Morning, everyone.
It is 10:25 on May 19th, 2026, and
this meeting of the Chicago City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks, and
Building Standards is called to order. We will start off with a roll call.
Alderman Lopata.
Alderman Hopkins.
Chairman Dowell.
Alderman Hall.
Chairwoman Harris.
Alderman Beale.
Alderman Ramirez.
Alderman Moore.
Uh
Alderman Mosley.
Alderman Cecil Lopez.
Alderman Fuentes.
Alderman Burnett.
Alderman Cruz.
Alderman Conway.
Alderman Quesada.
Alderman Riley.
Alderman Knutson.
Alderman Clay.
Vice Chair Lawson.
And I am present. All right.
Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. All right, we have a quorum.
Alderman Moore, Alderman Cruz, Alderman Riley have requested to attend this meeting
by remote means under the provisions of Rule 59.
Due to unrelated circumstances, Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion to approve the
alders' request. All in favor, please say, "Aye."
Opposed, "Nay." Independent chair, the ayes have it.
Moving on, I will now read the items to be deferred.
I will read the page number and the description, and then take a motion for all at
the end. Starting with middle of page nine, file number
23021, common address 2428 North Clybourn
Avenue. Moving to the bottom of page 12, file number
23046, common address 3301 to 3315
South Justine Street. Next, all of pages 13 and
14, including file number 23045, for various
addresses on South Blue Island, South Racine Avenue, and West 15th Street.
File number 23048-T1, common address
2553 to 2565 West Madison
Street. File number 23056-T1, common address
1312 West North Avenue. File number
23041-T1, common address
6332 to 6340 North Pulaski Road. And lastly,
file number 23055-T1 for common
addresses 1901 to 1925 North Clybourn
and 1904 to 1908 North Maud Avenue.
Alderwoman
Fuentes makes a motion to defer the previously listed items.
All in favor, please say, "Aye." Aye.
Opposed, say, "Nay." Independent chair, the ayes have it, and the items are
deferred. At this time, we will begin the public comment period.
In accordance with the city council rules of order and procedure, public comment
will be limited to today, 38 minutes.
Since there are more than 15 speakers signed up to speak, public comment will be
limited to two minutes per person so we can try to get all the speakers that have
signed up today. The Committee on Zoning will call as many speakers as time allows.
Our first speaker is Zoe Lee.
Hello. Hello. I
hope you, do f- you know, congratulations on you
being the new zoning chairman. And I just ask that you be fair
when it comes to zoning because
we just have issues on the South Side when it comes to
zoning.
Now,
Richard Daley's nephew I think is here, or he was here.
And I had told John Daley
last Thursday
that I need him to go to his brother or you go to your
uncle and ask him
why did he give Steven Quackenbush
six of my godfather's lots
and he put a Save-A-Lot on there.
And it's been on there since 2008 and my godfather has not
collected any rent.
And then in 2017, the City of Chicago,
when Rahm Emanuel was mayor,
decided that they were going to knock down the Sandpiper Lounge
and not compensate, which is violation of the Fifth Amendment.
And my godfather and my mother has not received
due process or compensation.
We have a imminent domain crisis going on on the South Side
and the West Side or the blighted areas for TIF money.
Quackenbush told my mother
that Daley
gives him TIF money to buy land
on the South Side or West Side or wherever he wants it.
But
my mother, who went to Terry Peterson, Latasha
Thomas, and David Moore asked for TIF money
to rehab the Sandpiper Lounge.
Thank you.
Our next speaker is Lakeisha McFadden.
Good morning.
Morning.
My name is Lakeisha McFadden, and I'm the CEO and executive director of Centers for
New HorizonWe are a community-based organization.
We've been serving children and families on the South Side for the last 55 years.
I'm here today regarding our youth campus that's located next to the
proposed application 23057.
I respectfully ask that you vote no not to pass this zoning change, or at
least review the requirements before allowing the change.
My concern is not for opposing development.
My concern is that we support thoughtful investment in our
community. Our concern is primarily on the use
and whether it's compatible to the environment that already exists.
Every day, our campus service children, youth, and families through youth
employment, after school programming, and maternal health services.
During the summer alone, dozens of young people attend our programming
site.
Allowing a tavern by right immediately next door to us
raises concerns around safety, supervision,
traffic flow, family access, and preserving the environment
designed for children and vulnerable populations.
Our parking areas, our pedestrian movement, and all that we do
is intentionally structured for the safety of youth and
children. This area is already a
community resource hub, hence the King Center that is located
directly across the street.
We believe that future development should strengthen that identity and reflect
meaningful engagement with the existing stakeholders.
I respectfully ask that this committee considers the overall impact
of this decision and protect the spaces that are dedicated for children and
families. Thank you.
Our next speaker is Tanya Sheth.
Good morning, chair and-
Morning
... committee on zoning, landmarks, and building standards.
My name is Tanya Sheth, and I live on the Near West Side in the 28th Ward.
I'm a Sierra Club and Southeast Environmental Task Force member here to
voice my strong support for the Hazel M.
Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance.
Neighborhoods like mine on the West Side are already overburdened with a
disproportionate number of polluting facilities that leach toxic
chemicals into the environment. As someone who works in an eye
care clinic, I see the direct impact of the city's air quality
on our patients. The compounded pollution from diesel and
freight traffic, metal shredders, asphalt plants, and
chemical factories, plus the increasingly dangerous effects of
climate change, leave people with symptoms of chronic eye pain and
irritation so severe that they are unable to leave their
homes. We know that these aren't random health disparities.
They're the result of decades of
policy and zoning neglect in Black and brown communities.
The guidelines in this ordinance would only apply to large polluting
facilities, and environmental justice groups have negotiated
tirelessly in good faith with labor and trade unions to clarify the
ordinance language. We fully support increased density,
economic growth, and thriving local businesses.
They're what we love most about Chicago.
But expanding industry can't come at the cost of poisoning the air that we
breathe. That's why I'm urging you to pass the Hazel M.
Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance to make a healthier Chicago for everyone.
Thank you.
Our next speaker is Eugene Holmes.
Eugene Holmes?
After Eugene, it will be Zhenya Polozova.
Yes. Good morning, Chairman.
Good morning.
My name is Eugene Holmes, and I'm here as a businessman.
I moved into 2206 East 75th
Street and 23054, 2954
East 79th. I moved in as a businessman and bring opportunity
to the neighborhood to put the kids to work, to show them how to
do body work, and detail
cars. And now they trying to change the zoning for my business.
And I'm here to let them know that I'm not bringing alcohol or
tobacco in the neighborhood.
I'm bringing jobs and opportunity to the neighborhood.
And I just want you to know that before he rezoning. Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Zhenya Polozova, followed by Elizabeth Martin.
Good morning. I'm here for the auto mechanic, uh-
Ma'am, ma'am, can you identify yourself please?
Oh.
Because the next speaker was
Zhenya Polozova, followed by Elizabeth Martin.
Oh, you said Elizabeth Martin. Who's next? Who'd you want?
We have Ms. Polozova first, and then Ms.
Martin after her.
Sorry about that.
Good morning. I'm here with Earth Justice, a national public interest
environmental law organization with decades of experience in protecting people's
health, advancing clean energy, and combating climate change.
I urge the committee to support the Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance.
If you have any questions or are on the fence, I urge you to study the language or
meet with the Chicago Environmental Justice Network to hear the impact this
policy would have on their members' and their neighbors' lives.
I urge the chair to lead the committee by balancing the need of its
stakeholders-Beyond a focus on clearing red tape for
development, this requires active collaboration with residents and workers on the
front lines of industry because they have been marginalized for decades and deserve
to be represented by this committee in full, whose decisions have life and death
implications for their lives and of their families.
Data questions whether there is enough tape protecting communities.
Four years ago, the Chicago metro area had the most warehouse square footage per
person out of the 25 largest metro areas.
This was 13% larger than that of the LA metro area, which boasts two
of the largest ports in the US. This is significant because toxic pollution
does not adhere to borders, and Cook County is already in the 99th percentile
of particulate matter pollution concentration.
The tape that we have did not stop an asphalt plant from being built next to a
park, a daycare, an apartment complex in McKinley Park, a recycling
facility across the street from a Little Village playground, or General Iron next
to a school. There is so much warehousing in Little Village that all residents live
within a half a mile of a warehouse.
Nevertheless, Chicago added 11 million square feet of warehouses last
year. Despite this exponential growth, the CIO only requires a
review of a narrow subset of proposals that are both intensive and would cause an
outsized impact on the health of Chicagoans due to other facilities nearby.
Development must happen with proper guidance to prevent a return to recent history,
where rivers were catching on fire because of the lack of environmental protection.
Finally, I just want to urge us to move beyond the false dichotomy of
protecting the environment and health versus jobs.
Many of the ordinance proponents support the expansion of jobs programs in the
clean energy industry or industries that protect our public health like we're
pricing-
Thank you, Ms. Palosma.
Next is Elizabeth Martin, followed by
Irma Patino.
Good morning.
Morning.
I oppose the document
020260029089.
And this one here.
And 899.
And 89090. I'd had personal
experience with the auto repair shop there.
I took my car to the dealership. They wanted $6,000.
$6,000 to repair my car. I got it did less here.
And we need this in our communities.
There's none in the community. I would have to go way to
the dealership or way down on 47th Street and everything.
There's nothing in our area. We need
this. We need this and we need the--
We
need this. We don't need it to be rezoned.
And to help us
to
not to have to go out of our area for everything.
For groceries, for everything. Everything is leaving our neighborhood.
So why not let our auto mechanic
still be here in our community,
instead of going everywhere, all out of our neighborhood to buy
anything? It's sad.
It's sad. So I don't know why
the rezoning. I don't know.
And I would appreciate it if you guys wouldn't rezone it. Thank you.
Irma Patino,
followed by Myrna Salgado.
Yes. Hi, good morning. My name is Irma Patino, and I am here to
oppose the rezoning of 5626 West
63rd Place from a B1-1 to an
RS-2. This property has never been residential.
It was built commercial, used as a garage, and today is
leased to Jeffy Drain LLC under
an active city license number
30-78593.
Rezoning to
RS-2 would cause severe financial burden.
It would immediately make my tenant's legal business
non-conforming, forcing them to shut down.
I would lose rental income, face vacancy, and be
left with commercial building I cannot legally use, lease,
or sell. Converting it to a residence
would cost hundreds of thousands-
Thank you
... in structural change, if it's even feasible.
The building is not a house and has no residential
value. Downzoning destroys the property's economic
use and creates undue hardship for both me and
my tenant.
I respectfully ask the committee to maintain my
B1-1 zoning
to what it is now.
Thank you. And, just for the record,
I've owned this property since 2019.
It's been vacant a lot of the time. We've been trying
to get ahold of Alderman Quinn, called numerous times
to set an appointment with him. He's always denied our
visit. We had a couple people that tried to buy the
building from us, and they also were denied an appointment with
Alderman Quinn. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Patino.
It was a good meeting.
We have Myrna Salgado, followed by...
Last name is Swilley?
MissMs. Salgado
Hi, my name is Mirna Salgado Romo,
she/her pronouns, and I'm with the Chicago Environmental Justice Network.
I'm also a founding member of Neighbors for Environmental Justice, a volunteer
founding member of that organization.
Today I'm here to read a statement from our coalition of organizations that are
supporting the Cumulative Impacts Ordinance.
As many folks have heard here countless times from many of the volunteers that
have come to make public comments on this, this is an issue that was introduced,
ordinance that was introduced last year, and we're still asking for city
council to consider passing this ordinance to address
overburden of pollution in marginalized communities.
And I just want to make it a point to state that the organizations or the
companies or the industries that we're seeking to reduce
pollution have nothing to do with the small mom and pop shops that are in our
communities that we need immensely.
We need these small business, these thriving
self-led
or businesses in our communities to thrive in the city of
Chicago. And so I'm going to read a statement from our coalition.
We are supporting the Cumulative Impacts Ordinance, and we want to ensure
that if there are any questions or concerns about this ordinance, that you
seek out the input from and the feedback from community organizations that have
been working tirelessly to try to figure out how we can work with city
council to bring legislation that's going to protect this whole city of Chicago,
not just these marginalized communities.
So our coalition of 70 plus concerned neighbors, environmental
justice organizations, conservation groups, and public health instructions
who have signed on the support of Hazel M. Johnson Cumulative Impacts Ordinance.
The ordinance, the CIO, is a grassroots-led new
proposed law that will codify the definitions of environmental justice and
climate justice, create an advisory board to guide future environmental justice
policies, and consider cumulative impacts health before
industrial projects are greenlit in neighborhoods with high
concentration of pollution. The need to address-
Thank you, Ms. Salgado.
Last name is Swilley?
Yes. Good morning.
Morning, sir.
I'm Lucius Swilley. I'm
in the Seventh Ward, and I'm here to testify for B&G
Auto.
The zoning change that's
proposed to change the auto
body shop I don't think is needed.
I've been in
my location for 56 years.
And that location has
always been a auto repair shop in the
56 years that I've been there. And there's really nothing
else that can be done with the building because it's a
single-use building. It's always been
auto shop, and I think
it should stay a auto shop. We need the
business in the community.
We already have enough vacant properties in the
community.
And it seems as though every time a business
tries to open up, there's some reason
that the business can't open up.
There's a barbecue place that's been trying to open
up.
