Council Re-Apportionment Committee

Final Resolutions and Map

Council will vote on the Reapportionment Map on Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Overview

The Council of the City of Pittsburgh, being elected by district, must every ten (10) years apportion the districts so that each contains approximately the same number of persons pursuant to the United States 2020 Census. The criterion of equal size of elected representatives districts is generally understood to be a logical consequence of the Constitutional provision of one person, one vote, a principal derived from the equal protection clause of the Constitution of the United States.

Pittsburgh’s City Council reapportionment process in is governed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Constitution, as set forth as follows.

Within the year following that in which the Federal decennial census is officially reported as required by Federal law, and at such other times as the governing body of any municipality shall deem necessary, each municipality having a governing body not entirely elected at large shall be reapportioned, by its governing body or as shall otherwise be provided by uniform law, into districts which shall be composed of compact and contiguous territory as nearly equal in population as practicable, for the purpose of describing the districts for those not elected at large.

The Pennsylvania State Legislature sets forth the statutory requirements the Council must adhere to at 53 Pa.C.S.A. 901 et seq. The four essential elements of reapportionment are as follows:

Districts shall be composed of [1] compact and [2] contiguous territory as nearly [3] equal in population as practicable, [4] as officially and finally reported in the most recent Federal census.

Additional commentary on the reapportionment process is noted in Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development’s City Government in Pennsylvania Handbook as follows:

The amended local government article of the Pennsylvania Constitution, adopted by the voters in 1968, requires governing bodies elected by districts to realign their district lines after each decennial census. This procedure is set forth in the Municipal Reapportionment Act. This Act applies to home rule cities because it is uniform and applicable in every part of the Commonwealth, it implements a specific constitutional mandate and it expressly includes home rule municipalities within its terms. This Act requires city council to reapportion districts from which members are elected in the year following the official report of any decennial or special federal census. If the governing body fails to act, any one or more registered voters may petition the Court to realign the council districts. Any reapportionment plan approved by council may be appealed to the Court by a petition of at least 10 registered voters.

Meetings

The Committee Meetings are scheduled as follows and are all closed meetings:

  • Tuesday, October 12th @ 5:00 pm
  • Tuesday, October 26th @ 4:00 pm
  • Thursday, November 4th @ 4:00 pm
  • Tuesday, November 16th @ 4:00 pm
  • Tuesday, December 7th @ 4:00 pm
  • Thursday, December 16th @ 4:00 pm
  • Tuesday, January 11th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, January 25th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, February 1st @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, February 8th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, February 15th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, February 22nd @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, March 1st @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, March 8th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, March 15th @ 400 PM
  • Tuesday, March 22nd @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, April 5th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, April 19th @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, May 3rd @ 4:00 PM
  • Tuesday, May 10th @ 4:00 PM
  • Thursday, May 26th @ 4:00 PM

Committee Minutes

Public Briefings to Present Council Reapportionment Map Proposal

Adhering to the reapportionment guidelines established by the Pennsylvania Legislature, the RAC approved a draft of the preliminary map(PNG, 6MB) on March 15, 2022. The map will be presented to the public for feedback in a series of public hearings held on the following dates.

City Council Chambers
414 Grant St, 5th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Thursday, March 24th 6pm-8pm

YMCA: Homewood-Brushton
Branch 7140 Bennett St
Pittsburgh, PA 15208
Wednesday, March 30th 6pm-8pm

Pride Project Incorporated
227 Bonvue St
Pittsburgh, PA 15214
Thursday, April 7th 6pm-8pm

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers
10 S St
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Wednesday, April 13th 6pm-8pm

Carnegie Library, Main
4400 Forbes Ave
Saturday, April 23rd 12pm-2pm

Sheraden Healthy Active Living Center
720 Sherwood Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15204
Saturday, April 30th 1pm-3pm

City Council Chambers
414 Grant St, 5th Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Wednesday, May 4th 6pm-8pm

Please note that the first meeting in Council Chambers will offer a hybrid, virtual option for attendance. Individuals can sign up to speak at any of the hearings via the City Clerk’s website. For those who wish to attend the meeting in Chambers virtually, a zoom link will be provided the day of the hearing after registration takes place.

The RAC will use feedback received from the Public Hearings to provide further edits to the current draft proposal. The edited map recommendation will then be submitted to City Council for review, with a final vote required to take place before the due date of August 11, 2022.

View further information on the RAC and the reapportionment process.

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