A group of Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg residents spoke out against the city’s proposed annexation of the Borough of Wilkinsburg at a public meeting on Thursday.
Pittsburgh City Councilvoted down the proposed annexation in February after councilors said they did not have enough time or information to consider the move. They promised torevisit the idea after studying how the annexation would impact Wilkinsburg and city residents. They also wanted more time for people to weigh in at public meetings.
In order for the annexation to move forward, Pittsburgh council members would have to vote in favor of the plan. A referendum would then be put out to Wilkinsburg voters.
The process wasfirst initiated by the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation in January.
Of the seven people who spoke at the meeting, all opposed annexation.
“Wilkinsburgers enjoy being independent,” said Linda Atkins, a Wilkinsburg resident. “We enjoy our community, and for the most part people do not want to annex or be taken over.”
She said people need to view it as an annexation of a borough, not a merger between two places.
“We need to look at it as an annexation, which is a takeover, and it can involve gentrification,” she said.
Wilkinsburg resident Kate Luxemburg agreed, saying that annexation could benefit outside developers over longtime residents.
“That is the redevelopment that we want: redevelopment for people who live in Wilkinsburg and need affordable housing and don’t want to be pushed out by higher property values,” she said.
Speakers opposing annexation said Wilkinsburg is financially solvent. Some also said Pittsburgh should deal with its own problems before trying to annex the borough.
Wilkinsburg Borough Council member William Smith III said he hopes voters will keep Wilkinsburg independent.
“We’ve been running our borough for 100 years and we can continue to run our borough,” he said. “We appreciate your concern for Wilkinsburg, we applaud it, we’d love to work with you. But I don’t want to give our government up.”
The next public hearing will take place on April 14 at the Homewood-Brushton YMCA.
