City Streetlights Could Change

Pittsburgh City Council has taken the first step toward creating the city’s first-ever lighting code and at the same time moved down the path toward installing new LED streetlights in every business district.

In May of 2008, the city launched a test project to install LED streetlights on half of Walnut Street in Shadyside. The experiment was well received by most and since then, various council members have been pushing for more. The city is sitting on an $800 thousand state grant to help put new lights in all of the city’s approximately 30 business districts and councilman Bill Peduto says the grant expires if the work is not put out to bid this spring. “Our goal is to get this lighting code passed, be able to then to go forward in April with Carnegie Mellon University, who we have hired as part of that grant, to map out what that new lighting system would look like for all of our business districts and by June to issue the first [request for proposal] to begin the installation of those lights,” says Peduto.

Council gave preliminary approval to the bill this morning and will hold a post agenda meeting with CMU representatives to discuss the lighting code and the initial project.


Peduto says part of the code must address what he calls “equity of lighting.” “In certain neighborhoods you see street lights at every telephone poll, in other neighborhoods you only see one street light at the intersection,” says Peduto. The councilman believes some neighborhoods are overly lit while some neighborhoods are too dark. The plan would take into account the type of activity in a neighborhood when setting lighting standard.

Two years ago the university of Pittsburgh took a look at what types of lighting is best, “cradle to grave,” from an environmental standpoint. At the time, LEDs were deemed to be the best and Peduto says it was determined that the city could trim 50% from its streetlight electricity bill by installing LED fixtures. “Today those estimates are over 70%,” says Peduto. He says maintenance costs can be cut by 75%, “Where we replace light bulbs every other year, we wont have to for about 8-10 years” with LED.

The goal is to start installing the lights in the fall and then begin looking for grants to outfit residential neighborhoods. A portion of the business district lighting will be paid for through a city budget fund filled through savings from other energy efficiency efforts.

City/County Finance Merger Passes Preliminary Vote

Pittsburgh Council has given tentative approval to a plan that would merge the city’s financial database system with Allegheny County’s.

Council’s support for the $5 million merger is unanimous, but Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he’ll only agree to the plan if the state gives Pittsburgh $9 million for the sale of the Municipal Courts Building. Ravenstahl says the city should also seek cheaper proposals.

Councilman Bill Peduto argues while the new financial system might bring up-front costs, it will save Pittsburgh money in the long run.

Peduto says the mayor’s arguments are “red herrings” and he should work instead on a backup plan if the state money doesn’t come through.

Peduto, the Finance Chairman, also called for a series of April meetings to map Pittsburgh’s financial plans.

“Short-term: get all these issues resolved. Middle-term: get through the next six years and have a capital budget, be able to pay the pension costs, be able to pay the debt, the legacy costs,” says Peduto. “And then look long-term at a vision of where the city needs to be.”

Peduto says if the city manages its finances well, it should be able to shed state oversight in six or seven years.

Legislation Provides Home for Urban Agriculture

City residents will now have the ability to turn their urban Pittsburgh property into a private agricultural center under legislation before City Council.

Sponsor Bill Peduto says his bill provides balance between agricultural opportunity on private property, and the protection of neighbor’s quality of life through zoning code. If a citizen pays the required $300 permit fee, one can grow produce on their property and sell it commercially. In addition to holding more specific livestock permits, this new permit will allow city residents to house livestock on their property, too.

"People want to have chickens, they want to have bees, they want to be able not only to have a small garden, but to be able to have a garden where they can also supply a farmer's market," Peduto says. "So at the same time that it's trying to promote that, we needed to balance it against the impacts on adjacent property owners."

The last portion of the bill sets up a grant program that educates residents about the best practices and works to provide financial assistance in covering the permit fee. The money for the grant program will be taken from the Capital Improvement Program’s budget for Demolition of Condemned Buildings.