I don't understand why Alderman
Mitchell is keeping these businesses out of the
community. And
I'm asking that the zoning change
not go through.
Thank you.
Thank you, sir.
Next we have Josh
Chodor, followed by Brenda Santoyo.
Good morning, members of the committee. My name is Josh Chodor.
I am a resident of the First Ward. I will be very quick for you today,
but I am a volunteer advocate with a few nonprofit
groups. We are supporting more housing throughout the city of
Chicago. If you read the New York Times editorial board
yesterday just put out a headline that says, "America needs to build
more housing," which is a very clear and concise statement that will
probably do more than I can just in my speech here today.
But as we have seen both throughout the city and throughout the country, we need to
create more housing opportunities so that we can house more people in
Chicago and expand the city's tax base.
Today, I want to speak in support of the proposed development at
California and Melrose in the 35th Ward.
This is a proposal for more than 100 new homes at the corner of
California and Melrose in Avondale.
It will add much needed housing for families near Brands Park
and two major CTA bus routes. The site currently sits vacant
right now, so the project would add more tax revenue, as we've said,
and will help the city out rather than just gathering dust.
And I'll also lastly add that the project has multiple
four-bedroom units, making it perfect for growing families who can easily
access a public park. And so as we continue to have more zoning
committee meetings, and thank you, Chairman Viegas, for helping clear some of the
backlog from last meeting, continue to advocate for
creating more housing and having these opportunities to make more
homes for families. Thank you.
Next speaker is Brenda Santoyo, followed by Carl
Galston.
Hi all. My name is Brenda Santoyo Gomez.
I'm with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, and I work
in-In a community with one of the busiest industrial
corridors, and I live in one of the most polluted neighborhoods in the city.
I'm standing here today to ask you to support the Hazel M.
Johnson Cumulative Impact Ordinance.
The passage of this ordinance has been stalled under the guise that environmental
regulation and common sense public health protection slow
down the development of industrial projects in Chicago.
The American Lung Association shows that more than four in 10 people in this
country live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and Cook
County was ranked the 19th most polluted place to
live in the country. If we need to slow down the process for the sake of
responsible development, my neighbors see it as something that is
necessary. A report by The Chicago Sun-Times rated our
pollution an F. There is no getting worse.
We are the worst. When we say slow down development, we're asking to
assess the existing conditions of industrial operations
so our health and quality of life do not continue to be compromised
and the lives of our children, our elders, and all of our neighbors across
Chicago. We have a history of pitting environmental
protectors and industry against one another when what we want
is protection for their workers and the neighborhoods where they operate,
not only to protect our future workforce, but also our city's ability to
house these industries in the long term.
Most importantly, we deserve these types of protections, and as elected
officials, you were elected to serve the needs of our neighbors first, not the
interest of the PACs that fund the seat that you're sitting in.
Our coalition represents folks from the North Side, the South Side, Black
communities, Brown communities, and white communities.
In an era of federal rollbacks, Chicago must stand firm in protecting our
environment, our public
health, and the quality of life of all Chicagoans across the city.
Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. Montoya.
Before our next speaker, I'd like to acknowledge Alderman Quesada, Alderman
Burnett, Alderman Knudson for the purposes of quorum.
Also, Alderman Cardona, Rodriguez, Conway, Mona Hoppenworth as
non-members.
Mr. Galston and then followed by Tempest Hazel.
Good morning, committee.
Morning.
I'm here for
the
amendment for 890-90, which you guys
have all seen us stand behind one another for the Seventh Ward.
It's just a quick message to Alderman Mitchell.
We're, in our community, not against change,
but we are against change when you are trying to change an
operating business that's been
productive in the community for years.
If the building was vacant, then okay, that's fine.
You want to make it into a mixed
building for storefronts and property.
That building is not equipped for that unless you tear the whole
building down.
So
my mom passed in 2021. She worked
for the police department for 30 years before she
passed. So
she used to go to that shop to get her tires in the winter.
In the wintertime, everybody know your tires get deflated, right?
Gas stations is not equipped to do that because they freeze.
This shop is equipped to help all these seniors.
You going to see nothing but seniors in here, and that's who it's going to affect,
the peoples who still driving at 65, 70, 80
years old. So we're just here to tell Alderman
Mitchell to reconsider your decision on the
changing of this particular property.
We're not saying that other properties probably don't need that,
but this business is operating and helping the community out, and we
appreciate the committee and Alderman Mitchell to reconsider
this address. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next speaker is Tempest Hazel,
followed by Jessica Jackson.
Good morning.
Morning.
My name's Tempest Hazel. I'm a cultural worker here in Chicago, and I live on the
7400 block of South Luella, and I'm here with my other South
Shore neighbors to object the zoning application
90-90 and 90-89, which seem to be focusing on
two specific addresses in South Shore that have active businesses in them.
It's impossible for me to not oppose this, especially when it means another needed
business leaving our neighborhood. It means jobs lost.
It means another vacant storefront, and especially when there are plenty of empty
lots and storefronts that could use attention.
Living in South Shore means we already have to leave our community for so many
basic things. I ask that Alderman Mitchell not add
to this list. Thank you.
We have next is Ms. Jessica Jackson, followed by Eugene Holmes.
Wait a minute. Eugene Holmes.
Donna.
Can't stay away.
Yeah, she's on her way.
Oh. Yeah, two Je- so there was two Eugene Holmes already,
so Jessica Jackson followed by Juan Calajano.
Jessica Jackson?
She's not here. All right.
We've got two meetings going on at-
Okay.
We will...
Oh, here she is. Okay. Ms. Jessica Jackson, then followed by Juan
Calajano.
Okay. I was just over there in the other meeting.
They was getting ready to start public speaking.
Alderman Taliaferro just proposed that they hold the public
speakers over there because a meeting is going on over here,
and that's exactly correct. This gameThis
game of y'all doing two meetings at the same
time and all just so that we don't get to public speak.
See, this is why we have to file complaints and
charges constantly against you all.
See, this nonsense that y'all getting ready to talk about today,
the only thing I got to say, I support that.
The Black people who came up here and talked because enough has been taken from
us. The fact that you all have failed to even
address the fact that all those properties have been
taken out of South Shore
in that federal case. You all have failed to even acknowledge
that. You all have failed to acknowledge that there are
more evictions in South Shore than any
part of the City of Chicago. You all have failed to even address
that. These people over here who are paid protesters with
501 [ 3 ] s that's coming over here talking about their community over in
Pilsen or wherever the case may be.
Look how the alderman got up and addressed them and their
concerns. These Black people
came up here and none of these aldermen, not even our own, came and
addressed them.
We're sick of it. Don't take nothing else from us.
Now, I'm telling you because them people right there know us from them zoning
meetings. They know who we are. And I'm telling you right now,
y'all pass this stuff,
and you keep on not making South Side landmark buildings.
You keep on discriminating like this, giving everything to these
illegals, to these Hispanics, to these white areas,
and not giving us ours.
I told you at the last meeting that we filing a
discrimination charge, and we are.
Thank you, Ms. Jackson.
Our next speaker is Juan Calahorrano, followed by George Blakemore.
Well.
Right. Very well.
Chair, ready?
Yeah.
Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify.
My name is Juan Calahorrano, and I serve as Executive Director of Chicago
Unidos en Construction, a coalition of Hispanic-owned general
contractors, developers, specialty trades, and construction professionals
committed to advancing equity and representation in Chicago's built
environment. Chicago's experiencing one of the most significant development
cycles in its modern history. Since 2024, the city has
advanced over $34 billion in construction and redevelopment across
corporate campuses, mixed-use districts, transit expansions,
industrial development, and major public infrastructure.
Major projects include the $7 billion 1901 project at the United Center,
the $7.8
billion new neighborhood anchored by
$750 million Chicago Fire
Football club stadium, and Illinois' Quantum Park, a $9 billion
innovation hub at the former US Steel site.
Additionally, investments include the Foundry Park, Lincoln Yards North, the
$8.5 billion OHR expansion, the $5.7 billion rail line
extension, 400 Lake Shore Drive, and the $3.8 billion Bronson
Bill Lakefront development.
Catalyst developments such as the Google Chicago headquarters, the La Salle
Central corridor, and the Leclerc course with development.
Along with the North Union South Bank, One Central, the Obama
Presidential Center, and the CTA Blue Line modernization
form a robust pipeline approved through the city's planning and zoning
process. These projects represent extraordinary opportunity, yet
Hispanic contractors remain significantly underrepresented and in prime
contracting and leadership roles, despite being one of the largest
segments of Chicago's construction workforce and the rapidly growing share
of the contractor committee. Chicago Unidos en Construction represent firms with
the technical capacity, financial strength, and proven performance to lead
major scopes of work. Several members are here today,
All Construction Group, Blackwood Group, and the Total Construction Group.
Thank you.
Next is Mr. George Blakemore, followed by Evelease
Alexander.
I guess you understand what's happening. They got two meetings at the same time.
Look, I can't be cloned. I have every right to be at this other meet and
over here. So, it's sickening.
It's sickening.
Mitchell, you going to let this gentleman
keep his car shop there.
You work for them, they don't work for you.
And I want to tell each one of you something.
The way this zoning committee works, it pays to
play. If you got enough money, you can zone
anything, any place, at any time, and
anywhere. It pays to play. And the aldermen shouldn't have all this
power. They're there to serve you.
It's the... And we got these black faces in high places
turning our peoples out. This man was talking about the union.
This Hispanic talking about money. This man got a business.
The Black community needs business.
You should come over and talk to this group.
Now, I'm outraged.
I'm outraged is what is going on here.
I'm going to tell you something, the zoning committee, so listen.
Pay to play. Do you know what that means?
You can get anything, zone anywhere, any time, any
place if you pay. This man here got not supposed
to pay Mitchell nothing. Mitchell, you supposed to work for them.
For them. You are public servants. They don't serve you.
And
all these Democrats. Trump didn't do this.
D**k, Trump didn't do this to you.
Trump. All of them are Democrat, and some of you are
tooTrump didn't do this to you. Argh.
So don't go there. Don't go there. This is
corrupt. They all get... Machine.
I'm praying, all of you.
Thank you, Mr. Blakemore. Our next speaker is Alveliss
Alexander, followed by our follow speaker,
Ida Hinman.
Hello, my name is Alvertis Alexander.
Morning.
And I own B&G Auto Center, and I am direct cause
of why the zoning amendment 8090 and 9089 has
been introduced to you all today.
I applied for my license with the City of Chicago.
The City of Chicago told me that my zoning was clear, and I can move into these two
addresses. That's 2206 East 75th Street and
2951 East
79th Street. They told me to just get the permits, and then they told me to pick up
a letter from Alderman Mitchell. Well, Alderman Mitchell has not responded
to me. He has not given me the letter, and he has my business in limbo,
and both of my business in limbo. He only put this...
When I went to his office and asked him for the
access to the alley, then he put in these amendments to change
the zoning, after I was already there.
This place has already been a place of business, been a tire repair
facility for years. If I'm not there, all these people will have to go
outside of the community. I'm a RepairPal certified shop.
I take all warranties. I do warranty work for CarMax. I do work for the state.
And without me there, these people have to go to 40th and Aston or to a
dealership. And we all know there's no dealerships on the South Side of Chicago and
the East Side at all. So they have to go out of Chicago.
And I would like to finish reading this.
"The properties in question were already properly
zoned, substantial investment has been made, and license applications were
pending. Yet after months of attempting to communicate with Alderman's office
through calls, emails, and visits, there has been absolutely no response
or direct communication from anyone in this office." Today, I have the
pleasure of meeting Mr. Mitchell. Today.
Only a proposed posting change for any address only
after my request for the alley access letter.
This action would effectively block both businesses from opening.
This raises serious concerns about fairness and accountability.
Communities like South Shore continue to struggle with vacant storefronts,
unemployment, disinvestment. We shouldn't be in..."
Thank you, Mr. Alexander.
Our final speaker
is Ida Hinman.
Good morning, everyone.
Morning.
My name is Ida Hinman. I'm a property owner of
7434 South Louella Avenue here in Chicago in
the area where
the zoning amendment A-9090 is being
proposed.
I oppose the zoning amendment
A-9090 because I am in favor of having an automobile
repair
operating in the neighborhood. It's a much needed service
in a community where residents often buy used cars due
to low wages that we typically make.
As someone else pointed out, a lot of us are on fixed incomes.
And so, in addition,
I noticed where the establishment had four different
young, Black, African American men working.
And I made a comment to myself that I know they're
happy to have this job. So it's bringing employment
opportunities to the Black community, to Black youth.
I do not think this address should be rezoned for mixed use.
That would be a detriment to the community.
If an apartment building was to be constructed on that site, it would
cause more cars to compete for the scarce parking on
the side streets. They would also use it to sit and socialize
on our side streets so as not to be seen on the
75th Street.
And also, South Shore already has more apartment buildings than any
other community
in the City of Chicago.
We do not need another apartment building in this 250 foot
surrounding
this location. I also want to say that I had to
go outside of the City of Chicago to a
dealer to get my car repaired
so that it could pass the emissions test.
I was told, "It's nothing we can do. It's too old.
The parts aren't available. But here's a new car you can buy."
Thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes public comment.
