Mayor Bill Peduto tried on Monday to downplay the flap over the Pittsburgh Penguins' decision to submit development plans for the former Civic Arena site to the city before holding community meetings on the proposed $500 million project.
Peduto said he wished the Penguins would have shared the plans with the administration and Hill District leaders before filing them on Friday afternoon. The submission included preliminary land development plans and a proposal to establish a special zoning district.
On Saturday, several Hill District leaders questioned the Penguins for not presenting the plans to the community first.
"It's a sensitive development, and there are extra steps that must be taken when you have this level of sensitivity," Peduto said, adding he would work with hockey team officials to improve communication between the Penguins and community before future details are released.
At the same time, Peduto said he was not surprised by any details in the plans.
"It's similar to what's been discussed for the last several years. At this point it's important that we move this project along," Peduto said, noting the filing moves the project a step closer toward construction.
Penguins Chief Operating Officer Travis Williams said, "We feel we have given the community plenty of opportunities to provide input, and we will continue to do that."
Aside from meeting with community members more than 50 times in the past two years, Williams said, the team is planning four community meetings on the plans. The first will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Hill District's Kaufmann Center, while the next will be either Nov. 13 or 14 in Downtown or Uptown. A third meeting will be held before the planning commission decides on the plans, and a fourth before City Council decides on the proposed zoning change. Council does not have to consider the preliminary land development plan.
Williams said the team plans to meet individually with 15 to 20 groups in the Hill District, with the first of those meetings starting next week. He did not identify the groups.
City zoning administrator Corey Layman said the planning commission is expected to consider the plans in November and December, and City Council should tackle the zoning issue in December and January.
If the preliminary plans are OK'd, the Penguins will have to submit final land development plans for approval for each phase of the project. The team must begin construction by Oct. 22, 2015.
Tom Fontaine and Bob Bauder are staff writers for Trib Total Media. Fontaine can be reached at 412-320-7847 or tfontaine [at] tribweb.com. Bauder can be reached at 412-765-2312 or bbauder [at] tribweb.com.
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