"We wanted to make sure that the cost wasn't something that prohibited people from even applying, so we created a trust fund for those that are willing to do the process right," Peduto says.

According to Peduto, the last laws regarding urban agriculture disappeared in the '50s but a continued interest has drawn the city back to it.

"People would be surprised at how much the city does have an active urban agricultural base," Peduto says.

Citizens are still allowed to cultivate produce on their property for personal use, but selling those goods commercially will require a permit.

Mayor Spends Budget Address Blasting Council

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl spent more time chiding City Council during his annual budget address this morning than he did laying out the numbers. Mayor Ravenstahl says council members are sending the city into a “financial nightmare” if they do not approve his plan to lease the city’s parking assets. The mayor says he has balanced the 2011 budget and a five-year plan by using reserves but he says the picture will be very different in the sixth year. “The first year following the five year plan our fund balance will be depleted. We will be forced to make a $91 million payment to the state pension system,” says Ravenstahl, “ That is a quarter of our city’s entire budget and more than it costs to operate any city department.”

Ravenstahl says that can all be avoided if the council would just approve his plan to lease the parking assets and use the proceeds to shore up the faltering pension program. He says he refuses to take on more debt as has been suggested by some council members and he hopes he and the council can find a way to revive the lease plan. Council members have been invited to meet with the mayor this afternoon to talk about a modification of the lease bid submitted by J.P. Morgan and LAZ Parking. The administration believes that can be done without having to issue a new request for proposal.

Councilman Bill Peduto says today was the mayor’s day to talk to the council about the budget and that did not happen. “I did not hear the budget today. I heard a lot of lobbying on behalf of a ‘Wall Street’ plan but I missed out on the budget today,” says Peduto. Councilman Doug Shields says he was, “a little bit chagrined to hear it is all council’s fault.” “There is a viable plan that the council enacted on the table and he does not seem to be making mention of that fact,” Says Shields. Shields and Peduto both say it is in the mayor’s best interest to listen to council’s ideas in an effort to find a solution.

The mayor says he did not spend his time talking about the budget because it is very similar to the 2010 spending plan. He says it contains no tax increases, no service cuts and no new programs so he thought it better served the public to talk about what is looming in the future. Spending in 2011 will come in around $450 million with a slight addition to the surplus. The five-year plans calls for a surplus in 2012 and then deficits in the next three years. The mayor says he also hopes to talk to the state about new revenue options but he thinks it is clear that the state will not talk until the city “puts its own financial house in order,” and he thinks that includes leasing the parking assets.

Mayor Ravenstahl characterized the relationship he has with council as “not good.” Doug Shields says the current mayor and council have it the worst relationship he has ever seen.

Listen to the mayor's budget address to council here.

PGH Green Bill to be Amended

Pittsburgh City Council members listened to members of the mayor’s office and the Green Building Alliance this morning talk about what they should add to a bill that would require all city-owned buildings to undergo an energy audit. The measure is part of a package of bills introduced by Councilman Bill Peduto aimed at making the city a bit more "green." City Sustainability Coordinator Lindsay Baxter says she would like to see an amendment that would make sure the audits would not just gather dust. “We would want to say for all improvements that have a pay-back period of ten years or less, they will be implemented,” says Baxter, “so we are not making every single change that could be made to a building but we are making all the ones that make sense, especially economically.” Baxter says she can be flexible on the payback time. She says she would also like to see all of the money saved through the improvements be put back into the Green Initiatives Trust Fund. “ We could blow through the money we have right now in one year and not get half of the buildings improved,” says Baxter. Right now the fund has $85,000 with an expectation of another $150-200,000 being added at the end of the year. The city owns 330 buildings. Baxter thinks a threshold should be set, under which a building would not be assessed. She suggested 5,000 square feet to eliminate sheds and bathrooms. That would leave about 75% of the city’s holdings to be evaluated. Peduto says he sees all the suggestions as “friendly amendment” and hopes to have the bill passed in the next few weeks.