank you for allowing me to speak for our neighbors in favor of improvements to the Adopt a Lot and Green Waste Program.

Thank you.

Hello, I'm Thomas Gutner.

I'm the director of land stewardship with the Land Force.

I'm here to speak in favor of the Greenways and Adopt a Lot program here today in front of you.

Land Force is an employment social enterprise, nonprofit organization that was born here in Pittsburgh in 2016 and has since hired 228 trainees into our workforce development program and seen an 85% success rate with our crew members going on to find stable employment after completing the program.

Our ability to teach new skills, provide experiences with those skills, and for those new skills and experiences to impact the lives of our crew members comes from our project work on green infrastructure systems, vacant lot management, invasive plant management work, trail building and trail maintenance work, community garden and place-based development, and our city staircase stewardship projects, as well as our tree care and restoration work throughout the city.

Land force recruits and trains hard-to-employ adults into our employment-based skills training program.

Our work reduces recidivism rates by focusing on the whole person and reducing their individual barriers to future employment while connecting our participants with meaningful work projects that increase the quality of life in place for residents of the city.

Land forces receive funding from local and national foundations as well as state and federal dollars, which we've been able to apply to community benefit projects across the city, as well as direct work in Pittsburgh's parks and greenways.

However, a large portion of our projects comes from a fee-for-service work that keeps trails free of vegetation and erosion, hillsides free of invasive plants and shrubs, and stormwater management systems running smoothly to prevent flooding and increase water quality.

I'm here to advocate for the proposal proposed ordinance in front of you today.

For land force to continue that valuable work that we are doing in the Hazelwood Greenway, Seldom Seen Greenway, and in Hayes Woods, we currently need to go through several layers of permissions and volunteer forms.

Streamlining the community stewardship process will give us greater efficiency and flexibility in addressing issues within our scope of work and will provide a sense of partnership between the city and land force.

In 2015 alone, landforce built or maintained nearly four miles of trails between the Hazelwood and Seldom Seen Greenways.

We maintained five sets of city steps in the Hill District, constructed a flight of wooden box steps in the Southside Park that connects the community orchard, and used the DC and R grant to plant 160 trees, 160 trees in parks, greenways, and along city steppe corridors, with crew members trying to reach their fullest potential by stewarding these community assets and making Pittsburgh a better place to live.

Land Force has a track record of exemplary partnerships with DPW forestry and environmental planning that makes us an ideal partner for engagement in our beloved green spaces.

I would like to encourage the council on behalf of Land Force, all of my nonprofit partners here today, and um encourage you to look at the community groups across the city as an asset and consider voting for the informative for the ordinance in front of you.

This will allow the city staff to work more efficiently and effectively to serve the people of Pittsburgh while uh providing improvements to important resources.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Next speaker, I'm sorry, I thought somebody else was coming up first.

My name is Yvonne F.

Brown.

I live at 715 Mercer Street.

It's in the Hill District, the senior citizen home at the top of the hill, top of Betford.

My daughter, Nikki was telling me that when I'm speaking, I'm putting too much stuff in it, and I'm really confusing you.

So let me explain what happened.

Is that um I drove my daughter down to Atlanta?

Her I drove her truck and her furniture down to Atlanta in 2013.

I came back to Pittsburgh, and my brother in law, Lenny Brown, who used to work for the city and also for the county.

He had put Brownie in Katie River's tires.

That's 2013.

So when I um was in the building, Miss Fanny came to me and she was saying she had to go to the hospital, Mercy Hospital at the bottom of the hill.

And so I said, Well, you would catch the bus, and I showed her where the bus was, and you can go that way.

So when she came back and she said, No, the bus do not go to the bottom of the hill.

I had to go in town, take another bus to get to the hospital.

So when I that happened, I started coming down here to the city council and saying to Mr.

Lavelle, we need a bus straight down to the bottom of the hill.

Well, you know, he very seldom answers me.

And he didn't say anything, but we got caught on the elevator together in this building.

And he said, Mrs.

Brown, you keep coming down here and telling me you need to go to County Council.

So that's what I did.

I went to County Council, and my councilman is the wick Watson.

When I went down and asked, you had the president after I got finished, he said, Well, committee, we have a citizen that has a problem.

And what should we do?

Should we write a letter to Pat or one by one or all together?

Asked him, he said, no.

I can't nobody come down and tell me what I need, what they need.

That's my community.

I know what they need.

They need protection.

They need security.

But as it goes on, that uh when they were having an election time, John DeFacio, county president, county council president, was down in the basement, but I didn't know.

But as I walked through, here comes DeWitt Watson.

So I said, hey, sir, you remember me?

I said you didn't do nothing.

He was supposed to call.

He didn't, I said, you didn't do nothing you said you was.

I said, I'm going to County Council and tell on you.

So he stopped and he was hollering.

You know, I found out he just talks louder.

I said, Are you hollering at me?

So, sir, he said, no, but I promise you I will call county council.

So I go down to the room, and John DeFi's wife was standing there.

I have to finish it next week because this is getting ready to go off.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

You and W.

R.

Stopping.

Good morning, special agent Sunshine.

The missing child, Cerese Taylor.

Thank you, Lord, for keeping your promise to destroy every liar.

I return to Cinderella, death rituals, and confusion spells sent towards me, Lavelle.

It's amazing you're not hiding today.

I curse to death every witch, wizard, and warlock in the world, especially in this building, in this chamber, in Jesus' name.

Lord, throw them into a lake of fire, one trillion degrees.

We need laws to come against witches, wizards, and warlocks who are doing death rituals on people daily.

I'm one of them.

They're being returned to sender.

If you can't handle the voodoo that you practice or the backfire, please stop sending it over here.

Because people are already not here no more for doing it.

In Jesus' name.

Hebrews 4 16 says, God is faithful, even when circumstances look impossible.

Shout out to the Justice Department.

Pika Boo, I see you too.

How is the sixth layer of red velvet cake for yesterday's eye opener?

Y'all saw a lot, huh?

I know.

Because I'm out here shining one million watts of light on injustice in this place in Jesus' name.

Proverbs 4920.

It says, a man who has riches without understanding is like the beast that perish.

Mosley.

How's your gambling happen?

Pray about it.

Please.

Because it's not hidden.

Lavelle, if you need some revenue, start with the 25 foot ordinance that people are breaking.

For smoking in front of businesses.

25 feet.

That means across the street, not right in front of the building as soon as you come in the door in the handicap entrance.

Even in the front entrance.

Right here on those benches.

That's not 25 feet.

It is not.

And the fine for that, validating it is to minimum 25 up to 1,100.

Civil C.

Start suing these people because cancer is real.

And we will not be killed by people's secondhand smoke, which has already been proven that it it causes cancer.

Period.

Revelation 214.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

Where the old order of things has passed away.

The veil.

Thank you, Lord, for using me as a vessel.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

Next speaker, please.

Seeing no further speakers, we'll turn to our standing committee agenda.

First committee of the day is finance and law, which is shared by Councilman Strossberger.

Excuse me.

We have one supplemental paper, Bill.

Resolution amending resolution 924 of 2024, effective December 18, 2024, entitled Resolution Adopting and Approving the 2025 Capital Budget.

The proposed 2025 Community Development Program and the 2025 through 2030 capital improvement program by transferring 550,000 from facility improvements, sports facilities to play area improvements.

Second.

Discussion council.

So there's a project that is being worked on now in Hazelwood for the Lewis Playground.

It's a project that I've been working for a number of years to gather the funding for.

