Consensus Group names city, authorities in HUD complaint

After years of demanding the city of Pittsburgh and its related authorities comply with the strictures of the Hill Community Benefits Agreement which they signed in relation to development of the former civic arena site, the Hill Consensus Group is trying a new strategy: have the feds compel compliance.
On Dec. 2, the Consensus Group filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development charging the City of Pittsburgh, its Planning Commission, the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Sports and Entertainment Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County with racial discrimination for disproportionately excluding African Americans from the housing planned for the site.
The complaint notes the Community Collaboration Implementation Plan, a deal agreed to last year by the named respondents and Hill political leaders—but not the Consensus Group, set the affordable housing level at 20 percent, 15 percent for residents making less than 80 percent of the median area income and 5 percent for those making less than 70 percent.