I was hoping that the ADU ordinance would be introduced to Chicago City Council during their regular meeting on March 18, but due to the coronavirus and the need to restrict gatherings to maintain public health, the meeting has been postponed.
MAP: The latest map of alders known to have expressed support for ADUs. Thank you to those who helped me beta test the sample letter and get responses from three alders who weren’t already on the map.
There is still work that can be done, and I need your help. I’m tracking aldermanic support for an Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance and I’m only aware of 11 supporters. Let’s get our alders excited for a potential April introduction so ADUs can be re-legalized this year and construction can start sooner.
Here’s a sample letter to advocate for basement & backyard homes
Replace the text in the [brackets]. Optionally BCC info@chicagocityscape.com
Dear Alder [your alder’s last name],
I live in the [your ward number] Ward at [your address]. I’ve become aware, from the news, that Mayor Lightfoot intends to propose an ordinance to re-legalize accessory dwelling units and coach houses in Chicago. These “ADUs” come in the form of garden apartments, attic units, and backyard houses, create unsubsidized attainable housing and more income for homeowners. I think...
Alders Martin (47th) and Vasquez (40th) proposed an ordinance to combine three “Pedestrian Street” zoning designations on Clark Street into a single, larger designation. The ordinance would have been adopted by City Council tomorrow, but the meeting has been postponed to an unknown future date.
MAP: The map on the left shows the existing P-Streets in the North Side Lakefront neighborhoods and the map on the right shows the combined and extended P-Streets on Clark Street in the center, nearly parallel with Ashland Avenue. CTA and Metra station entrances are depicted with red stars.
A P-Street is a not a pedestrian street…the kind of street seen all across cities in Asia, Europe, Mexico, and South America, where motor vehicles are not allowed. A “Pedestrian Street” zoning designation, hereafter called P-Street, is an overlay zoning district that reduces the uses (businesses) that are allowed and implements a kind of form-based code that requires certain building façade preservation. (Okay, Boston and some other towns in the United States have pedestrian streets, but they’re rare.)
PHOTOS: Chicago isn’t getting a pedestrian street, like the above examples in Frankfurt and Lisbon, but a section of Clark Street is getting a “Pedestrian Street” zoning designation.
These three P-Streets are being “dissolved” into a new one that also encompasses the non-P-Street blocks between the three...
Get access to insights, research tools, and more data. Check properties for TOD status and building violations. Download all of our real-time maps & spreadsheets.