So there's another project also in Hazelwood, the Bergwin Tennis Court renovation, which you know I'm it it it pains me to do this, but I'm moving money from that project, which was supposed to start, you know, late this year, maybe early next year, and moving that over to Lewis Playground to ensure that we can keep the current project moving.

So it's sort of robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I'll put in a budget request for the you know to try and refund the you know get new funding for the the tennis court improvements, which were gonna be tennis court, pickleball court, and some outdoor exercise equipment, which would have been very nice uh for Glenn Hazel up there.

That court is just um just sort of not being used at the moment.

At any rate, um I just all all of that to say I you know it's always a bit of um you know the cost of things with with contractors that that we use um in government, it's not just at the city, right?

It's across the board, but you know, we pay uh exorbitant amounts sometimes, it seems for projects.

It's always a little mind-boggling how much projects cost when it's the government that is paying, compared to if it were the private sector paying, and then to have um have a a mistake made by the contractor that then results in, you know, a neighborhood that had two projects and and now only has one is unfortunate to say the least.

So at any rate, that I don't I don't know if anybody has any questions, but that's that's it in a nutshell.

So thank you.

Any further discussion?

If not, all those in favor say aye.

Aye, aye.

Any opposed, affirmative recommendation that takes us to our new papers beginning with Bill 560.

Resolution amending resolution 924 of 2024, effective December 18, 2024, entitled Resolution Adopting and Approving the 2025 Capital Budget, the proposed 2025 community development program and the 2025 through 2030 capital improvement program by increasing complete streets by one million dollars to account for additional federal highway administration funding being received by the city of Pittsburgh, the motion motion to approve second any discussion seeing none, all those in favor say aye, aye.

Any opposed, affirmative recommendation.

Bill 561.

Resolution further amending resolution 857 of 2023, effective December 27, 2023 as amended and titled resolution adopting and approving the 2024 capital budget, their proposed 2024 community development program, and the 2024 through 2029 capital improvement program by increasing street resurfacing by 1,065,795.

To align with the most recent American Rescue Plan Act allocation.

Motion to approve second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, affirmative recommendation.

Need a motion to approve the invoices.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Invoices have been approved.

Uh we need a motion to approve the P Cards.

Motion to approve P cards.

Second.

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Affirmative P Cards have been approved.

That takes us to public safety and wellness committee, which is chaired by Councilman Coghill.

We have one new paper bill 554.

Resolution authorizing the issuance of a warrant in favor of Pulse Point Foundation in an amount not to exceed $6,000 for the city share of the license fee for the annual renewal of the Pulse Point Emergency Services application.

Your motion motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

See none.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Affirmative recommendation.

That takes us to public works and infrastructure committee chaired by Councilwoman Salonetro.

Uh first bill is Bill 414.

Resolution authorizing the mayor and director of finance on behalf of the city of Pittsburgh to enter into an agreement or agreements or amendments there too with various parties for the purpose of accessing city property while certain railroad crossing at Lockway East and Lockway West.

Council District 7 are being upgraded or removed at no cost to the city.

Motion to approve a discussion.

Second.

Second discussion, Councilman.

Can I uh call for a hold on this for two weeks?

Second.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

The bill be held two weeks.

That takes us to our new papers beginning with Bill 556.

Resolution amending resolution 542 of 2023 authorizing the mayor and director of public works to enter into a sub award agreement with River Life for the purpose of spending grant funds in an amount not to exceed 499,900 to support the renovation of Allegheny Landing Park by correcting the park name on the section.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, affirmative recommendation.

Bill 558.

Resolution providing for an agreement or agreements with traffic planning and design inc for costs associated with the final design phase of the Frankstown Avenue Signals Project, providing for the payment of the cost thereof not to exceed 404,254.34 cents reimbursable at 80%.

Motion to approve.

Second.

In discussion, seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Affirmative recommendation.

Bill 559.

Resolution providing for a reimbursement agreement or agreements with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation for costs associated with the construction phase of the East Ohio Street Safety and Streetscape Project and providing for the payment of the cost thereof not to exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars,000 reimbursable at 100%.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed, affirmative recommendation.

Bill 574.

Resolution approving the recommendation made by the director of the Department of Mobility and Infrastructure that the concrete portion of Allegheny Avenue situated north of and beginning at the intersection of North Franklin Avenue and ending at 1631 Allegheny Avenue at the termination of this northerly block should be paid with asphalt in accordance with section 41706 of the Pittsburgh Code of Ordinances.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Affirmative recommendation.

That moves us to land use economic development committee, which is chaired by Councilman Wilson.

First new papers, Bill 563.

Resolution authorizing pursuant to Chapter 210 of the City Code, the Mayor and the Director of the Department of City Planning to accept a donation from Preservation Pittsburgh in an amount of ten thousand dollars for the conservation of the Soldiers and Sailors Foundation and Arsenal Park.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

I any opposed, affirmative recommendation.

Bill 564.

Okay.

I think there's five in total.

I didn't know if you have five in total.

If you wanted to read them all together.

Yeah.

Is that okay?

Oh, I want to go.

Is that okay?

Yeah, yeah.

Sorry.

I might get a little bit.

Because they're in two committees.

Yeah, that's okay.

You know what they are.

It's Bill 564, 62, 65, 66, 67.

Yes.

Wait a minute.

564.

560.

It's basically just the 164 in my committee, and then everything that is in Councilman Warwick's committee, I believe.

Yeah, the four that are in everything that's in that committee.

Bill 564, ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code, Title 4, Public Places and Property.

Article 7, City Realty by Amending Chapter 454 to update Pittsburgh's adopt the lot program.

Bill 562.

Resolution authorizing the mayor, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of the Department of City Planning to enter into an agreement or agreements with Open Space Institute for the purpose of receiving grant funds in an amount of $25,000 to acquire privately owned tax delinquent land to improve connectivity of our greenways.

Bill 565 ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code Title 4 Public Places and Property.

Article 7 City Realty by adding a new chapter 456 City Farms Garden Program to authorize the Department of Parks and Recreation to establish a garden program, which permits urban agricultural activities on permanently city owned property all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill 566 ordinance amending and supplementing the Pittsburgh City Code Title IV Public Places and Property Article 7.

City Realty by adding a new chapter 455 Greenways to authorize the Department of City Planning and its appointing designees to establish a greenways program which permits stewardship in urban agricultural activities in the greenways all under certain terms and conditions.

Second with discussion, Councilman Wilson.

Sure.

Andrew Dash, Deputy Director of City Planning.

Isabella Gross, Principal Environmental Planner, City Planning.

Mackenzie Muskovic Senior Planner, City Planning.

Well, just kind of quickly walk through uh the package of bills.

Uh you know, city planning introduced these bills as a part of what we're calling a stewardship package, which is where over the last year um Isabella McKenzie and uh some others on the team have really worked with community with other departments within the city um to revise our stewardship programs uh with the overall intent of trying to make it easier for residents for nonprofit organizations and others to be able to steward the city's, you know, either vacant or hillside properties.

And so I can just quickly kind of walk through and I'll walk through them in order that they're on the agenda, even though that's a little out of sequence for us.

The first one is around amendments to the adopt a lot program.

And what we heard is that there are a lot more uses that are out there that residents and communities want to be able to utilize as part of stewarding vacant property, stewarding vacant property, you know, over these through the adopt a lot program is something that you know does provide a benefit to the city, not only to uh neighborhoods and our communities, but to things like public safety and maintenance costs, you know, that are reduced by the city.

And so the changes of the program really are around expanding those opportunities uh for additional use through temporary use of the city's vacant properties through the adopt a lot program.

