A Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling striking down Pittsburgh's mandatory residency requirement for police officers likely goes into effect immediately, city and union officials said.
Mayor Bill Peduto said he was scheduled to meet with the city Law Department to discuss the ruling released Monday.
"On the face of it, it's immediate, but I want to confirm that with (solicitor Lourdes Sanchez Ridge)," he said.
Robert Swartzwelder, president of Fraternal Order of Police Fort Pitt Lodge 1, said he has no doubts.
"It's the law," Swartzwelder said.
The court upheld a 2014 ruling by an arbitration panel and a subsequent opinion of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas that said officers can live within 25 air miles of the City-County Building, Downtown.
25-mile radius around the Pittsburgh City-County Building
Swartzwelder said officers probably wouldn't depart the city in droves, but he expects a "steady exodus."
Police had sought the change in Pittsburgh's century-old residency requirement since 2002, Swartzwelder said.
In 2012, after lobbying by the FOP, state legislators changed a civil service law to say Pittsburgh "may require" an officer to become a resident as a condition of employment. The previous law said officers "shall be required" to live within city limits.
A previous police contract permitted the union to renegotiate the residency issue after the law changed. An arbitration panel stepped in when negotiations stalled and sided with the FOP, despite an overwhelming vote by residents that made the residency requirement part of the city's Home Rule Charter.
The Supreme Court ruled that state law superseded the Home Rule Charter requirement.
Peduto's administration has not decided whether to launch an appeal in federal court.
Swartzwelder predicted that federal courts would not take the case.
"There is no federal issue involved here," he said. "It's a state issue. The highest court you can go to is the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has ruled."
Bob Bauder is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-765-2312, bbauder@tribweb.com or @bobbauder.
