Pittsburgh City Council gave initial approval to a sweeping residential tax break today after a lengthy debate about which neighborhoods should be included.

If it gets final approval Tuesday, the plan would waive the first $2,700 in city property taxes, for 10 years, on units of new housing built Downtown and in 28 other neighborhoods.

"If we see some neighborhoods that are still not performing, hopefully we can add those neighborhoods down the road," said Council Finance Chairman Dan Deasy.

Council members Len Bodack, Twanda Carlisle and William Peduto abstained, while all other members voted yes.

Councilman Jim Motznik asked why none of his South Hills neighborhoods are eligible for the program.

"Here's another program that's going to go into place, that's a good program, but it doesn't include my neighborhoods," he said, noting that federal funds geared to low-income neighborhoods can't be spent in Beechview, Brookline and Overbrook. "The people that live in my district pay the majority of taxes" but get the least in city aid.

He held off on introducing an amendment he wrote that would expand the abatement to all neighborhoods.

Administration representatives said that neighborhood eligibility is based on two factors. One is the neighborhood's score on a "vitality index" that factors in population losses, education levels, single-parent families, poverty, low home ownership, high vacancy, tax delinquency, violent crime and other factors. Another is a low level of new private building permits in 2005 and 2006.

Going to a citywide tax break would mean giving up tax revenue in areas "where market-driven development activities are occurring," said city Finance Director Scott Kunka. "When you go citywide, we expect the program will cost the city $75 million over the life of the program." The abatement is, instead, designed so that new property revenue the city gives up is offset by gains in wage and other taxes.

Council President Doug Shields added that the city has other programs geared to helping neighborhoods that are seeing some growth, including a three-year tax abatement on all new housing construction.

"Doing it citywide would draw investment to areas where we already have significant investment," he said.

"I think that all city residents should be eligible for at least some portion of this program," said Councilman Len Bodack. He proposed that the city create a sliding scale of abatement based on the neighborhood's performance.

Other members asked why certain areas in their districts did not make the cut, but there were no efforts to change the bill to add specific neighborhoods.

"The intent was to go into certain neighborhoods to target growth," said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, defending the choice of neighborhoods. "How do we grow these neighborhoods if there's no incentive to do that? . . . Why not give the neediest neighborhoods some way to grow, also?"

"I think Downtown is going to have a big spark from this," said Mr. Peduto, who had proposed an abatement for Downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. He said the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority already has home ownership subsidies for struggling neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods that would be eligible for the abatement are Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Bluff/Uptown, California-Kirkbride, Downtown, East Allegheny, Elliott, Esplen, Fineview, Hays, Hazelwood, Homewood North, Homewood South, Homewood West, Knoxville, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, Lower Lawrenceville, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland, Perry South/Perry Hilltop, Sheraden, Spring Garden, the Strip District, the Upper Hill District, Upper Lawrenceville, the West End, and the Mount Oliver neighborhood, which is next to the separate municipality of Mount Oliver.