Uh the second one uh relates to I believe our fourth uh piece of legislation, which is that as a part of the team's work, we were able to uh go after and acquire a small grant for $25,000 that is intended to kind of combine with uh the fourth piece of legislation, which is around our greenways program, uh, for us to identify, you know, specific tax delinquent properties to take onto the city's inventory, really to fill in some of the gaps of, you know, kind of our our hillsides uh you know that we have in some of our greenways.

So, you know, the team, you know, after, you know, kind of if if this is approved, we'll be able to utilize those funds uh through uh things like the treasurer's sale or the land bank to kind of to strategically acquire properties.

This is based on you know the team has done really a parcel by parcel analysis, which I know we've covered with a number of your offices of all of the vacant and tax delinquent properties across the city and and looking at where um there are you know potential um opportunities uh for additions to the system.

Um the third piece of legislation is around the creation of a new program.

Uh this is this is around the garden program.

Uh the garden program is intended to utilize um you know leftover sections of our parks and greenways that aren't being utilized uh, you know, for other recreation needs, um, to be able to offer them up as you know potential leases for either food forest or urban agriculture uh type of uses.

So there is uh, you know, this would be creating a lease program that you know, although we are the ones introducing it and would be you know working in in partnership with city parks because this would be in designated parks and greenways around the leases and the leases and licenses for these spaces in the future.

Um the fourth uh piece of legislation is around uh you know, really kind of formalizing the city's greenways program.

So the city's greenways program has actually been in existence since 1980, but at the same time has really been informal as to uh as to how it's been um you know how it's been authorized.

Um we do have uh 12 existing greenways uh that have been designated under the program to date as a part of that parcel uh by parcel uh analysis that I mentioned.

Um the staff have been working with uh neighborhoods and with community organizations and with many of your offices to identify either potential additions to greenways that already exist or potential new greenways, where ultimately the idea is that the highest and best use of property is for us to leave that natural and leave that protected.

At the same time, uh, you know, the program, you know, and the legislation that is here does authorize the opportunities for stewardship, and that stewardship could be in some of the things that uh some of the partner organized organizations testified to earlier uh from invasive species removal to trail building to other amenities, you know, where there's uh stewardship opportunities.

And the uh last piece of legislation, which is amendment to uh the park property section of the code uh really is helping to facilitate um the the uh city farms uh garden program and the greenways program and really is uh adding additional language to allow for um you know right now there's a prohibition on you know the opportunity to be able to um you know to take things out of city parks or greenways, these desert designated spaces, or if we are going to have things like the garden program that are going to allow for urban agriculture or food forestry, um that it is enabling uh some of those things to happen.

Obviously, there's a lot more depth uh you know to uh these five pieces of legislation than that.

Um, but you know, like you know, happy to answer any questions and provide any additional detail the council may need.

Okay, I might have some more questions, but uh it's been some time since our briefing, um, and that was very helpful.

And we we've discussed this you know a few other times as well and seeing you out in the community um you know getting feedback from residents.

So thanks for all that effort.

So this uh let's start with the first one, this adopt law.

So presently the adopt law program is the rules around it are everyone signs and leaves for a year on an annual basis.

Yeah, so presently uh what happens, the adopt a lot program has been in existence now for 10 years.

Uh so you know, was really a time to take a fresh look at that and understand from lessees and and others uh you know where where there are issues, where there are opportunities for expansion.

Um presently the the idea through the adopt a lot pro program is that there is a one-year lease with three-year renewals.

Um that does, you know, that does basically stay the same.

However, I think in the leases we're trying to provide and you know, through our connection with uh city finance with the land bank, with others really trying to provide more certainty for folks that are in those leases.

Um that the that during the period of time um, you know, that they will be in those leases, that they'll be able to stay there on the property during those periods of time.

And also working with um again with folks at City Finance and the land bank for people that you know the adopt a lot program is a temporary reuse program, it's not a permanent reuse program.

Um, but there are certain um adopt a lot projects that have really kind of grown up uh as the as they've you know kind of continued on.

And you know, there are some instances in which it is really valuable that you know the even though these projects started as temporary projects to have them continue on in a more permanent way.

And so, you know, it is really the role of McKenzie and the team to then you know work with the land bank to work with city finance to create those opportunities and help people into permanent ownership where uh you know where that's where that's best.

Yeah, so what changes with the with the program?

So it's a year, and then they can with the guarantee that there's the possibility for three-year lease after that.

That's what it currently is.

That is the way that it currently is a three-year lease, a three-year lease or three three more one-year leases.

No, it's a three-year lease, okay.

And we do allow and we do allow people to continue to renew at three-year intervals, uh, you know, kind of post that initial one year lease.

But what changes with this?

Um, you know, I'll start, and maybe if McKenzie has anything additional, I'll have her, you know, kind of I mean, really the changes are, you know, a real expansion of uses.

Um, the program as it was initially created was created as a garden program, and so the only uh uses that were potentially um available were things that were gardens.

So it was um, you know, either a rude rain, food, or flower garden were the three categories under the existing program.

Okay.

Um what we heard from lessees is that there was a lot of interest in expanding the kind of opportunities for additional uses.

And like what's an example.

Yeah, so I mean, you know, there are opportunities for things like uh public art for more community space.

Okay.

For people to just steward and you know, I mean, it can be something as simple as someone wants to really be able to maintain the lot next to their house, uh, but they ultimately don't want to purchase it.

And does the time period change?

Uh no, it does not.

So just the uses change.

Yeah, there isn't real expansion of the uses.

Um, I know that I know this can get a lot.

Yeah.

So I didn't interrupt, but I want to just work through this because I others may have uh some things they want to talk about.

So I appreciate that.

Um that sounds good because I think that there could be more uses than that.

Um but I think we've gone over most of the briefing was the map and showing the different parcels.

Which legislation deals with that?

Uh that that primarily deals with uh the greenways legislation.

So, you know, so what we're doing here is setting forward the program.

So there are there are rules around the program, there are opportunities for us to do uh leases and licenses with and agreements with um organizations in a way that we couldn't presently.

Um, and you know, what's going to follow up in subsequent legislation to City Council is a lot of the work that Isabella and McKenzie and others have really been kind of working with communities to identify specific parcels for either additions to greenways or potential new greenways, and those would have to be legislated by city council, so those will come back to you as future legislation.

Oh, so for instance, similar to how we have camping in Riverview Park, we have a separate agreement where the director signs off or you know organizes that agreement for an organization to do camping review park.

Similar to that, it would come back to council.

Like that had to go through councils.

So the someone was going to do something on a greenway, some sort of um uh you know when I don't know you just described that that there's oper it provides opportunities for different partnerships in the greenway.

So yeah, so the do the designation of space is something that would be separate council legislation.

So which parcels, what areas, you know, we have, for example, in your district, the Hollows Greenway and the Parry South Greenway.

Well, I think that was partially in the district, but you know, at the same time, you know, there are opportunities for additional parcels to be added to those, and you know, then creation of additional greenways.

And I know that we've kind of spoken to FineView and some other communities in the district around that.

Um, so that when those when those come forward, those spaces that we're actually going to legislate as greenways, those would be additional pieces of legislation that would come to city council.

What the program legislation does is it allows us to uh to go under agreement with uh with either stewardship groups, with community organizations, with residents in some cases, um, to be able to help steward those spaces.

And again, that could be for something as simple as a cleanup.

Um, you know, we've we've seen that in the past, although there's been a lot of work from the city and our partners that there aren't problems like illegal dumping that occur in a lot of these hillside spaces.