We will move on to the agenda. First item up is document number
02026-0024-064, an
ordinance introduced by Alderman Rodriguez that amends Municipal Code
Chapter 17-9 regarding waste related uses, recycling facilities,
container storage, freight terminal, outdoor storage or raw material
composting, and manganese-bearing
material. We have Alderman Rodriguez here to present on
this ordinance. Alderman Rodriguez.
Oh, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll be brief.
This is in support of a multi-generational business in my ward who had some
issues. C2 business,
Olympics... kitchen furnishings to support their efforts
to have on-site storage. Worked with
Patrick Murphy on it to make sure it wasn't a one-time thing impacting others.
Spoke with the vice chair and yourself, and it seems like multiple stakeholders are
all good with this, so hope we can move due pass here.
Thank you, Alderman Rodriguez. Any questions from members of the committee?
Alderman Hopkins.
I move due pass on behalf of my colleague.
Thank you. If there are no further question, Alderman Hopkins moves
due pass. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent to chair.
The ayes have it. The ordinance is passed.
Next item is document number
O2026-0024923,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman
Irvin that amends municipal code Title 17 by modifying Section
17-3-0207 to
prohibit the issuance of permits for gas stations in B3,
C1, and C2 zoning districts and modifying Section
17-9-0109 to prohibit
new gas stations within 1,000 feet of an existing gas station or on the same
block face as lots zoned RS1, RS2, as RS3.
We did get a substitute for this ordinance.
Alderwoman Fuentes makes a motion to accept the substitute.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Independent to chair. The ayes have it.
The substitute's before us. Alderman Irvin, please present on this ordinance.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
This was done in conjunction with the original
sponsor, Alderman Greg Mitchell, and also working with the zoning
administrator. Essentially what this does, it would allow for
a
station to be placed within
1,000 feet of another station and/or on a
residential facing block with the RS1, 2, or 3 zoning,
only if it is done with a type one map amendment,
which will come before this committee and before the council in order to pass that.
Which ultimately would give the local community an option
if these items were within the same realm.
And we've had some situations where a station was
700 feet, 500 feet, and this would give the local community the option to
still move forward with that if it's so desired, using the type one
type zoning map amendment.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no questions, Chair Dow makes
a motion to recommend passage of this item.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent to chair.
The ayes have it. This ordinance is passed.
Thank you.
As substituted.
This ordinance is passed as substituted.
Next item up is document number
O2025-0018447,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman Cardona that amends municipal code chapter 17
by adding new section 17-7-0510,
establishing the Cicero Avenue Light Equipment Sales Rental Overlay District
to remove non-conforming use status for any new business seeking a limited
business license for auto sales and modifying section
17-15-0303, limiting expansion
of such non-conforming use. We have Alderman Cardona here to present on this
ordinance. Alderman Cardona?
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning,
Committee of Zoning. I'm going to refer this for presentation to
Benjamin Corpus, which is Department of Planning.
Hey, good afternoon. For the record, my name is Benjamin Corpus.
I'm a city planner with the Department of Planning Development for the Northwest
region. I'll be presenting on Alderman Cardona's overlay
proposal.
The overlay location's within the 31st Ward
along Cicero Avenue between Belden Avenue and Addison Street.
It's about a one and a half mile stretch within the Belmont Craig and Portage Park
community areas.
The purpose of the ordinance, as mentioned, is to cause loss of
non-conforming use status for any new businesses in the district seeking to obtain
a limited business license for auto sales and rental anytime, including
immediately after any preexisting non-conforming use in the district ceases
business operations.
Definition of a light equipment sales rental is in
17-17-0104 DD, vehicle sales
and service. Light equipment sales and rentals are sale, retail,
wholesale, or rental from the premises of autos, non-commercial
trucks, motorcycles, trailers with less than
10,000 pounds of gross cargo weight.
Typical uses include automobile and boat dealers, car rental agencies, and
recreational vehicle sales and rental agencies.
Within the Cicero Avenue Light
Equipment Sales Rental Overlay District for light use
equipment sales rental use with a lot frontage less than 200 feet,
all non-conforming use rights are lost, and reestablishment of the non-conforming
use is prohibited if the non-conforming use is
discontinued for 30 continuous days or more, ceases operations,
fails to maintain a valid business license, or undergoes a change of tenancy,
ownership, or management.
Within the proposed overlay district, there are two car rental
agencies and 16 auto sale businesses that'd be
most impacted. They have under 200
feet of street frontage. All these
properties are zoned B1-1 and have the non-conforming use
status. And there are three additional auto sale businesses with
over 200 feet of street frontage that would not be directly
impacted.
And I will hand it off to Alderman Cardona.
Thank you, Benjamin.
I would like to briefly explain the purpose of zoning overlay along Cicero
Avenue and 31st WardThis proposal is
intended to support economic vitality while advancing the local
goals for more vibrant, safer, walkable
corridor. The overlay would apply only to the properties
located along Cicero Avenue, and would primarily affect auto
dealerships and rental car businesses classified under light equipment sales
and rentals.
The affected area within the district includes the 2300
block to 3200 block on both sides of Cicero,
and 3200 block to 3600 block on the
west side within the Belmont Cragin community
part and Portage Park.
Many of these businesses are currently operating as non-conforming use, meaning
they were legally established under the previous zoning regulations,
but would not be permitted under today's zoning standards.
Because these businesses exist before in current rules, they have
been allowed to continue operating under what is commonly referred
as a grandfather status.
The purpose of the overlay would place additional conditions on the
status, including provisions that related to business community
licensing and changes in ownership or management.
It would also prevent these business from expanding within the overlay
area.
As you saw in the presentation, 18 businesses will be impacted by this
proposal.
The zoning overlay is intended to update, clarify zoning standards along
Cicero Avenue Corridor moving forward, while supporting
long-term planning goals for the community and families.
And we had various community meetings.
Within the 18 months, we had over 10 community meetings in
person, Zoom,
with residents
explaining what they would like to see on Cicero Corridor.
This plan is to basically, again, revitalize Cicero
Avenue and bring a different look into what exists
today. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Cardona. Before we go to questions, I'd like to acknowledge
Alderman Ramirez is for the purposes of quorum.
Any questions from members of the committee?
Alderman Laspara.
Thank you, Chair. So
just so I understand it,
under the ordinance, there's 21
businesses listed, and
none of these businesses could
have-- If any of them had a change of ownership,
tenancy, or management, that would make them
non-conforming and prohibited in the future?
So none of these folks would be able to sell their businesses?
No, they could sell their businesses, but it's going to be under the new zoning
change that was being proposed right now as a B1.
But if they were sold,
then they could no longer...
I want to make sure that, because it's your ward, it doesn't impact the first
ward. I'm only trying to understand what I'm voting for.
If
you were to
sell your business, if there was a change in ownership, that triggers
it as a non-conforming and prohibited use?
That's what it states, yeah.
Okay. Thank you.
Patrick. Oh, I'm sorry.
Benjamin?
Yeah. Under the proposed ordinance,
if a business were to decide
to change management or change ownership,
that new ownership or management would not be able to
operate an auto sale or rental car business under
the proposed legislation.
But they can right now, and they have been for a number of years,
which has been brought about through this ordinance today.
Would they have to seek a zoning change to bring it into conformance?
I do not believe so, but I'll defer to the zoning administrator in that
regard.
One second.
Patrick Murphy.
Yes. For any non-conformity, if it's going to
be brought into legal compliance, they would have to seek a zoning change
to
zone themselves out of whatever the existing non-conforming may be.
Okay. Thank you, Chair.
That's okay.
Any other questions from
members of the committee?
All right, seeing no other questions, do I hear a motion to pass?
Do I hear a motion to pass?
So moved by Knudson.
Okay. Alderman Knudson moves to pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it. The ordinance is passed.
Next item up is document number
02025-0021852,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman Villegas that amends municipal code Title
14A regarding stop work order,
work criteria, and Section 14A-40.
I'm sorry, strike that. Section 14A-4-406 regarding
excavation work on private property. This item has a substitute ordinance.
All committee members should have
received a copy of the substitute in your packets as well as in the meeting share
drive.
I need to get Carter.
No, you're good.
No? Okay, cool.
All right. Alderman Ramirez makes a motion to accept the substitute ordinance.
All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
I will walk us through the
ordinance as well as--
and then ask for a favorable consideration at the end.
Ladies and gentlemen, the proposed ordinance will make three changes to existing
law in order to better protect building owners from damage caused by
excavation on a neighboring propertyIt will authorize attorney fee
recovery in successful excavation damage lawsuits.
Sometimes excavation work causes damage to existing buildings on neighboring
properties. Today, the municipal code makes the person undertaking an excavation
responsible for this damage to neighboring buildings, but it does not
provide much detail on how the owner of damaged buildings should proceed.
This change will authorize judges to award attorney's fee to owner who files a
lawsuit and wins. This change will also make it more likely that contractors and
developers who cause damage are willing to take steps to minimize the damage and
or settle if damage is brought to their attention.
The second item that changes, enhanced contractor insurance requirements.
It provides additional safeguards related to excavation work.
This ordinance will require higher professional credentials by prohibiting
excavation activity by Class E general contractors.
Class E is the lowest tier of general contractor license.
This change will increase the minimum required insurance coverage from one million
to two million for professionals performing excavation work.
And finally, it will also allow for expanded damage
radius. Currently, the excavation notice and damage liability requirements apply to
existing buildings within five feet horizontally of the excavation activity.
Based on a review of similar ordinances in other cities, this ordinance will
expand the distance to 10 feet. Are there any questions from members of the
committee?
All right. Seeing none,
Alderman Beale moves to pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, nay. And opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The ordinance is passed as substituted.
Next item up is document number
02026-0024882,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman Knudson that amends municipal code Section
17-9-001, strike that,
code Section
17-9-0111.5
to include religious assembly and non-accessory parking restrictions in
RT-4 and higher zoning districts.
Alderman Knudson is here to present on the ordinance and will walk us
through this ordinance. Alderman Knudson?
Thank you, Chair Villegas and members of the Zoning Committee.
So this is a mini cut the red tape initiative in order to support
religious assemblies in our neighborhoods in getting modest revenue
through their parking.
The story here is that a church in our ward, as I know
has happened in other wards as well, came to us trying to
rent out two to four of their parking spots that sat
empty most of the week. Due to remote attendance and other
issues, a lot of our religious assemblies'
population and attendees is going down, and their question to
us was, why do we have to go through a lengthy process with the Zoning Board
of Appeals in order to rent out these few parking spots?
So we looked at the code with DPD and found that
with CPS schools, we allow them, when schools are not in
session, to rent out these non-accessory
parking spots by right, so long as it is in a
zoning district of RT-4 and above.
So what we've done here is we've amended that piece of the
code to allow religious assemblies to do the
same. If they are in a zoning district that is RT-4 and
above, they will be able to rent out their parking spots for some
modest revenue by right.
We want to streamline this for religious assemblies.
We're glad that it was an ordinance brought to us by a local religious
assembly called Church of Our Savior, and in the process of speaking
about it, we've heard from many religious assemblies in the city who are
hoping that they can do so to gain what, again, will be
pretty modest revenue.
Thank you, Alderman Knudson. Any question from members? Alderwoman Dowell?
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To
Alderman Knudson,
I have not had any conversation with you regarding this
zoning change, which is going to affect
everyone citywide, right? This is citywide-
Would be citywide-
Right
... in zoning districts RT-4 and above.
Right.
I would like to have an opportunity to take your
ordinance and look at its impact in my own
ward, because I have a lot of churches,
and I want to be able to think about that.
So I'm not prepared to support this today,
but would ask if you could hold it to the next zoning
meeting?
Yeah, Chair. We'd be happy to do so.
We've
mostly been talking to
Department of Planning Development on this, and when we originally submitted
it, we didn't get too much
negative feedback. It was mostly all positive, so that's why I didn't one on one
roll call, but I'd be happy to hold in order to look at the impact in your
community.
Yeah, a lot of us have a lot of
religious institutions and parking lots.
I just need to look at the zoning in my ward and look at the
impact that this might have. Thank you.
Yep. And, Chair, I'm happy to do that.
I think that it's a positive step here because it will continue
to teach and make aware religious assemblies
in their communities of how positive this small tweak could be.
So I'm happy to hold the measure.
Thank you, Alderman Knudson. We'll go ahead and hold this item till the next
zoning committee. Thank you.
Is there a motion to defer it? Alderwoman Dowell makes a motion to defer.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
And opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Okay.
We have one more waiting for the sponsor to pop in over
hereWhile we're waiting for the sponsor,
we have three historical landmark designations.
The first up is document number
02026-0024658 in the 43rd
Ward, the historical landmark designation for Roger Brown Home
and Studio located at 1926 North Halsted Street.
We have Matt Crawford of the Historic Preservation Division of the Department of
Planning and Development to present on this
matter. Matt?
Thank you, Chairman. For the record, again, Matt Crawford.
I'm a coordinating planner for historic preservation at the
Department of Planning and Development, and I'm here to recommend to you,
on behalf of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks, that the Roger Brown Home and
Studio
be designated as a Chicago landmark.
It's a simple store and flat building from 1888, but it's
really significant for its association with artist Roger Brown.
He was an internationally significant artist who created many of his works of
art in this building. He lived here, and much of his
work that was created is now in museums across the world from this
studio. The building is located at
1926 North Halsted in the 43rd Ward, and Alderman
Knutson is supportive.
Roger Brown was a founding member of the Imagists, which was a
Chicago-based group of young artists that became
nationally and internationally significant in the 1970s and the
80s.
