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City of Pittsburgh looking to update its guidelines for homes in its historical districts

PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh is looking to update some of its guidelines for homes in its historical districts.

The Manchester Historical Society has been working with the city on the updates.

“We try to save some of these big old houses, which is not always easy,” said Linda Hansen of the Manchester Historical Society.

Hansen said over the years, sometimes keeping up with historical guidelines for a home can be difficult and costly. The hope is that these updated guidelines will make owning a home within a historical district easier and more affordable.

“We want the homes to be saved. It’s really important for these buildings to be saved. We do not want them to fall down. We don’t want them to be unsafe. We don’t want them to burn down. We want them to be restored, but it’s really expensive to restore homes.”

Some of the changes include allowing homeowners or developers to use a wider range of materials, add ramps, HVAC units and even solar panels.

“A lot of people have been here for three generations and we want to keep them,” said Hansen.

More information on the proposed updates can be found here.

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