So it could be something as simple as you know being able to have a community organization go into the space and clean it up to some of the larger work of you know of trail building or uh or providing other kind of passive recreation opportunities um in these spaces.

So what that would do is allow us to more quickly get into those agreements while city council, like I said, would see additional legislation over what spaces those can those things can actually happen in.

Okay, and then okay, so for instance, the um it's great that you you all got the grant.

Thank you for that one.

Um, this um so I want to I'm going back.

62 on this grant.

Appreciate the grant.

I'm wondering these land land to improve connectivity of agreement.

So the tax eliminate land, um, so we would be going after these uh tax and length parcels and adding it to the greenway.

That would be correct, that there are a number of places where there are just label.

There just might be uh no, the intention is that these properties would be something, you know, they're landslides.

Typically landslide prone hillside properties that are maybe like one tax delinquent property in a row, um, you know, where especially if we're trying to work with stewards to steward a larger space, getting all of those things, uh all of those pieces under city ownership is really important.

We have not identified specific parcels that we would be going after at this time.

I think that you know that was really work that would happen after um council taking this action.

And then this garden program.

Yeah, so um we have some of the quite the package here.

Yes.

Uh so we have some existing community gardens uh that exist uh in parks uh across the city.

Um those are of really high demand.

Um at the same time.

One thing that we have heard from um, you know, from people in the agriculture community is that you know, obviously, it's great that we there we allow kind of through the adopt a lot program the opportunity for gardening.

Unfortunately, many of those lots are vacant lots that formerly had buildings or other issues relative to them.

Um and there are you know, like thinking about you know our existing garden program that exists in some of our parks and the high demand as well as you know, all the what's the program is someone gonna draw mulch off or uh so what it would what it would do is that you know, through um, you know, through interest and then you know, kind of community process, we would be uh determining areas of our parks or greenways that are really not being utilized for recreational purposes otherwise and you know, and that we we would then uh for additional gardens are recognized or more parcels that can be used for a garden program.

Um they would be in the city.

But not like not like the city's gonna then create a separate fund for assisting.

No, this is there's not there's no funding here.

I mean, really what it is is offering you know, again, underutilized land in our city's parks and greenways, um, you know, two lessies to be able to, you know, to do um urban gardens, urban farms, uh community gardens, or you know, like food forestry, so like an orchard or you know, uh something like that, you know, that would be opportunities that we would um be able to have through the garden program that we don't currently have.

Right.

And then there's 67, this one, the other one uh that says parks and playgrounds by amending chapter to update the park property use regulations.

What yeah, so uh, you know, uh as as kind of noted, um, you know, you know, if we are allowing through the garden program, um, urban agriculture or orchard uses uh in some of our parks and greenway spaces.

Um that has to be the changes, the changes in this the changes here are really related to that in allowing, you know, whether it's trees and plant material or you know, whether it's fruit or vegetables to be taken off of uh, you know, a city owned uh park or greenway.

So it is really kind of facilitating the garden program and some of that other work.

All right, thanks.

Thanks for your work on this.

Yeah, thank you.

Elsa Woman Gross.

Thank you, Mr.

Tier.

So I think members know how exciting this is for me and for um Councilman Cockle, who's unfortunately not here today.

He's out of town because he's very excited about it as well.

So this has been work that's been many, many years in coming.

Um, I think this council has done a really good job over the 12 years that I've been here on moving forward food policy of all kinds, including um supporting community gardens and agricultural space.

I was here when we revised um and expanded the um the urban ag zoning code, and that was an exciting day with a whole press conference on the portico and things.

Um we have I think very we're very very fortunate to have so many partner organizations working with residents in every single one of our districts every day to increase not only the space that is cultivated, um, but also kind of building the skill sets, building the human capital, like teaching people how to do this work, right?

So people learning how to grow food, but also how to harvesting it, processing it, storing it, preserving it, um, using it, cooking with it, um, and that's really I think the work that we should all be proud of that has grown tremendously.

I don't have the number of total gardens.

I think our Grow Pittsburgh people in the audience here somewhere probably do of um I'm I haven't looked recently for an updated digital map of like where all of the community gardens in the city are.

Um, but it's been I think a real uh it's a bigger story than we can address today in how much um our city residents and our part organizations and the city have all invested in creating um a local food system.

Um I always just like to throw in, as I did a minute ago, that it isn't only growing food.

We also have to have local systems for again um harvesting, preserving, processing, you know, um bottling, distributing, right?

If I like to say um when we were kind of discussing the food justice fund, for example, that if you're a corner beast or we all, I think all of our residents are kind of wishing they had more neighborhood stores.

You can't buy 30,000 jars of pickles like giant eagle can, right?

You need someone selling pickles who's only selling you a few jars.

And so part of supplying and supporting the local food system is also supporting and investing in the spaces like commercial kitchens and storage facilities that are at a small scale, supporting the makers who are at a small scale, and also the food growers at a small scale, right?

So that's fighting the kind of, you know, so that we have that safety net that we are not just relying on global food change and the largest supply chains that, as we saw in COVID collapse.

So I'd like to remind the table of the bill that we all voted on unanimously that I was co-sponsored with the um the previous colleague in District 4, which is a resolution that was directing the departments of finance, which is a treasure sale, who maintains the properties, treasure cell properties and city planning to create and identify city sites citywide.

So we all asked for this in 2020.

Um identified lots in May.

So because of because of the beginning of COVID.

Actually, sorry, it was introduced on April 13th, 2020, so only a month into the pandemic.

Directing finance and city planning to identify sites around the city that can be used to foster urban ag, including land gardened collectively by people on properties, whether for personal or non-commercial use, or for off-site selling of agricultural products, including everything from, you know, your your animals that you think of to, you know, agroforestry, and create various tools to be utilized to secure these lots for use as urban ag, including but not limited to deed restrictions, cooperation and lease agreements with other art organizations or large institutions or other government agencies, and also the operation of city-owned gardens.

And that the lots should be identified by finance and city planning, may include city-owned sites or land within city parks, existing urban gardens, urban farms, which the city can enter into and lease with cooperation agreements, temporary urban gardens on land, waiting development, like we're talking about with the land bank or adopt a lot, sorry.

But that we should also be looking at sites that just like a baseball field are held for growing food or a swimming pool, right?

We don't give a swimming pool, we don't build a swimming pool for one year.

We don't even build a swimming pool for five years.

I mean, I think you all know in the last five years in my district alone, we've planted 600 trees, but 300 again with neighborhood organizations and various greenways, hillsides, uh rights of way, which are stairs, which are neither greenway nor city park, but 300 of those trees are food trees.

Western native, uh Western Pennsylvania native food trees like pawpaws, persimmons, shagbar kickeries, hazelnuts, uh service berries, which now are super famous.

I don't know if we planted several dozen service berries over the last five years, five years, elderberries, and I could go on and on.

Um moved into shrubs as well, like the native blueberries, and um we're now even encouraged by organizations that we work with, neighbor neighbors that we work with who want to plant, you know, edible, I think it's a legume, I don't know what a sunshoke is.

It's a tuber of some kind, right?

So this is like a flower.

So we've gone from trees to shrubs, and now we're going to flowers that are native western Pennsylvania, either indigenous or um traditional foods.

So I I'm excited about this.

I think there's a lot of details, again, that are kind of too long for a standing committee hearing to talk about that people will want to hear about.

About, you know, what about the what about the site that they've been stewarding?

You know, are they gonna be the ones who get the lease to steward that or is are they gonna get you know overrun by somebody else who's gonna get the lease?