For Brown, Chicago's built environment inspired many of his works, as
you can see here,
and one that should be familiar to all of us who work in City Hall is this
mosaic from 1990,
which is the Flight of Daedalus and Icarus, right across the
street at 120 North LaSalle.
That work of art talks about ambition.
The building was recently owned for several years by the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.
They have supported the landmark designation process.
They recently sold it to a private owner, and that new owner also
supports the designation. So on behalf of the Landmarks
Commission, I recommend passage of the designation ordinance.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Crawford. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
Right. Being no-- oh, I'm sorry, Alderman Knutson. I'm sorry.
Mr. Chair. No, I'll just note support for this.
This was one where any time a building transfers hands, it
comes into question if it doesn't have the correct historical
designation. So we heard from the community quickly
that the sale of this building by the Art Institute was causing
a lot of concern, and it's one that we all wanted to preserve.
So I want to thank
Landmarks really for their hard work in looking into the
history
of
the building as well as so many community members who have taught us more about the
history, and this will be a great one to stand on Halsted into
perpetuity. So thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Knutson. Any questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Alderman Cassada moves do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair.
The ayes have it. Now that we have
Alderman Martin here, we'll revert back to the last
text amendment for today.
It's document number
S02025-00175570,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman Martin with several
co-sponsors that amend municipal code Section
17-3-0301 regarding regulations on public
place of amusement licenses. Alderman Martin is here to present and
walk us through the ordinance. Alderman Martin, please proceed.
Thank you, Chairman, and good morning, colleagues.
This is an ordinance that came out of conversations that my office has been having
with the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild.
Many of its members are still recovering financially from
COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently, they've been facing new
uncertainty with tariffs, in particular with aluminum coming from countries
like China or Canada, as well as changing consumer habits,
in particular lower consumption, particularly amongst some younger
adults in Chicago. They've shared that it's increasingly
important to get patrons in the door, and that being able to offer small
ticketed opportunities like magic shows, paint and sips,
or comedy nights helps drive attendance and, as a result,
revenue. I had initially introduced an ordinance that
created an accessory event license specifically for alcohol
manufacturers. However, in response to suggestions from
various city departments, I modified the ordinance, which is before you
now, to focus instead on the existing PPA process.
And specifically, the proposal pares back certain regulations for
alcohol manufacturers such that they can apply for a PPA
license without first going to the ZBA or
pursuing a zoning change pertaining to a distance reduction.
To be clear, this is modest, but I also think that this is consistent
with our broader cut-the-tape efforts.
It only applies to state-licensed alcohol manufacturers, and
there are only 28 such manufacturers that are in B and C
zones that don't already have PPA licenses.
So specifically, 28 breweries, distilleries who could
be benefited from this proposal. Alcohol manufacturers in M
zones already don't have a distance requirement from R
parcels.
So this is a change that also standardizes the approach
across B, C, and
M zone districts.
Finally, I recognize that this isn't a silver bullet, but with alcohol
manufacturers facing economic uncertainty,
I hope that this will modestly increase their revenue and, as a result,
help alcohol manufacturers stay afloat during these challenging
times.
With that, I would be happy to answer any questions, and I have sitting next
to me who can also answer questions, Kevin Carey, who's the president
of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and the owner
of Beguile Brewing, as well as Gene Wagendorf, who is the executive
director of the Greater Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman. Any questions from members of the committee?
Chair Dow.
Hi. Do you have a list, Alderman Martin, of the 28 licenses in
the city of Chicago on you?
I can share that with you through the chair.
All right.
And share with you directly as well more than happy.
Thank you.
Any other questions from members of the committee?
No more questions, so moved by Alderman Moore.
All right, thank you. Hearing no questions, Alderman Moore has made
a motion do pass. All in favor, please say
aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it. The ordinance is passed.
Thank you.
Alderman Mosley has requested to attend this meeting by remote means under the
provisions of Rule 59. Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion to approve the request.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair, the ayes have it.
Alderman Mosley?
Present.
Thank you.
Right. Back in order here.
This one here, right? Yep. All right.
Next is document number
026-0024659.
In the 43rd Ward, the historical landmark designation for Byrne Hall, located at
2219 North Kenmore Avenue. Once again, we have Matt
Crawford to present on this matter. Mr. Crawford?
Thank you, Chairman. A second recommendation to council from the
Commission on Chicago Landmarks, that Byrne Hall at DePaul
University be designated as a Chicago landmark.
The building is in 43, represented by Alderman Knutson,
who supports this designation.
Byrne Hall was completed in 1907 as the first building of
DePaul University, which was originally known as St.
Vincent College. That college was established in
1898 by the Vincentian Catholic Order, and
they also established St. Vincent DePaul Parish at this
location in 1875. In 1911,
the university opened the doors of Byrne Hall to students
regardless of religious background and gender, making it one of the
first Catholic universities to be co-educational.
Byrne Hall was designed by the English-educated architect J.E.O.
Pridmore, who had a reputation for beautifully crafted buildings
from the late 19th century. The style chosen for Byrne was the
Italian Renaissance.
The building, like I said, is owned by DePaul, and they support this landmark
designation. And so to conclude, I'm recommending
passage of the designation ordinance for Byrne Hall. Thank you.
Thank you. Alderman Knutson?
Yeah. I'll go again and just say thank you so much to Landmarks,
who have been working hard on these.
Byrne Hall is quite an incredible building in quite an
incredible, very busy multi-use area.
We have a lot of residential housing adjacent to it.
We have the university. It's right near the train.
And this is one that this additional individual landmark designation
just gives the community a lot of faith that we know this building will be
protected again into perpetuity.
So I'm grateful for the support here, and it's a big win for the community.
Thank you, Alderman Knutson. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Beale makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed. Next is document
02026-0024660, also in the
43rd Ward. The historical landmark designation for
Cortelyou Commons at
2324 North Chalmers Street.
For the last time today, we have Matt Crawford to present on this matter. Mr.
Crawford?
Yeah. Thank you, Chairman.
Another landmark recommendation. This is Cortelyou Commons.
I'm not sure where our slide is, but anyway, there it is.
It's a beautiful building at DePaul University.
It's a collegiate Gothic style of architecture.
It's in the 43rd Ward again. Alderman Knutson is in complete
support. It's a beautiful building with incredible
carved ornament, and it's really something special.
Like I said, DePaul has these two buildings that it's offering up to the
city for landmark designation. They're completely in support of
it. So to conclude, I'd like to recommend passage of the
landmark designation ordinance. Thank you.
Mr. Crawford,
the presentation that you provided,
the 2219 North Kenmore, did you provide that slide up there?
I'm speaking about Cortelyou Commons,
which is this building right here,
which is 2324-
Okay
... North Chalmers.
Okay. Just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing.
Alderman Knutson?
This is probably the last time I'll speak today, everybody, so I apologize.
But we're
very excited and pleased for Cortelyou Commons to get
the individual landmark designation as well.
This is a building that many people, and I know many colleagues, went to DePaul,
which we really appreciate.
A building when people enter DePaul, they go to, and you feel like
you're at Hogwarts in "Harry Potter," if you're a nerd like
me. DePaul's amazing with this space.
We host community meetings here often. There's weddings, banquets.
And again, it's adjacent to a busy train line, a lot of
housing development work we're doing.
And I'm trying to create balance through a lot of these individual landmark
designations to know that these buildings that we treasure are protected
into perpetuity. So this is the final one I ask for
support on today. And I will note that I'm grateful.
I was told this morning by Landmarks that I believe there's, as of today,
three individual designations that have been made in the City of Chicago
this year, and they are all within the 43rd Ward.
So I'm very grateful for the support there. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Knutson. Any questions from members of the
committee?Seeing none, Alderman Dowell
makes a motion to pass. All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair. The ayes have it. The item is passed.
Next up, we have three waivers in the 4th Ward for historical landmark property
that will be heard together. Order number
OR-2026-0024719 for the
property commonly known as 3311 South Prairie.
Order number
OR-2026-0024720
for the property commonly known as 3309 South Prairie.
And order number
OR-2026-0024721 for the
property commonly known as
3313 South Prairie. We have John
Ritzu of the Historic Preservation Division of Department of Planning and
Development to present on these matters. John?
Good morning, Chairman and Aldermen.
I'm here today to present three permit fee waivers for new construction of three
two-and-a-half story residential single family dwelling houses with
detached two-and-a-half car garages at 3309, 3311,
and 3313 South Prairie Avenue
for your consideration.
These houses are directly adjacent to each other.
They all have the same floor plan, and what is different is they
have different elevations.
The projects are in the 4th Ward. If you see the map
on the left,
Alderman Robinson in the central planning region in the Douglas Community area,
community area number 35. The map on the
right depicts the buildings within the Calumet Giles Prairie Historic
District. The map on the right depicts the buildings on the east side of South
Prairie Avenue mid-block.
The three proposed buildings are two-and-a-half story single family houses with
detached two-and-a-half car garages.
They are located within the designated landmark district.
The drawing shows that they are infill buildings located
mid-block adjacent to existing graystones and row houses.
The scope of the work is new exterior and interior construction to produce
these three single family houses.
Parking will be provided for at least two cars in each
in detached garages off of the alley.
The owner plans to spend a million dollars on the construction of each house and
seeks permit fee waivers in the amount of $5,000 for each house.
The staff of the
Commission on Chicago Landmarks has reviewed the plans and the scope of the work
for the projects and determined that they meet historic preservation
guidelines. Alderman Lamont Robinson is in support of the permit fee
waivers and has provided three signed orders and plans to transmit the
orders to the city clerk for city council introduction.
Are there any questions?
My job, John.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none,
Vice Chairs Lawson moves to pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair. The ayes have it. The orders are passed.
Thank you. Next up, we have large signs over 100 square feet in area, 24
feet above grade. We hear them all together.
I'll read the ward followed by the address.
Wait, strike that. Hold up.
Did I need to...
All right. I will read the ward followed by the address and take a motion at the
end. Three signs in the 1st Ward located at 1523 West North
Avenue. In the 11th Ward, 4435 to 4439 South
Ashland Avenue. In the 23rd Ward, 5124 South Pulaski
Road. In the 25th Ward, 2309 South Loomis Street.
Three signs in the 27th Ward located at 949 North Elston Avenue.
In the 28th Ward, 2322 to 2324 West Taylor Street.
In the 29th Ward, 2859 North Harlem Avenue.
In the 35th Ward, one sign each at 3201 North Kimball and
2401 West Diversey Avenue. Two signs in the
41st Ward located at 11601 West
Touhy. In the 42nd Ward, 1000 North Rush Street.
Five signs in the 45th Ward located at 4059 North Cicero
Avenue. In the 48th Ward, located at 5227 North Clark
Street. Lastly, in the 50th Ward, one sign located at
5943 North Lincoln Avenue, and three signs located at
6341 North McCormick
Boulevard. If there are no further questions by committee members,
Alderman Fentes makes a motion to pass on these orders.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair. The ayes have it.
The orders are passed. We will now move on to the map amendments in an effort to
ensure the committee meetings run as smoothly as possible.
Items will be grouped together according to the witness and be heard in that order
rather than ward order. We're going to start with
aldermanic map amendments. First up, middle of page three is file
number A-9092 in the 2nd Ward. Common address is
1616 North Burling Street. Change request is RM
4.5 Residential Multi-Unit District to R 2-4 Residential
Two-Flat, Townhouse, and Multi-Unit District.
We have Alderman Hopkins here to speak on this matter. Alderman Hopkins?
Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This particular parcel of city-owned
property,
to say it is a non-standard parcel would be putting it mildly.
It is at the end of a dead end, near a cul-de-sac, under the
L tracks on a curve with an alley easement bordering one side of
it.
So it's problematic to say the least, which is why it's been vacant all these
years. But as I said, it is city-owned.
Its history is was used during construction of the Brown
Line, which curves at that location.
So the CTA used it for building that curve.
There remains a CTA power relay
box on that location. There's also quite a bit of underground utilities
there. That's not to say it couldn't eventually be developed, but
it would obviously need to be a Type 1, and we would have to look very
carefully at how we would make that program work.
So for that reason, I am zoning it for the lowest
minimum residential zoning that currently exists on this
block. The block is aboutAbout half
of this particular zoning designation of
RT4, so it would still be in compliance with the neighborhood, but it would
allow us to work more closely with any potential
owner who might eventually acquire it seeking to develop it.
So I urge and I vote on this matter. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderman Hopkins. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none. Alderman Casada makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Thank you.
All right. We're going to go ahead and hold on the next item until Alderman Yancy
is available to participate via Zoom.
Moving
on to file number A-9089 in the Seventh
Ward. Common address is 2949 to 2951 East
79th Street. Change request to C1-2 neighborhood commercial
district to a B2-2 neighborhood mixed use district.
We have Alderman Mitchell here to present on this matter.
Alderman Mitchell.
We don't.
I thought he was here.
All right. We'll hold this for a second until he gets back.
All right.
The next one's 70. Yep, that's the one here. Okay. All right.
While we're waiting for Alderman Mitchell to get back,
next we have file number A-9094 in the
Ninth Ward. Common address is 224 East 103rd Street.
The change request is a B3-1 community shopping district to
RS-2 residential single unit detached house district.
We have Alderman Beal here to speak on this matter. Alderman Beal.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is just a zoning change
for future land plan usage.
