• May 19th, 2020
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The Department of City Planning is announcing the start of virtual Boards and Commissions and a new online engagement website starting in June.

City Planning Boards and Commissions will move to virtual meetings. These meetings will be held on Zoom and streamed on YouTube Live on the Pittsburgh City Planning YouTube page. A link to join the meeting will be shared the day before the meeting on the specific Board or Commission’s website. If you are not planning to testify, please watch the YouTube Live stream to allow those testifying to be able to join the meeting.

Agendas, presentations, and project information will be posted online before the meeting for review and to accept public comment leading to the Board or Commission meeting. Notices for all Boards and Commissions will be posted online at https://pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/notices. 

• Planning Commission will resume virtually on Tuesday, June 2, at 1 p.m.
• Historic Review Commission will resume virtually on Wednesday, June 3, at 12 p.m.
• Zoning Board of Adjustment will resume virtually on Thursday, June 11, at 9 a.m.
• The City-County Task Force on Disabilities will resume virtually on Monday, June 15, at 12 p.m.

• Art Commission will resume virtually on Wednesday, June 24, at 12 p.m.

• Naming Commission will resume virtually on Monday, July 6, at 1 p.m.

To provide public comment, you can:

• Email the Commission to which you are testifying. Email addresses can be found on the Board or Commission’s webpage. Email testimony will be accepted until the day before the meeting at 12 p.m.
• Send a letter to 200 Ross St., 4th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Mailed testimony must be received by two business days before the meeting.
• Join the virtual meeting and use raise hand function to request to speak.
• Call into the meeting from your phone. If you wish to provide testimony this way, please register in advance with Zoning & Development Review staff to ensure that you are provided time to speak.

After COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, virtual meetings will continue as a supplement to in-person meetings to increase access to participation and more equitable public testimony.

Development Activities Meetings will be scheduled as virtual meetings through the Registered Community Organization and the developer, with assistance from neighborhood planners. Information and presentations will also be posted online for residents to ask questions and comment on development proposals before appearing before any Board or Commission.

“We believe that it is important to restart the Board and Commission process safely and balance the ability to keep development moving in the City with the desire to ensure equitable opportunity for resident involvement in the development coming to the City and its neighborhoods,” said Andrew Dash, acting director of the Department of City Planning. “This process will allow us to take additional steps to implement the Public Engagement Guide, hold Hearings over the next couple of months, and will continue when restrictions are lifted to supplement in-person Board and Commission meetings.”

A citywide online engagement portal coming in June will be a one-stop location for residents to learn more about and engage with projects happening in all City departments, as well as projects from developers that are going to a City Commission. 

For more information, contact Andrew Dash, AICP (Acting Director of City Planning) at Andrew.Dash@pittsburghpa.gov.