And and so how do we how do we support the people who've been putting in all the spat equity um and who have the vision and kind of already feel ownership of the sites, even though they didn't have anything official agreement with the city, um, I think is a good example.

Also, I think council knows that we have um really moved the needle, and again, I have to give councilman Coghill is not here a shout out.

I know he wants to participate in the conversation, um, with the amount of city resources that we're using to help these sites succeed, because 10 years ago, you know, we might have given someone a lease, or if they needed help, we were just like, well, good luck to you.

You know, you're on your own, succeed or fail, whether you need volunteers, whether you need materials, whether you need uh money, whether you need fencing, compost, wood chips, seedlings, um, all of these things, and now we provide a lot for a lot of sites.

And so the numbers that we've able to pull together with city re direct resources like technical assistance, since we now have, if we didn't know, a halftime farmer in city parks who goes out to help community gardens and agricultural sites succeed.

Um, and we have equipment that we didn't have.

We have an $80,000 wood chipper.

Shout out to Kelsey in my office and her masters in um food from Chatham and her specialization in community agroforestry that we didn't have before.

So we've literally like recently provided one ton of wood chips to one of these community gardens because that's that's something you need, right?

If you're composting, you need wood chips, if you're remediating soil, you need wood chips.

Um, we didn't used to be able to do that.

In fact, we were paying a company just to take our wood away and not getting wood chips back.

Um so now we have our own equipment, we're we're generating the wood chips and we're providing them.

Um, and so by our calculations, I think in 2025, the city provided the resources, materials, technical assistance, dollars for about 60 gardens citywide in just one year.

But 10 years ago, that was only four, or no, five years ago it was only four.

That's how much city council has worked with the administrations to move the needle to provide the capacity so we have a local food system.

So I am excited about this.

I'll stop talking, but I I think I you know, we we definitely uh I know Councilman Coggill wanted to participate in this conversation.

Um, so I'll I'll defer now.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

I didn't ask any questions, I apologize.

So you gave me a briefing, so thank you.

Thank you.

Any further discussion?

Councilman Warwick.

Um, I do just have one question, uh, or maybe more of a comment, and it's with regard to the the reforming the greenway program and the stewardship, and and I I have heard some presentations on this in in um uh at some community meetings in my district.

Um I definitely like the idea of well, just to sort of better understand, is the stewardship going to be um are third parties gonna be performing this, like such as land force, in other words, are we gonna be paying for the stewardship?

Is that the concept?

Uh maybe I'll start and Isabella if you want to follow.

Uh, you know, so the present system for greenways is that uh a greenway was brought to city council to be legislated with a steward for the entire space, and so um unfortunately what we've seen is that you know organizations, you know, fall to the wayside, you know, people that may be interested, you know, lose interest, uh, move away.

Um, and so what happened was we had, you know, we had the system where essentially there was one steward for the entirety of a space.

Um, and so um, you know, what we're doing by creating this legislation is you know, creating opportunities uh for lease and license opportunities, you know, for anywhere from particular activities you know that might have that might have a start and an end date, um, you know, to stewardship over a section of the space or even entire or it could be an entire greenway um for a longer period of time.

And um, and so you know, we are really kind of focused on providing the flexibility to do all of these different types of agreements.

Um at the same time, you know, many times we are not the ones funding organizations to then to then work in spaces, but we are really um trying to facilitate, you know, again, whether that is um organizations going to be able to, you know, to go and obtain funding uh to work in these spaces, or community organizations to then work um, you know, with some of our nonprofit partners to raise funds to to help to steward these spaces as well.

Is there anything else you want to add?

And the well, the city would also DCP would also go after grant funding to kind of fund our nonprofit partners to continue stewarding those spaces as well.

Yeah, so I you know there have been a lot of discussions over the last year with organizations and trying to figure out what, you know, if there is some sort of partnership that the city can provide with organizations to get funding to do more stewardship, but you know, the you know, like as it sits now, I mean, is not something that the city is, you know, the city does not have funding that it is putting towards greenways, you know, for these stewardship activities, but we obviously want to be able to think about what that model looks like uh for the future for all of the different nonprofit partners that we have and all the different activities that they can do or even are doing right now to help steward these spaces and improve these spaces.

Um so that's great.

And and when it comes to things like trails and you know, maybe like the goatscape and stuff like that, that's you know, though I I have a number of cases in my district.

We uh we heard um from the speakers the Hazelwood Greenway mentioned, you know, where uh and Hazewoods where lots of good work is being done.

I do have one, and I know you know I mentioned this uh at the community meetings as well.

So if we are dedicating, I'll just use greenfield as an example, right?

Hillsides and saying, oh, these are hillsides, right?

Maybe they're privately owned, or you know, maybe they're owned, they're tax delinquent, whatever, we take them on as the city.

Um for residents more the and we're not talking about like large spaces like a Hazewoods or or a hazelwood green where you're actually creating a recreational space.

You're just sort of dedicating these hillsides as greenway.

The biggest problem, well, invasives obviously is one, right?

Or overgrowth, right?

Sort of invasives that are kind of in going on to other people's properties and litter.

And that isn't really what land force does, right?

Uh and it's my feeling that that is what DPW should be doing already, right?

So have you been working with DPD?

Because to me, like just dedicating something as greenway on a hillside.

You know, I live in the like I'm surrounded by a hillside just like this, right?

Just saying this is a greenway, that does not do anything for the neighborhood, right?

Because it's still full of garbage.

And there's no like community group that is able to handle that, right?

I mean, even myself, I always say, oh, I'm gonna clean up that trash up at on the hills, and of course I don't get around to it, right?

So that it that feels like a a city, as like our job as the city.

So I don't know if you have any comment about that.

Yeah, maybe I'll start and if others from the team want to join in.

I think that we we have worked, I think, through this process with uh, you know, our partners at DPW um on a lot of this, and there is a lot of support that they provide to uh things like our greenways, you know, whether that is in conjunction with volunteer events or or with you know organizations that are looking to volunteer and clean up, you know, or in addition.

Um, you know, and so although you know DBW is not maintaining, you know, I mean, they're not maintaining greenways in the same way that they, you know, doing maintenance in greenways like they are in legislative parks, for example, where obviously there is um, you know, and and adding additional spaces, you know, with you know, for them is not obviously, you know, we're not trying to add additional responsibility as well.

Um, but you know, I think there is there are ways that they provide partnership, you know, with stewards and stewardship activities to to be additive to the work that is going on.

Team, is there anything to add?

Um I will also say that kind of designating taking this first step to designate these parcels as greenway from vacant lot or hold for studies, they they've been previously kind of classified allows us to approach grant funding to um you know more closely partner with folks like landforce or Allegheny Cleanways that do have the risk resources to do kind of that larger dump site cleanup.

Um I will say also um having this longer conversation with TPW is certainly a priority post this legislation passing um to kind of see what that how we can build uh long-term kind of maintenance uh plan with them to potentially um have them play a larger role in the greenways as well.

And I will note additionally that even outside even though it is not a part of this legislative package, uh the team has worked with DBW to to kind of work on kind of refining their volunteer program, which we've you know, kind of rebranded as help a lot, um, and you know that there is now a stewardship site on the city's website for people to be able to access all these programs and work with DPW in in ways like that.

Okay, well, I mean, I I appreciate that, but I think and this is something we've talked a lot about at the table, is that we I I don't believe that as a city we can continue to rely on, you know, twice a year community cleanups, right?

Like these in in many neighborhoods, these hillsides are just they're really just an eyesore, right?