Thank you. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none. Alderman Burnett makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Staying in the Ninth Ward, we have file number
A-9095. Common address
is
11155 South
Michigan Avenue. The change request is a M1-1
limited manufacturing district to a RS-2 residential single unit detached house
district. Once again, we have Alderman Beal here to speak on this matter.
Alderman Beal.
Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
This is another zoning change for a vacant piece of property for
future land plan usage.
Any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none. Alderman Ramirez moves to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Do we have Alderman Quinn online?
Alderman Quinn's not online yet either. Okay. All right.
We'll hold-
I think he skipped over.
Oh, okay.
I don't see Alderman-
He was right behind me.
Okay.
Yep.
All right.
Always skipping.
We'll do Mike and then go Mosley. Okay.
Next is file number A-9098 in 22nd Ward.
Common address is 4640 South Lamont Avenue.
Change request is a RS-2 residential single unit detached house district
to RT4 residential two-flat townhouse and multi-unit district.
We have Alderman Rodriguez here to speak on this matter.
Alderman Rodriguez.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. This is a school that has an arrangement with a parking lot
across the street
to rent their parking lot. Needs the right zoning in order for them to be
able to do that, so that's what we're doing here.
Cool. Thank you. Any questions from members of the committee?
Alderwoman Harris makes a motion to pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
All right.
We'll go back to
Alderman Mosley. All right. Moving on to the 21st
Ward.
Alderman Mosley, are you online?
Yes, Chair.
All right. File number A-9084. The common address is
1236 to 1230 West 105th Street,
1245 West 105th Street, and
10335 South Vincennes Avenue. The change
request is M1-1 limited manufacturing district and an M2-2 light
industry district to B1-1 neighborhood shopping district.
We have Alderman Mosley here to speak on this matter. Alderman Mosley?
Thank you so much, Chair. This area was once a
heavy manufacturing industrial area.
The area has now changed and welcome much more residential
with the project of Beverly Ridge and seeking this zoning change so
that we can continue to have harmony as the
development in the area increases.
And so I want to make sure that uses are able to live next to
each other. Would ask for favorable consideration.
Thank you, Alderman Mosley. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
Vice Chair Lawson.
Thank you, Chair. Hello, Alderman Mosley. Just a quick question.
Why do B1-1 instead of B3-2 like you're doing in the other areas?
A little more generous when it comes to attracting business.
I think it was just one of the recommendations.
I'm open to just the
B classification. And so if you're recommending a
friendly amendment,
I'm amenable to it.
I wouldn't say a friendly amendment for a zoning change.
It has to be noticed, right?
Oh.
Yeah, no. We'll talk about it later, but
you'll have more options with B3 than B1.
I find it's very limited. A lot of other folks do too. All right.
I would move to pass if there's no other questions
Okay.
Any other questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none, Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
All right. Staying in the 21st Ward, file number A-9085.
The common addresses are at 8901 to 9357 South Ashland Avenue,
8900 to 9258 South Ashland Avenue, and
9334 to
9344 South Ashland Avenue.
The change request is a C-2-2 motor vehicle related commercial
district and RS-3 residential unit, detached house district to a
B3-2 community shopping district.
Once again, we have Alderman Mosley here to speak on this matter.
Thank you again, Chair, colleagues.
This is a zoning request to help the
development of this corridor.
Ashland, at one point in time, was home to multiple car dealerships and so
forth, and as that industry has gone
elsewhere, the residents are looking to see
less of auto-centric businesses and more of businesses and
retail. This zoning change helps encourage that.
Would ask for your favorable consideration.
Okay. All right. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none, Alderman Burnett makes a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
All right.
We have aldermanic map amendment is file number
A-9091 in the 32nd Ward. Common address is
1938 North Kingsbury. Change request is residential business plan
development, number 1439 to M3-3 heavy
industry district. We have Patrick Murphy here to speak on this matter.
All right. Thank you, Chairman. This is a correction to a
previously incorrect boundary that was drawn
for the original Lincoln Yards plan development.
So when Lincoln Yards North was amended
for what is now the Foundry Park plan development,
this step by Alderman Waguespack cleans up a parcel that, like I said, was
erroneously included in the original PD.
The zoning district that it is going to is what existed prior to
the designation of the planned manufacturing district, which is how all of
the land within North Branch and in other industrial corridor
and PMD areas that have been rezoned is handled.
So it's taken back to the zoning that existed, in this case, prior to the
establishment of the PMD. So this just cleans up a mistake from back in
2018.
Any questions from members of the committee? Alderman Lapata.
Can I just ask, though? I understand that this
is the zoning that preceded
everything that's happened over the last
eight years or so.
But looking at the planning process that has
happened over the last eight to 10 years in this area, the contraction of
the PMD-
I know
... is this the kind of buy-right development
that the ward and DPD are hoping to see on this lot?
No. So this
zoning district does not represent what existed eight years ago.
It represents what existed-
It was a PMD-
... almost 30 years ago. Right. So when the ordinances were approved by City
Council, in this case, in 2018,
2017, to rezone and redesignate a
series of planned manufacturing districts in this area,
all of the ordinances went back to the immediately preceding zoning
districts, which was, in many cases, a variety of manufacturing zoning.
So there are dozens and dozens of parcels still
within the North Branch that still have manufacturing zoning because they were
rezoned as such when the PMD was unwound.
And then, as part of the plan that exists, the rezoning going
forward is to remove the manufacturing designation.
But the decision was made by City Council to require that to be a separate
step, because as part of the larger industrial corridor efforts that were
made, there was an industrial corridor conversion fee that was established, and the
only way to trigger the conversion fee requirement is to
make a future applicant go through the actual map amendment.
So it's a requirement that, yes, while the M-3 is not what
was the long-term goal for this area, in order
to
create a benefit for other industrial corridors through the industrial corridor
conversion fee, there needs to be a zoning action that takes place, which in this
case, would go from the M-3 to some non-manufacturing district in the future.
I understand why we're doing the process
in this way.
That's what I'll say about that. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Patrick.
Any other questions?
Vice Chair Lawson.
Maybe just to put a point on what my colleague was saying.
So if this goes back to M-3-3, I can put in a heavy manufacturing
use by right.
Right? That is what we're doing, right?
Yes.
I just
want to make sure I understood that.
Yeah.
There-
I understand we're sunsetting it back to what it was.
Correct.
But we still have buy-right allowances in the M-3.
And there are many manufacturing buy-right allowances that are the result
of the PMD,
in this case, being unwound. Yeah.
Right.
It's not sunsetting, though. It's correcting, not sunsetting.
Well, it is-
Or sunsetting the-
It is technically a sunset of the plan development.
It was just erroneously included in the original Lincoln Yard.
Got you. Okay.
Right. So they're removing it from the Lincoln Yards PD back to its original
zoning, but it does allow for fairly intense manufacturing.
And had it not been included in the plan development incorrectly,
the manufacturing zoning it's going to now would be what existed
since 2017.
Right.
Alderman Lapata.
Thanks.
I'm not going to say I hate to jump back, but just to jump back for a
secondHypothetically, building off of what
Alderman Lawson said, hypothetically, what if this backfires and
somebody decides, "Well,
we do need more places to do asphalt or cement
work on the north side of Chicago. I got a by-right
M3-3 lot right here."
Suddenly, we have that hypo-- and again, I am speaking
hypotheticals, but hypotheticals become possible through the zoning
change we're considering. Then you have this directly
adjacent to, for example, the Marcy Street development that we
approved a little while ago.
I'm concerned about what we're opening up to.
Is there a way to alleviate those concerns?
So the easiest way to alleviate is that it's only about a 500 square foot
parcel.
Okay.
The bigger
answer is that
to rezone otherwise would require us
to revisit the structure on which all of the industrial
corridors and planned manufacturing districts have been unwound
to the degree that it's necessary.
So there is a pathway to do that, but we would have to
revisit the basis on which we started this through Kinzie and North
Branch over a decade ago.
You had me at 500 square foot parcel. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.
I would've led with that. Yes. Yeah.
Yeah. Patrick, next time lead with that. Make it a lot easier for everyone.
Any other questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no other questions-
Oh.
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Hopkins.
Alderman Hopkins.
And I would also just point out to my colleague, Alderman
Lawson,
there's a difference, as you know, between a PD and a
PMD, right? So we eliminated the planned manufacturing
district, which provided a lot of protections for heavy
industrial and manufacturing use in an area surrounded by increasing
residential use. Those protections are gone.
And that's a natural incentive to not try to do
something in an as-of-right scenario there, even though the zoning may suggest it.
The chances that someone's going to come along and try to recreate
manufacturing anywhere in this area right now are not zero, but they're pretty
close to it. So I think we can confidently state that it is highly
unlikely to happen. And the highest, best use in the valuation of the
land is certainly not in manufacturing.
The future, as we know, what Foundry Park is going to look like.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Hopkins. Any other questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none. Alderman Beale makes a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the item is passed.
All right. Back to
bottom of page 10th. I'm sorry, this is mine, right?
Yeah.
I'm sorry, strike that.
Back to the Seventh Ward.
Moving on to file number 8-9089 in the Seventh Ward.
Common address is 2949 to 2951 East 79th
Street. Change request is a C-1-2 neighborhood commercial district to a
B-2-2 neighborhood mixed-use district.
We have Alderman Mitchell here to present on this matter. Alderman Mitchell.
All right. Thank you, Chairman.
The proposed change would reclassify the property from C-1
to neighborhood commercial district to B-1 to neighborhood mixed-use district.
The alignment supports neighborhoods serving commercial and mixed-use
development while limiting automotive and industrial uses, such as mechanic
shops, tire shops, and car washes that are inconsistent with the
community feedback and corridor planning.
For the last--
Well, no, that's a different property.
But in dealing with all the development and the planning of
the Seventh Ward,
and working with Department of Planning and Zoning, and working with the
community, this was the best course of action to make sure
that all the future development, current
development lines up,
and sets the stage for us to build that ward up and
stabilize it going forward. So with that said, I ask for
the committee's favorable consideration for the change.
Thank you, Alderman Mitchell. Any questions from members of the committee?
Yes. Just Alderman Moore, sir. I can
understand.
Alderman Moore?
Yes.
And
I've done this before. So is the current
owner that spoke
already have a legitimate license, and this don't imp--
does it impact him or just impact anything going forward in the future?
No, Alderman Moore,
let's make a distinction. The person I
think you're referring to that spoke during public comment is an owner
of a business
that was seeking to set up a business at
one of two locations, or probably even both.
He does not have a valid business license.
According to BACP records, there was an inquiry only.
There's no licenses at that
location at all.
Thank you, Chairman. Appreciate it.
Chairman and Alderman Mitchell, thank you for the clarification.
Thank you so much. Move do pass.
Any other questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none. Alderman Moore has made a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
We have one more.
Ah, got you. All right. There we go.
All right, staying in the Seventh Ward, we have file number
A-9090. Common address is 2206
East 75th Street. Change request is a C-1-2 neighborhood commercial
district to a B-2-2 neighborhood mixed-use district.
Once again, we have Alderman Mitchell here to speak on this matter.
Alderman Mitchell
Thank you, Chairman. The
reason for the proposed change is the same as the previous item.
The alignment supports the neighborhood-serving commercial and mixed-use
development while limiting automotive and industrial uses such
as mechanic shops, tire shops, and car wash, where are inconsistent with
community feedback and corridor planning.
I want to add that
in the previous corridor study, particularly for the 75th Street corridor,
that shop was a source
of tension.
Operating a tire shop/auto mechanic shop out of that location was a
source of tension for the community.
There is a stack of building violations and
complaints against the previous business that was there dating all the
way back to 2009, and it was explicitly discussed
during the corridor study that that is not one of the
uses that the community wanted to
see.
So we took
that in consideration with the land use study, and we're here
proposing that change. Again, I ask for my colleagues' favorable
consideration for the proposed change.
Thank you, Alderman Mitchell. Any questions from members of the committee?
Vice Chair Lawson.
Thank you, Chair. I'll give you the same advice I gave our colleague, Alderman
Mosley. You may find B3-2 or B3-1 is a little more friendly to
business. Unless you want to do open to first
floor residential, and then you've got that option with B2.
But
best of luck with the conversion. I know a lot of us have gotten away from
auto-centric uses to more neighborhood-level retail.
So I'll move to pass if there's no other questions.
Thank you. Any other questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Vice Chair Lawson has made a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
We have Alderman Quinn and Alderman Yancy have requested to attend this
meeting by remote means under provisions of Rule 59.
Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion to approve the request.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair, the ayes have it. Alderman Quinn?
Yes, sir.
All right.
Wait a minute. There's this one. Okay, yeah. Right.
We're moving on to the 13th Ward, file number
A-9093. Common address is 5626
West 63rd Place. The change request is a B1-1 neighborhood shopping
district to RS-2 residential single-unit detached house
district. The item has a substitute,
and
Alderman Byrus Rachel Lopez makes a motion to accept the substitute ordinance.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute is before us. We have Alderman Quinn here to
speak on this matter. Alderman Quinn?
Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of the committee.
This zoning change has to do with
an old garage built in the middle of a residential area
in the Clearing neighborhood. It has
been a situation where we're changing the complexion of
Clearing and going more residential.
