Things I have learnt from the Pittsburgh Municipal Code - A List

I am digging into the planning regulations for work and some rather surprising things have come up:

1) Meditation centre is a euphemism for Brothel

8. Sexual Encounter or Meditation Center means any business, agency or person who, for any form of consideration or gratuity, provides a place where two (2) or more persons, not all members of the same household, may congregate, assemble or associate for the purpose of engaging in specified sexual activities or exposing specified anatomical areas.

loool

"Yo can I get that change in singles? I'm about to meet up with my boys at the meditation center."

229. Specified Anatomical Areas mean:
(a) human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered; or
(b) areas of the human body that are less than completely opaquely covered and limited to:
(1) human genitals or pubic region;
(2) buttock; and
(3) female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola.
230. Specified sexual activities mean:
(a) acts of human masturbation, sexual intercourse or sodomy;
(b) fondling or other erotic touching of human genitals, pubic region, buttock or female breasts; or
(c) human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation or arousal.

There has to be some sordid story about how that got written into the code but googling has not uncovered it.

a good law library will help you look up the legislative history, if any, for that section of the code

Over the last nine years researching municipal codes, this is definitely not the only code to have these definitions. But these are far more graphic than any others I've seen.

yup, used to work for a city planning department and practically memorized their unified development code. they had something real similar in their definitions chapter too, i guess it's useful for determining whether uses like strip clubs/adult movie theatres are allowed by right or by permit in certain zoning districts

Pittsburgh might be my favorite American city that I've never visited.

Think about the code that went into this: https://goo.gl/maps/WJf1zwqbYxM2 Once you click that, be sure to turn around 180º to see why it's there.

fwiw my mom would probably make you guys a nice dinner

What is it about rural(ish) Pennsylvania that I can StreetView past a couple of houses and know it's Pennsylvania?

Every house looks like somebody's aunt lives there, they've got a 50 year old fridge and at least one dead car in the garage.

mookie, I can just look up your last name in the telephone book, right?

Love this view: https://goo.gl/maps/UoVAQWwJdFx

ah, the mawn river

pittsburgh also has a pretty decent flag, as such things go

Both my high school and college colors were black and gold, so I approve.