And you can call them a greenway or call them whatever you want.

If we can't get the trash cleaned up, then you know, so I just I guess for the success of this particular part of the package, um, I really would sit down as part of the planning process, right?

And figure out with DPW, like how are we like if we're going to take ownership of right, because right now we have you know, like I guess we're citing, I mean there's but if we're gonna take ownership of these hillsides, they will be, you know, they will be ours.

And so what is the plan?

I mean, it's something that we've been asking for a while, I think at council, just overall with litter in general, right?

But what is the plan to keep them clean and make them uh, you know, uh, you know, make them an asset to the community rather than just calling them Greenway.

So I don't know.

I hope that that's something that uh that you all will engage with DPW on.

Yeah, and I think that's a I think it's a very fair point, and I think at the minimum what we're doing here is at least facilitating the opportunity for stewardship where it's a lot harder to see that now.

But I think that what you're you know, the point you're making is definitely one that we can follow up on.

Um, you know, as to to how these spaces get stewarded in the future.

And I mean maybe land force and and such are are willing to do that that ongoing litter cleanup.

I don't I don't care if we pay someone to do it or if we hit grants to, but what it need what it needs to be happening uh all the time, right?

Like regularly.

Um at any rate, uh I'll I'll leave it at that.

Thank you.

Councilman.

I I will be very quick.

Uh is the when we talked, I guess a month ago, maybe two months ago, um, there was a map that you included.

Yes.

Uh is that in this legislation or in one of the pieces of legislation?

It is not.

It's just that it's not the framework so we can build the map.

The map of the specific parcels that will be designated as greenway will come in a separate legislation soon.

That's exactly what I don't know.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Customs selling netro.

I just had a quick question.

Um on the adopted law program.

You said, you know, somebody who lives next door to a vacant property can do some maintenance and and adopt that lot.

Is there a a size lot that we limit to how big of a lot somebody can have?

Uh no, there's not.

Um so we have adopted lot projects that are we have an adopter lot project that is over two acres, um, you know, of where they have taken on um in the Charles Street Valley, you know, at blocks of city property uh in cases like that.

Um and we have adopt a lot projects that are as small as one parcel.

Okay.

That's all for me.

Thank you.

Any further discussion?

Um, I'll go first round and turn it back over to you.

Uh a couple quick questions.

Um on the adopt a lot bill, the provision for the city to end that lease with 30 or 90 day notice has been stricken.

It's still relevant.

It's just not called out in the code.

It caused a lot of confusion, but it still applies.

How would we in if it's not in the ordinance, then how will we enforce that?

It's in the toolkit, the program toolkit.

Okay, so so the idea is that the legislation uh identifies uh the toolkit as a way to kind of put additional regulations and that those those serves the foundation for the leases and licenses that we that ultimate the legal agreements that we sign, yeah, that we sign with someone.

Um, and so um so those those those regulations are there.

Okay.

Um so pardon my ignorance, I have not read the of the toolkit, so I apologize.

My main question is this that does ensure that someone's not adopting a lot in perpetuity.

That is correct.

Again, the adopter lot program, and we've tried to make sure that you know recent updates to it or even you know the additional clauses and leases or licenses do show that it is a temporary, you know, it is a temporary program for temporary reuse of vacant property.

We understand that in our communities with uh different real estate markets, temporary can mean very different things, you know, that it can mean you know, something that can mean one year in one community maybe may mean fifteen in another.

But you know, again, the idea is that ultimately the intent of the city is to ultimately dispose of properties that are in the adopter lot program, um, whether that is because there's development that happens at a future point in time that would have the city dispose of those properties, or because something like an adopted lot project would, you know, kind of get to a point in which it would be permanent, and then we'd be working with partners at City Finance or the land bank or others to uh to ultimately uh get those properties out of city ownership.

Okay.

Thank you.

I think we're in alignment there.

Uh question on um I guess decision making.

When someone applies for an adopted lot, who is making that determination?

Who's making the determination to lease or licenses?

Yes, uh, the the program it is through the director of city planning, who ultimately is the one who signs that lease or license.

Um, you know, again, with it as a as a temporary reuse program.

I think it thank you.

I think it would be helpful if when someone was applying within whomever's respective district, a notification was sent to the office because the council office may know of something that the planning department may not.

Yeah, so we have added that to the toolkit.

Again, I guess I should have read toolkit.

Thank you.

Um that's all the questions I have for the adopted lot then.

For the uh what is this city farms garden program?

You may have said this, and I'm just again trying to get clarity.

Is this meant for parcels that are in parks and greenways, or is this for anywhere?

It's meant for parcels that are in parks and greenways.

Okay, thank you.

Um, the language again just mentions the toolkit.

On it says on permanently city owned property, and so just for my clarity, that means parks and greenways.

That's correct.

Okay.

Thank you.

Second round, Councilman Gross.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair, I appreciate it.

I was just kind of looking for the toolkit.

Oh, so it's not no one's seen it.

It's not published yet.

So you have you have to talk to the mic.

Sorry.

It's not published yet.

Okay.

Approval it will be.

Okay.

So we don't know what's in the toolkit until we ask and then.

I mean, so the vegan lot toolkit ex uh there is a vacant lot toolkit that presently exists that is available on the city's website.

The amendments to the toolkit, you know, are in line with uh, you know, what we briefed members on, which is really that expansion of uses, um, you know, is the primary change.

Kenzie can note any other kind of large, you know, larger changes.

Um, you know, at the same time, we wanted to make sure to be able to respond to all council questions and inquiries before having that something that is ultimately posted.

Um we have reviewed those changes with you know community organizations and stakeholders as we've been trying to go through the process of um, you know, of updating the toolkit and the program.

Okay.

Happy to also review it with you.

I would like that for sure, for sure.

Um, and just so you know, we do have a request from um Councilman Cogell is also super enthusiastic about this and has done you know years of work that we've done together on um these issues.

He's got an orchard that he's planted on a set of city steps that's nearly finished, and I'm really pretty envious of it because he has um crews like maintaining it.

So it's just very pretty, in addition to having um native trees and native food bearing trees, and it runs from the T-stop, so the fixed, you know, rail transit stop on beach Blasco.

The steps of Blasco.

So it's Beechwood Boulevard at the top where the T stop is if you're already invested in Broadway.

Sorry, I was that's why I was asking.

Like, what is the street?

I'm like gesturing the top of the hill.

And then there's a very long set of city steps, um, probably some 300 feet that go down to a residential area, and it's gonna and so it's th uh a city right of way, right?

Because these are city steps, so it's like city streets.

So city property 30 feet wide going down this hillside, and it's beautifully planted, and some of the trees are probably 20 feet tall already.

So I did encourage him to start planting there.

So I like to take a little bit of credit uh because again, the enthusiastic embrace that we have.

We think we have one of the first food forests.

I don't know about the Hazelwood Food Forest versus the Duncan Parklit food forest, which was already a plan by the citizens of Lawrenceville when I uh was the first elected many years ago, uh, but that we've been able to help uh um effectuate and there's been great stewardship there where we have like mature pawpaw trees that get like baskets of pawpaws and um it's really great to see these projects start and then like actually I say the pun, come to fruition, but it's exactly what's happening.

Um so again, I'm con Councilman Calgo had to be out of town and asked that we hold one week so we could um he could be here for his own discussions and questions.

Um and I've talked to some colleagues if they don't mind.

We don't, you know, I think there's I I think there's strong support here for all of the ideas um both at in and certainly in my district.

Um but if there I don't know if there's other questions, but I'll go ahead.