And so this current use doesn't fit the direction that
the community's going in. So I humbly ask the committee's
support on this zoning change. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Alderman Quinn. Any question from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Burnett makes a motion to
pass. All in favor, please say aye. Aye.
Opposed, nay. Independent chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Thank you. All right.
Back to Alderman Yancy. Alderman Yancy?
Hey, Chairman. Thank you.
All right. This is file number A-9088 in Fifth
Ward. Common address is 7050 South Dorchester.
Change request is M1-2 limited manufacturing business park district
to M2-2 light industry district. We have Alderman Yancy here to speak on
this matter. Alderman Yancy?
Right. Thank you, Chairman.
This parcel
has been maintained by a tree recycling business in the community for
about 40 years, and this just allows them to consolidate the
property and continue to operate.
Thank you. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Chair Dowd makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed. Thank you, Alderman.
Thanks, Chairman.
Right here. This one here.
Let's take a break for a second. I'll be right back.
Oh.
Yeah, fine.
Just
one more.
Yeah.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.
Right. Now we have file number 23057 in the Fourth Ward.
Common address 4315 to 4317
Cottage Grove Avenue. Change request is a B3-3
community shopping district to a C1-3 neighborhood commercial district.
We have attorney Thomas Moore here to present.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The
landlord here
is a well-established
community-minded person, and
she's
going to do a very
tough lease here.
This is not going to be a nightclub.
There'll be no
live music.
Basically, the hours will be from 3:00 to 12:00, not till 2:00,
and it'll be an older crowd.
And they're calling it the Democratic Bar because the idea is
to get community leaders and not-for-profits
in one place where they could meet, and they're going to have a community
room during the day
available to the
other community organizations.
We have the
support of the
alderman, and we'd request your support as well.
Thank you, Thomas.
We do have a record on file from Alderman Robinson.
Any questions from members of the committee?
Right, seeing no questions, Alderman Beale moves do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay.
In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Oh, he stepped out.
Awesome.
Am I-
Do you want--
Yeah. Okay.
Sorry,
folks. Doing double duty today. Good afternoon.
The bottom of page five is document number
23058 in the 36th Ward. Common address is
1001 through 1021 North Homan Avenue.
Change request M11, limited manufacturing business park
district to M21, light industry district.
We have attorney Thomas Moore.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This is a
iconic,
well-established,
pet-saving,
dogs and cats, but others too,
that has several different locations in the city, and has helped the city
with its abandoned pets.
And
they're consolidating in this new facility, to
better serve
their customers in the neighborhood and
the city as a whole. And
we had a community meeting, and we have the support of the
community, and
the alderman is here to speak on its behalf as well, and we'd appreciate
your support.
Thank you. Chairman?
Thank you, Chairman. This is a
consolidation of a entity that's helping the city as it relates
to cats and
dogs, and so we want to make sure that this facility is zoned correctly.
And so I'm going to ask for my colleagues' support on this matter.
Absolutely. Any questions by committee members?
Seeing none, Alderman Conway moves do pass. All in favor say aye.
Aye. Any opposed say nay. In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Item is passed. Best of luck. It's a great org.
All right. That...
Okay, cool.
Top of page six, file number
23044-T1 in the Third Ward. Common address
4524 South Michigan Avenue. Change request
C1-2, neighborhood commercial district to RM-5, residential
multi-unit district. We have Daniel Lauer here to
present.
Afternoon, Mr. Chairman. This is 4524 South Michigan,
23044-T1. There are some substitute plans.
And-I represent Red Van Construction Inc.
They're a contract purchaser of 4524 and the next
lot south, Mr. Chairman, but the lots have one pin, but
split zoning. The subject property is C12.
Alderman Pat Dowell made multiple points of
constructive criticism on the initial plans, so we have substitute
plans. And those are the plans before
the committee today on the Type 1 application.
We certainly thank Alderman Dowell for her constructive criticism
and appreciate her support.
Thank you. Alderman Dowell moves to accept the substitute narrative plans for the
Type 1 application. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
If you didn't share the ayes have, the substitute narrative plans are accepted.
Alderman Dowell?
No, I'm fine with this zoning request now that the
design of the buildings have been addressed to
be more contextual with Michigan Avenue. Thank you.
Thank you. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none,
Alderman Beale makes a motion do pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Aye. All opposed, say nay. Independent chair of the ayes have it, the item is
passed.
Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you.
Oh, strike that. Independent chair of the ayes have it and the item is passed with
substitutes in plan.
Thank you.
Right.
Middle of page six,
file number 23054 in the 6th Ward. Common address is
657 East 75th Street. Change request is a B1-1
neighborhood shopping district to C1-1 neighborhood commercial
district. We have Attorney Nicholas Fatigas here to present.
Thank you, Chairman. For the record, Nick Fatigas from the law offices of Sam
Banks. I'm here on behalf of the applicant and property owner, Twisted Realty
LLC. The subject property is improved with a one-story
commercial building, currently zoned B1-1.
My client's proposing to adapt and reuse the existing building and establish a
commercial kitchen and catering platform at the property.
This is a use-based zoning change to allow the intended use of the property.
No changes are proposed. We've worked very closely
with Alderman Hall, and I believe a letter of support is already on file, and I'm
happy to answer any questions you or the committee members have.
Thank you. We can confirm that there is a letter of support on file from Alderman
Hall. Are there any question from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Fuentes makes a motion do
pass. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
Independent chair of the ayes have it, the item is passed.
Bottom of page six, file number 23053 in the 16th Ward.
Common address is 6940 South Campbell Avenue.
Change request RS-3 residential single unit, detached house
district to RM-4.5 residential multi-unit district.
Attorney Nicholas Fatigas is here to present.
Thank you again, Chairman. For the record, Nick Fatigas from the law offices of Sam
Banks. I'm here on behalf of the co-applicants, Elizabeth Acosta and
Slevin Rivera.
The subject property is improved with an existing three-unit
residential building. It turns out two of the units are legally
permitted, and there was an addition done by a prior owner
a few years back that the zoning change would allow us to account for both the
correct three-unit total as well as the existing
floor area total. No other changes are proposed to the existing
massing or size of the structure. We have worked with Alderman Coleman, and
I believe a letter is already on file with your committee.
Thank you. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no question, Alderman Spada makes a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
Independent chair of the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Top of page seven, file number
23052-T1, 32nd Ward. Common address
3000 to 3010 North Oakley Avenue. Change request
M1-2 limited manufacturing business park district to an
RT-3.5 residential two-flat townhouse
and multi-unit district. Attorney Nick Fatigas is here to present.
Thank you again, Chair. For the record, Nick Fatigas, law offices of Sam Banks.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant, Oakley Collection LLC.
The applicant has a contract to purchase the subject property,
located at 3000 through 3010 North Oakley
Avenue.
Today, the property is improved with a one-story warehouse building
and surface parking lot.
It kind of sits mid-block in a residential street, and the proposed
change would allow the property to be redeveloped with five
new two-story single family homes.
Each home will be supported by a two-car detached garage
with a roof deck above it. This is a mandatory Type 1 zoning change because
the current zoning is manufacturing, and our proposed zoning would allow
residential uses.
And we are seeking
some of the setback relief pursuant to the Type 1
allowance, specifically to reduce the front setback to 10 feet, which
would allow our front building
walls to align with the majority of the lots on the block.
We did work with Alderman Waguespack's office, and a letter of support was provided
yesterday. I'm happy to answer any questions you or committee members have about
the project.
Thank you, Nick. We can confirm that there is a letter of support on
file. Are there any question from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Alderman Hopkin makes a motion do pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Aye. Opposed, say nay. Independent chair of the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Thank you.
Middle of page seven, file number 23065-T1
in the 27th Ward. Common address 448 North Aberdeen Street.
Change request M2-2 light industry district to
RM-4.5 residential multi-unit district.
We have Attorney
Frederick Augustin to present on this matter
Thank you, Chairman. Good afternoon. For the record, again, Fred Augustin.
I'm attorney with the law office of Sam Banks.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant and property owner, Deepthi
Jennapreddi. The applicant owns the property at 448 North
Aberdeen Street. Property is improved with a three-and-a-half story
residential building containing three units and three off-street parking
spaces. We are seeking to rezone from the current
M2-2 district to an RM4.5 district.
And Chairman, existing building, off-street parking, it's all going to
remain. The reason for this change is just to bring it into conformance.
It is a Type 1 application, and with the Type 1, we're also seeking relief to
increase the parking from two spaces to three spaces, waive
the rear yard open space, reduce the front setback to zero, as
well as reducing the combined side setback requirement to
1.91 feet. We have worked with Alderman Burnett and his
office on this matter. I believe he's here, and
here to answer any questions.
Alderman Burnett is not in the chambers, but we do have a letter of support
on file. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none. Alderman Spada makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Bottom of page seven, file number 23064-T1,
27th Ward. Common address, 446 North Aberdeen Street.
Change request is M2-2 light industry district to
RM-4.5 residential multi-unit district.
Frederick Augustin is here to present on this matter.
Again, Chairman, good afternoon. For the record, Fred Augustin.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant, same owner as the previous one,
Deepthi Jennapreddi. He also owns this property, which is
448 North Aberdeen Street. Property is also improved with a three-and-a-half
story building containing three units and three off-street parking
spaces. We are seeking to rezone it from the current M2-2
district to an RM4.5 district, and similar to
the previous matter, the existing building, off-street
parking is going to remain. The reason for this change is just to bring it
into conformance. Again, Type 1
application. We're also seeking relief to increase the parking from two to three
spaces, waive the rear yard open space, reduce the front
setback from 2.91 feet, as well as
reducing the combined side setback requirement to
2.62 feet. Again, we have worked with Alderman Burnett
and his office on this matter, and I believe you should have something
in your file.
Yes, we can confirm that we do have a letter of support from Alderman Burnett on
file. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none, Alderman Harris makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Top of page eight, file number 23051-T1, also in
the 27th Ward. Common address, 2124 West Madison Street.
The change request is a B1-3 neighborhood shopping district to
RM-5 residential multi-unit district.
Again, we have Frederick Augustin here to present on this matter.
Again, Chairman. For the record, Fred Augustin.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant, Lukovin Properties LLC.
Applicant is the contract purchaser of the property at 2124 West
Madison Street. Property is currently vacant.
The applicant is seeking to rezone the property from the current B1-3 neighborhood
shopping district to an RM-5 residential multi-unit
district. This change is necessary in order to redevelop
the property with a new four-story residential building
containing eight units, as well as off-street parking for four cars.
This is a Type 1 application. With the Type 1, we are seeking relief to
decrease the parking from eight spaces to four spaces
since this is a transit-served location.
We have worked with Alderman Burnett and his office on this matter.
He should have a letter on file. I'm here to answer any questions
the board may have.
All right, we can confirm that Alderman Burnett is in support, and there's a letter
of file
to that matter. Are there any question from members of the committee?
All right, seeing no questions, Alderman Dowell makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Middle of page eight, file number 22971-T1, the
27th Ward. Common address, 1313 to 1315
West Ancona Street. Change request is RS-3
residential single-unit detached house district to
RM-4.5 residential multi-unit district.
Again, we have Frederick Augustin here to present on this matter.
Again, Chairman. Good afternoon. For the record, Fred Augustin.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant, Pavel Novak.
Applicant is the contract purchaser of the property at 1313 to 1315
West Ancona Street. Property consists of three lots.
It's currently improved with an old single-family residence.
Applicant is seeking to rezone the property from the current RS-3 district to an
RM-4.5 residential multi-unit district.
And Chairman, I did submit substitute narrative plans.
I'd like for the substitute to be incorporated into the record.
Thank you. Alderman Moore moves to accept the substitute narrative plans for the
Type 1 application. All in favor, please say aye. Aye.
All opposed say nay.
Aye.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Substitute narrative plans are accepted.
The plan here is to demolish the existing single-family
residence, and
the change is necessary in order to redevelop all three lots into new
single-family homes with an attached two-car garage.
This is a Type 1 application, and with the Type 1, we are seeking relief to each of
the homes, specifically reducing the rear setback from
16.8 feet to two feet, reduce the front setback
from 7.2 feet to zero,
waiving the required rear yard open space, as well as
reducing the combined side setback requirement from 4.8 feet
to essentially four inches4
feet 2 inches, I believe, as well as reducing the west side setback to
14 inches. Again, we have worked with Alderman Burnett on this
matter. We have also met with the adjacent neighbors as well
as
community members in the area.
In working with them, we have modified the homes to address their concerns.
So with that, I'm here to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you. We can confirm that Alderman Burnett letter of support on
file. Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion
do pass with the substitute narrative and plans.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, nay.
Independent chair of the ayes have it.
The item is passed-
Thank you
... with substitute narrative and plans.
Bottom of page eight, file number
23060-T1 in the 44th ward. Common address,
3440 to 3444 North Jansen Avenue. Change request
is RT-3.5 residential two-flat, townhouse, and multi-unit
district to RT-4 residential two-flat, townhouse, and
multi-unit district. We have Tyler Manick here to present. Tyler?
Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Tyler Manick.
I'm an attorney with Shane, Banks, Kenny & Schwartz.
I am the attorney for the applicants,
Nathan and Sarah Sager, who own the properties at
3440 North Jansen and 3444 North Jansen.
3444 North Jansen is improved with a non-conforming
three-dwelling unit building.
