Pittsburgh’s Planning Commission hit the brakes on a bill to limit Airbnb-style rentals while it awaits a legal review. The commission had been set to vote on whether to recommend the proposal to City Council but opted to table at the end of a three-hour meeting Sept. 8
“I would not want to vote on something that I don’t know that it would do what it needs,” said commission Chair LaShawn Burton-Faulk. Tabling defers a vote to allow members time to further review or resolve issues related to a bill.
The bill, also awaiting a final vote from council, would prevent property owners from opening up new short-term rentals in single family homes in which they do not live, but it would not ban existing businesses from operating. For multi-unit buildings with 20 or fewer units, the bill would limit owners to operating no more than two as short-term rentals. For buildings above 20, owners would be limited to operating five as short-term rentals.
A companion bill establishing licensing requirements for rental operators is also moving through council, though it doesn’t fall within the commission’s oversight.
Resistance to short-term rentals has heightened since a mass shooting at an Airbnb in East Allegheny left two dead and eight injured in 2022. The issue has drawn increasing concern from residents who say their prevalence threatens public safety and community cohesion.
“People’s lives and neighborhoods are forever altered because we have let a for-profit entity to run rampant with zero regulations for at least 15 years, while other cities across the country have passed laws,” said Carlin Christy, a resident of Brighton Heights.
Sixty-two residents submitted letters ahead of the meeting and more than 30 weighed in from the lectern and online. Some supporters praised the bill as an important step, while others said it fell short by “grandfathering” in existing units. The majority of opponents were from North Side neighborhoods near the site of the 2022 shooting.
“I am 15 minutes and, according to my Fitbit, 47 flights of stairs from the nearest place I can buy a bag of Skittles,” said Andrew Macleod, president of the Fineview Community Organization. “But two doors down from me, a nuclear family with two children moved out, and their house was replaced by an Airbnb that I have called the fire department on, I think, five times.”
Speakers opposing the bill said short-term rentals can be an asset to the community, and were keen to distinguish themselves from bad faith out-of-town operators.
Michael Sobkowiak, a host operating six units around Oakland, described himself as an engaged citizen who shovels his neighbors’ driveways. He defended his guests, who he said other speakers had demonized, and tearfully told of a father who stayed in one of his units for six weeks while his daughter underwent treatment for brain surgery at UPMC Presbyterian hospital.
“These people are integral to our community,” he said.
Chad Wise, president of Steel City Short-Term Rental Alliance, criticized city officials for not supplying accurate data on the number of units citywide. He said the number now totals 2,100 short-term rentals, representing a 10% drop since peak levels last May.
“There are roughly 12 vacant units in Pittsburgh for every short-term rental,” he said. “Eliminating them does not create affordable housing, it increases vacancy.”
Burton-Faulk suggested the proposal had a level of support from the commission, pending the legal review.
“We do recognize there are some challenges and changes that are happening and we are looking to address those. What we have before us may do some of that but I’m not sure we’re quite there yet.”
Jamie Wiggan is deputy editor for Pittsburgh’s Public Source and can be reached at jamie@publicsource.org.
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