I don't we could continue, but I'll motion for a shall just like go ahead and motion now.

I know I have one more additional question, but I know Councilman Warwick also has an additional.

Thank you, Mr.

Chair.

Oh, I just w just quickly for the adopt a lot.

Is there with these updates, is there like a path to ownership?

So, you know, if you've been I don't know, whatever, taking care of a lot for a number of years that it does uh uh, you know, to kind of ensure that it doesn't get taken away from you or we acknowledge now, which didn't happen previously at the start of the program that it is a temporary use program, and that if folks are interested in ownership, we talk to them about that at the start of the application period and let them know if they're interested in acquiring um what the pathways are to begin the acquisition process, but we can't direct sale currently in city code to certain buyers through the city finance process, so is that like in the tool so what would they do like go through the land bank or something like that?

Yes we either recommend them to city finance to start the application process or eventually to the land bank and is there anything in the in the new code that sort of I guess I see what you mean like we can't give them priority but is there some kind of way that we can I don't know facilitate that happening we can sure I mean in in the code though so that like they they it just seems like if someone has one of these lots for a long period of time and they I don't know whatever they're like gardening in there and investing a lot of time and money and whatever that um we would want to avoid it getting sold to somebody else who just happens to come request to buy it that's a fair question we can consider that it's really up to the Director of finance I believe in law.

Okay.

I mean I I I guess I so they get so they can get a it would be a five year lease with an option to renew with the adopter lot program they can get a one to three year lease.

And if there's no application to purchase that property then they have the option to renew the agreement.

Okay.

But the property can't be purchased while they have the lease they can they can pursue that process while they have the lease right but could somebody else yes and that's why we notify them at the start that if a lot that they're interested in adopting is available for sale we let them know that this is available for sale for them to purchase but also anyone is welcome to submit applications it's published on our our portal.

Is there any way to just kind of like deed restrict it or do something so that it's yeah so that I mean that's that that would be my concern is it's like somebody you know like they've put a lot of time or whatever into a lot and then you know somebody sort of swoops in and says oh I want to buy this and you know build something on it that isn't the garden that you've been working on.

Sorry if I if I'm repeating the question.

Okay we just encourage them to pursue acquisition as soon as possible if they're interested in acquiring currently okay all right and maybe it would be nice if we could sort of figure out a way to secure that for folks you know if they've engaged in the program at least or at least after a certain period of time right if they've taken good care of the property and done you know and I think the other thing for the community over a period of time then I think the other thing that we do is or we're trying to do with changes to the program is that you know is provide a little bit more protection for folks that are in the within the term of their lease um you know even though obviously sale can sale can occur but you know we want to be able to to provide more certainty that a one year lease or a three year lease is a one year or a three year lease um so you know as if if someone is work if someone separately is working to purchase a property that is adopt a lot we're trying to work through that so that you know that kind of syncs with the you know with the timing of the leases um you know as McKenzie said you know it is you know we do try to it is more of a customer service thing than you know something that we have you know any ability to kind of you know kind of direct sale uh to someone specifically except for you know through the land bank process and so that's where um we do try to ask those questions up front as to intention um so that we can you know in many time there are a number of occasions where someone may be interested in a specific lot you know at first and then as we get into the discussions of what their long term intentions are, then it might we might be identifying other lots in the same neighborhood, or you know, might be uh identifying other places that may not have you know the same constraints, the same issues, you know, whether that is around ownership, whether that is around um you know community interest, uh, you know, whether that is around other items.

But I mean, I do know that the the finance department can hold properties uh so that they're not available for sale.

Just because I know that people who've had that happen where they're like interested in a property and finances come back and said, oh no, this one isn't available for sale.

The director of finance has expressed openness to removal from public sale some properties that are in the adopt a lot program per their request.

And so we've started to outline that in the toolkit in the updated toolkit, and hopefully it's something that we can offer folks.

Okay.

I mean, that might be nice if someone is shown good faith, you know, stewardship, right, over a period of time.

Anyway, okay, thanks.

So I'll ask the question slightly differently because I have a real road example, and since you mentioned it, I decided I'll figure out I wasn't going to bring it up, but you mentioned it.

So how are we going to deal with to the councilman's point lots that have been adopted lots, but that have also been stewarded for a very long period of time.

So we can use the Charles Street as an example whereby, to your point, yes, some lots may only be there for a year, some communities may take 10 years to get where they're envisioning, and that's the the example of Charles Street, right?

They've always envisioned new housing within that area, but you now have a garden through the adopted lot program that is absolutely served a good service to the community and to the city at large.

Um, but there's now a tension that is coming because they now believe they're a year or so or even potentially sooner away from having all the financing in place to move forward with the housing.

How will we deal with that tension?

The idea with the removal from public sale process in identifying up front whether or not folks are interested in acquisition, um, we would ultimately pull those properties from public sale for a set period of time to allow them the opportunity to kind of establish uh proper financing that that is needed to pursue acquisition, and after that point, it would then become available for sale to anyone to pursue acquisition.

So the idea is that those existing adopted lot leaseholders would have the opportunity to acquire um currently um for new applications.

We just have those conversations up front that this lot is available for sale, and if you are interested in acquiring it one day, you should begin the process of pursuing ownership.

Okay.

And that would be the case for someone who's already on an adopted lot for the last three, four or five years.

Or existing leaseholders, it has been our preference to help them with pursuing acquisition.

Okay.

It's I think it's the answer, I think it's a question we don't really have a good answer for right now, but we'll have to figure out because it's going to come to a head, probably more than at least two areas in my district, but probably more throughout the city, but as the city begins to develop.

Yeah, and I think there's, you know, again, I think that we have tried to be clear that although we create pathways for ownership for folks that are existing adopter, you know, lessees, that you know, it is a temporary program, and you know, the long-term, which means that the long-term intent is not that the you know, these properties are you know, kind of in that state.

You know, that that ultimately we want to dispose of those properties in one way or the other.

And I think that, you know, there's sometimes that you know community discussions need to go on, whether that's through neighborhood plans or other means, you know, as to you know, as to what ultimately the use of those properties when the city does you know dispose of them, you know, is you know, whether that is, you know, at the time that we're disposing of that for an adopt lot lessy, or whether that is when we're telling an adopted lot lessie that ultimately at the end of their lease term, the intention is going to be to, you know, to to have that property be developed in some other form.

I hear you, and I think we're I think we're saying the same thing.

I think we're just the delicacy of working that will be a little complicated.

Yes.

It may be worthwhile, and it's probably not through the formal city budget, but it may be worthwhile trying to pursue some sort of funding that would then be able to assist in those sort of scenarios.

That's part that's a budgetary discussion.

Yeah, and again, I think that's trying and that kind of idea of even though it's not specifically in the legislation around trying to make sure that we're creating more predictability for adopt a lot lessees in their lease.

I mean, I think some of that is, you know, if there is a situation in which they would be looking, they would be on a they would be on properties that would be sold for just say residential development, um, you know, you know that you know that there's enough time, you know, that there's there's an awareness that they can kind of complete their lease and go through the things necessary to be able to transit transition themselves off of a site, which is not ideal, and I understand that, you know, because there is you know a different future uh that's seen long term.

I'll also flag that for folks who don't have the funding to pursue acquisition, Grow Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Land Trust have a program that's a garden protection program to help in cases like that.

Thank you.

Uh third royal council and growth.

Yeah, just to just remind council that these uh lots of these topics have been explored at length at this table, and there are post-agendas on them, and we have discussed them vis-a-vis adopt a lot and how that works with land bank.