3440 North Jansen is approved with a detached house where the
applicants currently reside and a pre-ADU coach
house. The homeowners seek to rezone these parcels to
RT-4 to divide the zoning lots and construct an addition to their
house while preserving the three-flat and the coach house.
Following construction of the addition to the detached house at
3440 North Jansen, the applicant will apply to rezone
this parcel back to RT-3.5.
We did submit substitute narrative and plans.
Since filing, the applicant just got further along in the design process and
there was some minor changes such as window placement, but we
decided just to update with the most recent plans.
So I respectfully request that we can amend the application to include the
substitute narrative and plans.
Thank you. Alderman Cecil Lopez moves to accept the substitute narrative and plans
for the type one application. All in favor, please say aye. Aye.
Opposed, nay.
In the opinion of the chair,
the ayes have it. Substitute narrative and plans are accepted.
Thank you.
With this application, the applicant does require a certain relief for the
addition. The applicant does seek to reduce the combined side
setbacks to 5.59 feet
and to reduce the rear setback to zero because a coach
house exists there, and to reduce the rear yard open space.
As longtime homeowners, the applicant did meet with their neighbors on the block to
answer their questions, and the neighbors were in support of the applicant's
efforts. The applicants also worked with Alderman Lawson's office on the
project, and I believe Alderman Lawson's here to voice
his opinion on the project.
Alderman Lawson.
Great. Thank you, Chair. I did want to mention this one because
this part of my neighborhood is where the people are tearing down the three-flat
next door for a side yard. And here we have a couple that's
maintaining the three-flat, not only preserving the housing, but the building,
which is charming,
while expanding their own house and keeping the coach house.
And so, I just wanted to-- You
can have investment and preservation and density even in an area
that's going more single family. So I want to thank the Sagers for their
work. They're part of this block. They have a great community on
this block that understands where we're going on this.
So, just thank you for all of the work on this, and I ask for my colleagues'
support.
Thank you, Alderman Lawson. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Beale moves do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed with the substitute narrative and plans. Thank you.
Top of page nine,
file number 23063-T1, 16th Ward.
Common address, 6716 South Bishop Street.
Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion to defer the previously read item.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is deferred.
So now we're going bottom of page nine, file number
23059-T1 in the 26th Ward. Common address,
3444 to 3446 West North Avenue.
Change request is a B3-1 community shopping district to a
B3-3 community shopping district.
Attorney Lenny Asaro is available to present.
Thank you, Chairman.
I'll get started while my client comes down.
My name's Lenny Asaro. I'm a partner at the law firm of Taft Stettinius &
Hollister.
And I'm pleased to represent the applicant, ASI, which is an Illinois
not-for-profit corporation and a 501 [ 3 ] entity.
Since 1975, ASI has provided various home care services,
employment, and training programs.
ASI services are available to people of all backgrounds, with a special emphasis
and commitment to Chicago's Hispanic and African American communities.
Their current office is located at 4131 West Belmont Avenue in
Chicago. ASI is comprised of an outstanding and dedicated team.
ASI was founded by the incomparable, dedicated, and always hardworking Marta Cerda,
who is ASI's chief executive officer, and she is sitting with me here today.
Also present and sitting in the audience is Ana Alvarez, the chief operating
officer at ASI, and Beth Bowden,
the owner's rep at SP Murphy.
Chairman, ASI seeks to rezone the property at 3446
West North Avenue,
with also an address at 1608 North St.
Louis Avenue from B31 to B33.
The subject property is vacant and unimproved.
After a diligent search, ASI selected and negotiated the purchase of this property
late last year.
Prior to and after closing, ASI and Martha worked closely on the
project with Alderperson Fuentes' office and the 26 Ward
community.
The project seeks to develop
a 20,400 square foot,
58 foot, four-inch high, five-story building for
office use for ASI. The office space will be used for general
office, classrooms, employment resources, meetings, home
health assistants, workforce development, and related uses.
The third floor will have an outdoor patio.
The fifth floor will have an event space and outdoor patio.
The site will have two off-street parking spaces, one of which will be ADA
accessible. There will be six bicycle parking spaces and one
loading space. The project architect is Urban Works, who has designed many
award-winning developments in the city of Chicago.
In addition to the zoning change request, we're also
seeking an administrative adjustment to reduce the minimum required parking from
21 spaces to two spaces, one of which will be ADA
accessible.
We have, as I've indicated, worked very closely with
Alderperson Fuentes' office, and
we believe that we have the alderperson's support for this
project, and we remain available to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Alderman, I will
let you close. Alderman Beale?
Chairman and members of the committee, this looks like a very, very good
project. I'm just curious about the adjustment.
You say you're going from how many parking spaces to two?
We are
seeking a reduction,
an administrative adjustment to go down to...
It's an 85% reduction, so from 21 to two.
Okay. I guess that's a question for the administrator.
Why are we granting such a large
deduction in parking?
Patrick Murphy, can you respond to that?
Well, it would be within council's purview to
approve it with the parking reduction.
The relief is there for them to seek,
or the ability to reduce the parking is there for them to seek.
Okay.
If I could add some context-
Please
... Alder Beale. So this particular use,
the vast majority of the
individuals who work at ASI and the vast majority of the
individuals who come to ASI for services use public
transportation.
Mm-hmm.
The automobile utilization is very, very low
for this kind of use at this location.
And the parking is something that we have
had discussions at the community meetings, and I can just tell you
that it took a lot just to acquire this site in terms of time and
resources by ASI. But ASI is actually looking for
opportunities, if they can,
by lots or property nearby
to provide parking if that ends up becoming an issue.
But based on our studies, based on the utilization, based on their
current use and their current location, the vast majority of the
employees and the clients are public transportation.
Okay. All right, and can you articulate what the
funding stack on this project is?
Yes, I can turn that over to Martha.
A combination of state funding-
Could you present-
New market tax credits
... could you identify yourself for the-
Oh, I'm sorry. Martha Cerda, Chief Executive Officer of ASI.
It is a combination of state funding, new market tax credits we are
seeking, private foundations, and corporate foundation funding.
It is a combination.
Okay. Can you give me specific dollar amounts?
What's the total project, and how is it broken down?
The total project amount is $12 million.
And we are currently seeking a couple million in new market tax credits.
We have state funding, and we're seeking additional state funding
in addition to seeking private foundation funding.
Okay. All right. That's not giving me specifics.
I'm looking for specifics. How are you going to break down the 12 million?
That's what I'm looking for.
We continue to seek the funds for the building.
Okay, so it's not totally funded yet.
Correct.
Okay.
That is the plan.
Okay. But it's a good project, and hopefully it gets funded. Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Thank you. Alder Espada?
Sir, unless there's other questions, I'll move to pass on this item.
What's that?
You may indeed.
It was mostly due to fact that I requested to close.
Yeah, of course. Any other questions from members of the committee?
Patrick, did you want to add something?
Alderman Beale,
just to clarify from before, there was a tax change earlier this year or late last
year that authorized parking reductions in the neighborhood zoning,
so non-D districts, to be up to 100%
without the administrative relief that was previously
required, and that was cited in their application as the reason.
Right. Seeing no que-
Alderman Fuentes?
Thank you so much, Chair. I do want to address the parking
and financing to just give greater detail to
my colleague here who posed great questions.
The site itself is located on North Avenue and St.
Louis, one of the largest commercial corridors that I have in the 26th
Ward, with a tremendous amount of vacancy, right?
And so the street parking on North Avenue is not an
issue. You could drive down North Avenue right now, and half that block is
empty. So I'm very confident that the employees who are going to be
going to this site will be able to park within the block of the site that's going
to be built. The project right now currently
has over three million in committed funding by the
state. That comes from Senator Omar Aquino, Graciela
Guzman, and State Rep Lillian Jimenez, who have dedicated
capital dollars to this project. Now-It is on
the organization themselves to continue to layer
that financing, both with private and corporate philanthropic
dollars to make up the gap. And they've been on that
fundraising campaign for quite a bit now.
A huge part of the issue was that they did not have
land, right? And so they were raising dollars for
this potential site. But what prohibited the private
industry from investing is that they did not have a physical site that they can
give that private industry. They now have the private site.
We now need to get it to zoning compliance so that
they can go get those private dollars, right?
And it's all a part of sort of the financing stack for this particular project.
To talk about the organization, look, ASI, we call it ASI in
Humboldt Park, has been providing services for our
residents for decades. Everything from home care
to training opportunities. This
particular development is going to provide a workforce
center, which I think is extremely important for my community.
We want more individuals to be able to go into the home care field,
to be able to have a different pathway into providing medical services for our
residents. But more importantly, ASI is one of the largest service
providers for our seniors.
And I have about nine senior
buildings in the 26th Ward with so many individuals that
benefit today from the services of ASI.
But it is without a doubt that we need ASI to build capacity.
So I'm excited about being a part of this journey with Malta
Celda and her team. We've been talking about this site for
several years now, well before I became an elected official, right?
We were sitting in a small coalition called the Puerto Rican Agenda, talking about
when will ASI come to Humboldt Park. Well, we're getting it done.
And so this zoning compliance won't only allow for them to build
what they have drawn for us today, but it will allow
for the fundraising to continue, and I think that's extremely important as
we're trying to bring this particular project to fruition.
So I ask for my colleagues' favorable support.
It went through a robust community process with favorability both from my
zoning committee and community. So I thank everyone for giving its attention,
and I will entertain my colleagues' motion for due pass.
Thank you. Who was the architect? That's a pretty building.
Urban Works, so Patricio Saldana and Maria Pello.
Beautiful building. Thank you.
Any other questions from members of the committee?
Right, seeing no further questions, Alderman Spada made a motion due
pass. All in favor, please say aye.
Opposed, say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, committee.
Top of page 10, file number
23062-T1 in 27th Ward. Common
address is 2653 West Monroe Street.
Change request is a M-1-2 limited manufacturing business park district
to a RM-5 residential multi-unit district.
We have Sabrina Harrell that's here to present. Sabrina.
Hi. Good morning. For the record, Sabrina Harrell of Logic Legal,
representing the applicant, Lotus Property Group.
The property address is 2653 West Monroe Street.
The
current land is vacant land, and the applicant is seeking
to build four residential units. So we're seeking to change
zoning from manufacturing to
RM-5 residential zoning. We did
submit
substitute plans to zoning last week.
We also provided them to Alderman Burnett as well.
So I would like to ask that they're accepted.
Thank you. Alderman Fuentes moves to accept substitute narrative plans for the Type
1 application. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Substitute narrative plans are accepted.
And I would just like to add that the
applicant and owner also
rezoned the property next door at 2655 West Monroe
and built a three-unit building there as well.
Thank you.
Alderman Burnett?
Yeah, so this is just a part of that East Garfield area where there's a lot of
spot zoning for industrial. This block is full of multifamily, so this is an
opportunity to
keep it consistent with what's going on in the neighborhood.
So they have the support of the community, and they have my support as
well. And I ask my colleagues
for their most favorable support.
Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Burnett.
Any questions from members of the committee?
Right, seeing none, Alderman Spada makes a motion due pass with
substitute narrative plans. All in favor, please say aye. Aye.
All opposed, say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you.
Middle of page 10, file number 23050-T1,
27th Ward. Common address 3100 to 3108 West Lake Street.
The change request is a M-1-3 limited manufacturing district
business to a M-2-3 light industry district.
We have here Agnes Placka here to present on this matter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee. My name is Agnes Placka.
For the record, I'm the attorney for the applicant, Alta Insula
Realty LLC, and the proposed user of the property, Service One
Inc., in this proposed rezoning from the existing manufacturing
M-1-3
to a M-2-3 light industry district.
I have with me Walter Diaz, the president of the company, and operating
manager-
Kyle
... Kyle. Kyle DonahueAnd very simply, subject property currently vacant
parcel located at the northwest corner of West Lake and North
Albany. We have CTA Green Line tracks running along
its southern boundary line, and a public alley along its northern property
line. The applicant proposes to redevelop this site with a new one-story
commercial building and establish a contractor construction
storage yard with both indoor and outdoor storage
components. The proposed user, Service One Inc., they
are a well-established Chicago-based building maintenance and access
solution company. They have more than 40 years of industry
experience. The company specializes in high-rise window cleaning,
facade restoration, scaffolding, and complex access
systems for both commercial and industrial institutional buildings
throughout both Chicago and the entire Midwest area.
Service One has built a strong reputation for safety and technical
expertise, and they have a very substantial workforce,
currently 75 employees, and these are highly trained
union technicians, mechanics, and access specialists.
They have current headquarters about half a mile from the subject
property. So this
property, this parcel, will accommodate the storage of specialized
access equipment and will allow them to consolidate
their storage facility in a close proximity to
their existing headquarters.
And in connection with this Type 1 rezoning, the applicant is also seeking
administrative adjustment to reduce required off-street parking from
eight to four spaces. And just in case to anticipate
alderman's question,
the parking requirement for this property is 1.66
per
1,000 of square feet. However, since we're not going to have any
customers at this facility, we will only have four parking spaces, which will
be more than enough for the employees who will be servicing this
location.
We also are seeking optional relief for
variation to reduce the required rear setback from 30 feet to three
feet, six inches. And this one's a little bit unique.
Although M districts generally do not require a rear setback,
there is a 30-foot setback when M Zone property is
separated by an alley from residentially zoned property, which is the case
here. We have an RT 4 north of the subject
property.
