Pittsburgh's Urban Redevelopment Authority settled today with Pat Ford, its former executive director, by agreeing to pay him approximately $90,000 in salary plus benefits to close out his employment contract nearly four months early, forego a potential lawsuit and end what had become a bitter public standoff.

Rob Stephany

The URA board also made Rob Stephany its new executive director, putting the job of growing the city into the hands of someone with 15 years of experience in the trenches of neighborhood development, but just 14 months at the 100-employee authority.

"We like people who get things done, and Rob Stephany is one of those people," said URA Board Chairman Yarone Zober. "He's a man of vision, a man of integrity."

But first, the board had to deal with Mr. Ford, who ran the agency from October through April. That's when he revealed that he got Christmas gifts from a friend who is an executive at Lamar Advertising, the firm that got a since-revoked permit to build an electronic billboard Downtown without receiving normal zoning approvals.

In August, Mr. Ford's attorney said a state Ethics Commission review of the gifts did not expand into a full investigation. The URA, though, did not bring him back to work, and a war of words followed. Mr. Ford's resignation letter alleged a "culture of deception and corruption," and Mayor Luke Ravenstahl called his accusation "outrageous and very malicious."

The URA's payment to end Mr. Ford's tenure there consists of Mr. Ford's salary through June 2009, six months longer than his contract to head the agency.

URA General Counsel Don Kortlandt explained that the agency believed Mr. Ford "would assert additional rights to compensation under the employment agreement." In return for the six months of compensation and benefits, Mr. Ford is prevented from filing a lawsuit against the agency or the city.

The settlement was "a consideration of the costs that might be occasioned by long discussions or litigation," Mr. Kortlandt said.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said in a sttement he supports the settlement with Mr. Ford and Mr. Stephany's appointment.

Mr. Ford's concerns about the operation of the city and the city Housing Authority, where he had served as a board member, have drawn interest from federal officials.

"Nothing about this settlement inhibits my client from continuing to cooperate with authorities on matters of mutual interest," said Lawrence Fisher, Mr. Ford's attorney.

Mr. Stephany has been the acting executive director during Mr. Ford's five months of paid leave. The 42-year-old Lawrenceville resident spent much of his career as the commercial development specialist at East Liberty Development Inc.

"This is a stunning, stunning, stunning organization, regardless of recent negative press articles," Mr. Stephany said. "I think this city is one of the most exciting little cities in the nation and it's a really exciting time for this city."

Mr. Stephany has many fans from his neighborhood work.

"One only has to look at East Liberty to see what Rob has done," Tonya Payne, a URA board member and city councilwoman, said yesterday. "Rob is really familiar with the community, and that's a big chunk" of the URA director's job.

Starting with the opening of a Home Depot in 2000, East Liberty's Penn Circle has been a commercial boomtown and new housing has extended from that hub through the street grid. "The East End of the city of Pittsburgh may, in fact, be the most robust economic place in the western part of the state," Mr. Stephany said in a recent interview.

He said he's optimistic about Pittsburgh, but recognizes its problems. He wants to be armed with data when he battles them.

"I think the slum landlord rental housing thing is the overarching negative thing hanging over neighborhoods," he said. The URA and community development organizations "need to start providing the best-managed rental housing."

"He has a good feel for an urban neighborhood," said Mulugetta Birru, who headed the URA for 12 years, and helped redevelop East Liberty, before taking the top development job in metro Detroit. "He doesn't come with baggage."

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.