Following his inauguration on Monday, newly appointed Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor on Tuesday signed his first executive order to start a revamp of the city’s permitting, licensing, design, and project review, and application processes.
The ultimate plan, he said, is to propose and adopt improvements for applicants, simplify application and approval processes, streamline review requirements, and institutionalize more transparent, predictable, responsive, and efficient permitting operations.
“Permitting is the No. 1 priority in growing Pittsburgh,” O’Connor said during the Jan. 6 signing event. “Permitting is not just a major barrier for developers. This is for residents. This is for small business owners that want to start businesses in Pittsburgh. We know we can grow Pittsburgh if we speed these processes up.”
The mayor signed Executive Order No. 2026-01 to correct the the City of Pittsburgh’s existing permitting regimen, which “is outdated, inefficient, and insufficient to meet the needs of residents and applicants,” the order says.
Additionally, the order will address operational and structural changes that O’Connor said are necessary to ensure these processes are applicant-focused and designed for the benefit of the public, and improve processes to enable the city to achieve better outcomes in its efforts to promote housing production, the success of small business, neighborhood investments, and economic growth and development.
Prior to signing the order, O’Connor noted that it gives multiple departments 60 days to “get us answers on how we’re going to revamp this.”
He said his administration plans to continue meeting with more architects, contractors, unions, community builders, and affordable housing developers to speed up the city’s permitting process.
“They are all collectively going to come together to meet with us, and we have been meeting with them during the past few months to get their stories on what the holdup is,” O’Connor said.
In addition to directing the City of Pittsburgh to begin a comprehensive review of its permitting, licensing, design, and project review, and application processes to propose and adopt improvements, the order also directs the departments of City Planning, Mobility and Infrastructure, and Permits, Licenses, and Inspections, as well as all other departments, offices, and agencies under the mayor’s jurisdiction, to participate in and contribute to the efforts to reform these processes.
All participating departments, offices, and agencies shall work to identify system deficiencies and propose transformational corrective actions including, but not limited to, changes to the City of Pittsburgh’s Code of Ordinances, Zoning Code, internal policies and procedures, application requirements and review, design standards, project qualifications, notification timelines and policies, approval processes, and public-facing and applicant-focused operations, according to the order.
All recommendations must be reported to O’Connor within 60 days.
During his inauguration on Monday, the mayor laid out his vision to drive progress and growth through creativity and collaboration across the city.
“For too long, when it comes to growing Pittsburgh, our city has been a culture of ‘we can’t’, ‘we won’t’… a culture of ‘no,’” O’Connor said. “Now, it is time to change Pittsburgh’s culture,” which he said includes making it faster and easier to secure a permit.
“Yes… we can provide shovel-ready sites for your business or home,” he said.