I do think that could be strengthened even further.

It was quite a bitter battle to try to protect the people who had adopt a lot leases when we did the tri-party agreement with the land bank, um, and we did it, we did protect them in the end for the gardens, right?

So the people that had active leases with adopt a lots, it said that the land bank has to give them um the right of first refusal, basically.

Um and so, but it was only for that for the ones that were current at that time.

I think it would be even stronger, and and council has the power to amend a cooperative agreement between those parties if we can get them all to agree, especially, right, to say that you know it's not just the old adopt a lot leases that should be protected.

Um, but we can negotiate on what and where.

Um, and so I think that is definitely a further discussion.

So just as a reminder to the public, this is not the first time we're talking about these tensions.

It's not definitely not the first time that this body has heard that there's a problem with having one year or even three-year leases on adopt a lots.

Um it's part of the reason that we wrote this that I wrote this legislation in April of 2020 to say let this body argue about it in advance.

Let's argue about where housing should be.

Let's argue about where except passed similar bills talking about where we should put housing.

Um, so instead of just kind of throwing all the treasurer sale properties up in the air and then fighting about it after the fact, um, we this would be us being proactive is to look at where there needs to be more recreational open space and agricultural areas.

And I think that is the conversation that we haven't really finished having yet.

Um so we can protect gardens and we should, because we should there's not every lot in the city, and not every lot in the treasure sale is actually conducive to urban gardening, right?

And or even agroforestry.

Um, and we have shade studies, slope studies, vacant space studies, uh food access studies, and we've looked at them, and there's a whole committee of stakeholders, just are kind of towards the audience here, um, that have been meeting for years about how it's what areas would be most conducive um to this kind of activity that honestly I I just want to say this.

People are entitled to, and that this table should support.

Again, we buy specialized baseball dirt, industrial industrial grade baseball dirt for baseball fields.

I'm not I agree with love people playing sports and and you know, playing baseball and softball, um, and we maintain those those areas with capital investments and operating investments.

Um, same thing with swimming pools.

We think um our urban gardening is meet meeting or reaching nearly as many citizens as our aquatics division, but with four staff and not fifty.

Not that we don't love the lifeguards, not that we don't love our aquatics, and certainly with a minuscule fraction of a percent of the capital investments um so I'm here to defend this all day long but also I'm here to motion for a one-week hold is a one-week hold on all four all four bills again with um to respect to um councilman callkell who wanted to be here for this discussion and was out of town this week I think I've talked to to most of us about it there's a motion to hold all five bills for one week is there a second with discussion and director dash would just oh I was just uh to the to councilman gross's point one thing just to add to that is a question is that you know some of for some of the longer term ownership or you know or longer term kind of direction for this that is part of the legislation to create the city farms garden program you know for uh you know for people who might want longer term um you know access to a property these have longer lease uh opportunities than the adopt a lot program um you know and would be spaces that you know would not be under any you know kind of fear of being sold uh because they are properties that are under uh permanent city ownership thank you all those in favor of a one week hold say aye aye aye any opposed all five bills have been held for one week that moves us to 564 564 we did not do 568 okay so that moves us to bill 568 resolution authorizing the mayor and the director of permits licenses and inspections to enter on behalf of the city of Pittsburgh into an agreement or agreements with Bada Environmental Associates Inc.

for professional services providing materials for an analysis of lead dust samples pertaining to PLI's execution of the city of Pittsburgh's lead safe ordinance for total cost not to exceed thirty five thousand nine hundred forty nine dollars and fourteen cents over three years motion to approve second any discussion seeing none all those in favor say aye any opposed affirmative recommendation now that moves us to innovation performance asset management and technology which is shared by councilman gross we have one new paper bill five fifty five resolution amending resolution number three forty six of two thousand twenty five which authorized an amended agreement with Workiva Inc to provide a subscription based publishing software solution by extending the term for an additional one year and increasing the approved amount by sixty one thousand four hundred ninety three dollars and thirty one cents for new total cost not to exceed 339,461 dollars and twelve cents over seven years.

Motion to approve second any discussion seeing none in favor say aye aye aye opposed affirmative recommendation that moves us to intergovernmental and educational affairs committee chaired by council mostly we have one deferred paper bill five thirty one resolution authorizing the adoption of the downtown Pittsburgh transit revitalization investment district implementation plan and related agreements council district one motion to hold for a public hearing and to hold a post agenda second second all those in favor say aye aye any opposed the bill will be held for both a public hearing and a cable cast post agenda we have one new paper bill 557 resolution authorizing the mayor and the director of the Department of Public Works for the city of Pittsburgh to enter into an agreement or agreements with the borough of Wilkinsburg for the collection of a portion of the borough's municipal waste by the city at a borough cost not to exceed three million four hundred one thousand six hundred thirty one dollars and ninety nine cents over a period of three years.

Motion to approve.

Second.

Any discussion?

Seeing none, all those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

Affirmative recommendation.

Uh, with that, we do have meeting announcements this afternoon with sessions at two and two thirty.

Council will hold a briefing relative to the work of Pittsburgh Community Services that they perform within the city.

Next Monday, June 15th at 1 o'clock, Council hold a Capricast public hearing on Bill 481 relative to the passport, Academy Charter Schools Conditional Use Application.

Speaker Registration will close at 11.

Also next week, Council will hold our regular meeting on Tuesday, June 16th, and our standing committee on Wednesday, June 17th at 10 a.m.

Speaker 2 will close at 9.

To register to speak at these meetings, please for the sign up form on the council meeting webpage or card clerk's office of 412 255 2138.

So move.

We are adjourned.

Oh, all in favor say aye, sorry.

Oh yes, we do.

Where's I apologize?

Keep it going every single regular and standing committee meeting.

We have to read the statement of bringing uh announcing that we're looking to impose a new tax.

It's per state law.

But we've also never created a new tax.

Yeah.

We could ask.

We could ask Tom Link to do it.

Tom.

I'm gonna say I had a copy of it up there, but I think I threw it away because Sean.

No, I was looking for if we had a copy of it.

I previously.

Yeah, anyone can read it.

It just has to be a good idea.

Yep, that's it.

Thank you.

So, uh for the public, please be advised that pursuant to the act of December 31st, 1965, PL 1257, as amended.

The council of the city of Pittsburgh has introduced and intends to levy a new tax in the city of Pittsburgh called the Pittsburgh Mechanical Amusement Device Tax.

Amusement device.

The amusement devices and apparatus to be subject to this tax are herein described as class one, class one devices include poker machines, video slot machines, video sweep stake machines, and any other type of purely amusement device permitted by law.

The tax for class one devices shall be $1,000 per device per year.

Class 2.

Class 2 devices include machines which offer prizes for amusement such as stuffed animals, toys, candy, or other items.

The tax for Class 2 devices shall be $100 per device per year.

Class 3, Class 3 devices include machines and apparatus used for entertainment and public participation for sports, which includes but is not limited to darts, jukeboxes, pool tables, pinball machines, shuffle port machines, and children's video games.

The tax for class three devices shall be $10 per device per year.

The tax shall be imposed on any person, business, or amusement or establishment that houses and offers for play an amusement device for each such device in its condition of a license or permit being issued.

The council of the city of Pittsburgh has determined that new sources of general revenue are required to maintain city services for infrastructure and to bring the city's budget into long-term balance.

Initial estimates by the council project $2 million to $3 million per year and new revenue will be derived from this tax.

With that, all those in favor of adjournment say aye.

Any opposed?

Now we are adjourned.

Thank you.