Pittsburgh’s City Planning Commission recommended rezoning Hazelwood’s riverfront district in a 4-2 vote Tuesday after months of delays and legal saber rattling by property owners.
The riverfront region is currently zoned for heavy industrial use, permitting facilities like solid waste incinerators, warehouses and salvage yards. City Councilor Barbara Warwick penned the proposal to rezone the area for residential and commercial uses. The commission twice delayed voting after railroad representatives alluded to legal action against the city in September and October.
Warwick framed the ordinance as an effort to promote environmental justice. She said after discovering that a Hazelwood recycling facility, Republic Services, had plans to turn the facility into a garbage transfer station, she wanted to prevent more harmful industry from entering the community. “We should be righting the wrongs of the past, not making them worse,” she told the commission Tuesday.
“Zoning for heavy industry in lower-income communities like Hazelwood has disproportionately … given a negative impact on the health and well being of historically marginalized Pittsburghers,” Warwick said. “Lots of those folks are here in the building today.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, more than a dozen Hazelwood residents spoke in support of the rezoning, saying living nearby industry has destroyed their quality of life. Some said they’ve developed asthma from inhaling pollution, faced rodent infestations or been disturbed by loud noises and lights day and night.
“We are not a dumping ground,” said Hazelwood resident Terri Shields.
However, railroad corporations that own 84% of the land slated to be rezoned urged the commission to vote against the proposal. Bill Sittig, an attorney for CSX, said federal preemption has typically been protective of railroads, exempting them from local and state laws like zoning ordinances. Still, he called the ordinance an attempt to “zone [railroads] out.”
“I would say by making this ordinance pending, that is going to trigger action,” Sittig said.
Brendan O’Donnell, attorney for Allegheny Valley Railroad, asked the commission not to vote until it conferred with the city Law Department to determine what kind of preemptive rights the railroads have in Hazelwood.
The zoning change would not force out any current industries in the area, only prevent new ones from moving in. However, O’Donnell said the ordinance seemed like an attempt to eliminate AVR’s use of the property.
Commissioner Rachel O’Neill countered that the zoning change would support health, safety and welfare of residents. She said it did not target a single use or owner. Ongoing, lawful uses would not be affected, she added. “I don’t think this substantively or detrimentally hurts the existing businesses.”
“I can’t predict what the railroads are going to do,” Warwick told Public Source. “It does seem to me though, talking with our city Law Department prior to this … that our legal justification for doing this zoning change is solid. I am confident in that.”
When the commission declined to vote on the proposal on Oct. 7, it urged the railroad and recycling companies to discuss solutions with community members. On Tuesday, Chairwoman LaShawn Burton-Faulk said she was concerned that communication hadn’t taken place, and said she felt it would be best for the commission to delay the vote again and first hold an executive session with the city’s Law Department.
After some urging from Warwick, the commission passed a motion in favor of the ordinance, with the strong recommendation that Hazelwood citizens and corporations negotiate over the issues brought forth by residents, which Warwick said she was “very much taking to heart.” Burton-Faulk and Commissioner Steve Mazza voted no.
Now, the proposal will head to the City Council for a final decision.
Tory Basile is an editorial intern at Pittsburgh’s Public Source. She can be reached at tory@publicsource.org.