We do have a substandard lot. We have only 106 feet of
lot depth, so this variation is
justified in that regard, and it's really needed for
functional site circulation and their operational needs.
The applicant has worked closely with Alderman Burnett throughout the planning
process to ensure that this project reflects neighborhood priorities and
objectives, and we're hoping that the alderman will
still support us today.
Thank you. Alderman Burnett?
Beyond the applicant having an amazing first name, this project is well conforming
with the neighborhood. It's right adjacent
to, if not in the bounds of the PMD, and they've just been
great community partners already.
We try to do some cool things with
some shipping containers and doing retail off of Lake Street and trying to figure
out how we mix the two. But the current
building code and requirements are too restrictive to allow that process to move
quickly. And so given the fact that they are already meeting
the usage of that area and
are not encumbering anyone with environmental issues, I am
supportive, community supportive, and I ask my colleagues to support as well.
Thank you, Alderman Burnett. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Harris makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay.
And opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Thank you.
Right. Bottom of page 10, file number
23049-T1, 47th Ward. Common address
4447 North Ashland Avenue. The change request is
RS-3 residential single unit, detached house, District
RM-4.5 residential multi-unit
district.
Again, we have Agnes Plecha here to present on the matter.
And for the record, my name is Agnes Plecha.
I'm an attorney for the applicant, 4447 Ashland Corp.
I have with me the president of the corporation, Nicholas Wrobel,
and we are here to propose this rezoning from an
existing RS-3 residential single unit to an RM-4.5
residential multi-unit district.
This property, again, vacant lot.
It is located along the Ashland Avenue bus corridor, and
currently, this is the only vacant lot on this otherwise multi-story,
multi-unit residential block. As this
underutilized site is a transit strip location, it really fits with
this proposed similar density residential
development. To line up with the adjacent buildings, the applicant
requests an optional relief for a small variation to reduce the required front
setback from 15 feet required to 10 feet proposed, and
this proposal reflects a collaborative and community-driven
process. The applicant worked closely with Alderman Martin and his
advisory committee. We have also worked with Ravenswood Neighbors
Association to refine this design and incorporate some
sustainable elements, which included partial green roof,
and hopefully you should have Alderman Martin's letter on file.
And this is being advanced as an elective Type 1
application in order to ensure that this is going to be developed
as presented to the community. And with that, we are
hoping for committee's favorable recommendation.
We are open for any questions.
Thank you. We do have a letter of support on file from Alderman
Martin. Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no question, Alderman Beale moves to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay.
And opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
Thank you so much
Top of page 11, file number 23047-T1 in the
32nd Ward. Common address 3040 to 3042 North
Lincoln Avenue. Change request is a B1-2 neighborhood shopping district to a
B2-3 neighborhood mixed use district.
We have attorney Sarah Barnes and Emily Crone here to present on this
matter.
Good. I think it's afternoon by now Mr.
Chair, and esteemed members of the
committee. For the record once more, my name is Sarah Barnes, and
I'm a partner with Neil & Laroy LLC.
Happy to be here today on behalf of the applicant, Pro Homes
Incorporated. Emily Crone, unfortunately, could
not be here today. But I do have a couple other members
of our zoning and land use team here that I wanted to
introduce to all the committee members, because they will be appearing
before you in the coming months and years and
infinity and beyond once I'm retired, which needs to be
tomorrow. So we have
Gabriela Herrera sitting all the way to the right,
who's a senior associate, as well as Jordan Briggs,
to her left, who's an associate, and then our law clerk,
Amira Fitzpatrick, who's finishing her third year of law school at
Northwestern University,
School of Law. So anyways, back to the matter at hand.
I'm here this afternoon presenting a proposal
to redevelop the subject site, which is currently a
vacant warehouse building, with a new
four-story, multifamily, mixed use building
that will feature a commercial space on the ground
floor for a local entrepreneur, as
well as eight parking spaces that will be located on the
interior of the building at the rear of the commercial space.
Above, on floors two through four, you'll find a
total of nine dwelling units. Each of which will have their
own private outdoor space by way of an inset
balcony.
We actually worked with Alderman Waguespack and the
South Lake View Neighbors Association for over a year on the
programming for this proposal. It took many,
many, many different forms. It was all residential.
It was mixed use. We had a lot of smaller units.
We had some bigger units. A mix of
parking.
Apartments versus condo. And after, again,
almost over a year of collaboration with
the local stakeholders and residents, we arrived at
this proposal here today, which has the unanimous
support of the Alderman, South Lake View neighbors, and the
residents and stakeholders within the neighborhood.
Towards that end,
with the type one zoning map amendment changing the underlying zoning
classification from B12 to a B23,
we are also seeking an administrative adjustment.
This one, again, does go towards the parking for the project.
However, instead of seeking a reduction, because
this is a transit-served location, we're actually
seeking an increase, because these are larger format
units. They're all at least two bedrooms, some three bedrooms.
So the community actually demanded that we have almost
one-to-one parking for the project because they do not
have a lot of street parking in the area.
So the maximum requirement is 50%,
which would be five parking spaces, and we're actually going up to eight and
providing the eight, so 89%. And then in addition
to the administrative adjustments, we are also seeking a
reduction in the rear yard
setback for the residential use, and that is from
30 to zero. It does match the footprint of
almost all of the other buildings on this stretch of Lincoln
Avenue, and that reduction allows for us to have the
interior secured parking, as well as the larger
format units, which again, were requested by the
community. So, with that, I
believe Alderman Waguespack has provided a letter of
support or in some way expressed his support for the project.
And I'm very happy to answer any questions.
Thank you. Are there any question from... Oh, strike that.
Before we move on, there is a letter of support on file for Alderman Waguespack.
Do we have any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing none, Alderman Burnett makes a motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the item is passed.
Thank you so much.
And good luck, attorneys.
Have a good Memorial Day
weekend.
Middle of page
11, file number 23061 in the 39th Ward.
Common address is 4133 to 4135 West Lawrence
Avenue. Change request is a B3-1 community shopping district
to a C2-1 motor vehicle related commercial district.
We have Patrick Turner here to present on the matter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
My name is Patrick Turner,
with offices in Elmhurst. I'm here today on behalf of the applicant,
2A Kamora LLC. The applicant
is the contract purchaser of the subject property
located at 4133-35 West Lawrence
Avenue.
The property is a lot containing approximately
11,640 square feet. We are here seeking
rezoning from the B3-1 community shopping district
to C2-1 motor vehicle related district,
to allow a landscape contractor's office and storage
yardThe property is improved with a one-story,
5,055 square foot building and a 6,500
square foot parking lot.
Marissa Gore, the manager and sole member of the applicant, was in
contact
with Alderperson Nugent's office and the Mayfair Civic
Association, which all were in support of the zoning
change.
I'm here to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you. We can confirm that, Alderwoman Nugent, there is a
letter of support on file for Alderman Nugent for this project.
Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no questions, Alderman Fuentes makes a motion to
pass. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
That on page 11,
file number 23003 in the Fifth Ward.
Common address, 5725 South Woodland Avenue, 1100
East 55th Street. Change request is RM-5 residential multi-unit
district. Institutional planned development number 763 and
institutional planned development number 43, as amended to planned development
number 43, as amended. We have Kate Duncan here to
present on that.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee on Zoning.
My name is Kate Duncan. I'm an attorney with Quarles, with offices at
155 North Wacker Drive.
I'm appearing this morning on behalf of the applicant, the University of Chicago,
in connection with application number 23003.
With me this morning from the university is Sarah Sheehan, who is the Executive
Director of Government Relations.
This is an application for a technical amendment to planned development number 43.
PD No. 43 is in University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus.
It stretches from just north of 55th Street on the north down to
61st Street on the south,
and from Cottage Grove on the west to Stony Island on the east.
The Midway Plaisance runs through the middle of the campus.
Because this is an amendment to PD Number 43, it was necessary for this application
to be reviewed by the Chicago Plan Commission.
The Chicago Plan Commission hearing was held on March 19th, 2026, and
the Plan Commission unanimously approved the application.
I would respectfully request that the record of the Chicago Plan Commission
hearing, including all reports, testimony, and documents that were approved by the
Chicago Plan Commission, be incorporated into this hearing and be approved and
adapted by this committee.
This item was heard and passed by the Chicago Plan Commission.
Alderman Burnett makes a motion to incorporate all records and findings from that
hearing. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The records are incorporated.
Thank you. Applicant is seeking to amend PD-43 to add two
parcels of property into its boundaries.
The first parcel is 1100 East 55th Street, which is currently zoned PD
Number 763, and that zoning will be amended from PD number
763 to PD number 43 in a new subarea P.
No changes or modifications to the existing buildings are proposed at this
time. PD number 763 already, the existing PD number
763 allows colleges and universities as permitted uses, and the university
has added a new subarea for this parcel.
The university has updated the PD statements for PD-43 to include subarea
P, and the uses in the new subarea are
consistent with the uses that were permitted in
PD-763.
We've also included a new sentence in the PD statements for PD number 43 regarding
height restrictions within
subarea P. We've added a height maximum for subarea P so that it's
consistent with PD number 763, and it allows for a maximum
height of 65 feet.
PD-43 bulk table has also been updated to include subarea P, and all
data is consistent with the site area and maximum FAR that were in the
existing PD-763.
The second property to be added is 5725 South Woodlawn Avenue, which
is currently zoned RM-5 and will be rezoned to PD
number 43 within the existing subarea O.
The university recently acquired this property and is seeking to consolidate the
property within its planned development boundaries.
There's a building on the property right now, and no changes or
modifications to the existing building are proposed at this time.
The university is still considering appropriate uses for this property.
This amendment is only for the purpose of adding the property into the planned
development.
This PD amendment also incorporates other minor cleanup changes to the PD
statements and bulk table to reflect current conditions and the newly added
properties. The university has engaged with adjacent neighbors and interested
parties regarding this PD amendment and has also met with and
obtained a support letter from Alderman Yancy for this amendment, which
I believe you should have a copy of, but I have a copy if you do not.
We can confirm that we have a letter of support from Alderman Yancy on file.
Thank you very much. So on behalf of my client, I respectfully request your
favorable recommendation.
Thank you.
All right, we do not have Alderman Yancy.
Any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Alderman Fuentes makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Passed as revised.
Thank you. Again.
Top of page 12, file number
22975-T1 in the 32nd Ward.
Common address is 1801 to 1809 North Winnebago Avenue,
2248 to 2254 West Bloomingdale Avenue.
The change request is a M-1-2 limited manufacturing business park
district to a B-2-3 neighborhood mixed-use district.
We have attorney
Jimena that's here-
Thank you
... to present on the matter.
Yes. Thank you very much.
It's okay.
My name is Jimena Castro. I am a partner at Costa Esquer, here
representing my firm today
for the matter located at 1801 through 09 North Winnebago,
as you stated.
At this time, I'd like to ask the substitute narrative and plans be incorporated
into the plans, please.
All right. Alderman Burnett moves to accept the substitute narrative and plans for
the Type 1 application. All in favor, please say "Aye." Aye.
All opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute narrative and plans are accepted.
Thank you very much. This property is zoned M-1-2.
We're seeking to rezone it from a B-2-3.
It's
an asphalt lot that is improved with a
one-story building. The rest of it is used as a parking
lot, and it is also TSL to the Western Blue Line
station. We're seeking to demolish the existing building
to build a four-story building with 30 units,
23 parking spaces, 30 bicycle spaces, no
commercial on the ground floor, ARO on site
20%, that would be six units. And we're also seeking,
as part of the Type 1 rezoning, variation relief
as follows: to reduce the rear yard setback,
to reduce the loading berth from one to zero,
to alter the driveway and vehicle standards to allow a curb cut and
parking entrance on Bloomingdale, increase the parking
spaces.
Also seeking a setback reduction for the front elevator and stairwell
override
from Winnebago and from
the West Bloomingdale Avenue, as shown on the
substitute plans. To reduce the corner setback for rear
stairwell override,
as shown on the plans. A variation to allow an entrance on North
Winnebago and no entrance on Bloomingdale.
And to allow a recessed entry width of 18 feet, six inches,
or 90% of the front façade. All of this shown on the
substitute plans. We went through a
community process, and we do have a letter of support that was provided
from the alderman's office to the committee.
We'd like to ask for favorable consideration.
We can confirm a letter of support on file for the support of this project.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no questions, Alderman Fuentes
moves do pass. All in favor, please say "Aye." Aye.
All opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed with substitute narrative and plans.
Thank you very much.
All right. Our final item for today is file number 22068 in the
49th Ward. Common address is 1646 to
1654 West Howard Street, 7601 to
7623 North
Paulina Street. Change request is a B-1-3 neighborhood shopping
district to a planned development.
We have to present today Attorney Steve Friedland on the matter.
Good afternoon. My name is Steve Friedland with Applegate Thorn Thompson, here
today with two representatives of the client, which is
VV Howard Paulina, LLC. It's a joint
venture between a not-for-profit, Visionary Ventures, NFP
corporation, and Shelly Tucciarelli is here representing them,
and JM Developers, LLC being represented by Crystal Rollins.
Also, our project architect, Terese Thompson's here.
There's a little bit of housekeeping here.
So, as this was originally filed,
the project has changed
somewhat. We did go to planning commission in April
16th. We are now proposing
an 80-unit development in
the
reuse of the existing Werner Brothers storage building with 20
affordable housing units, and then a new eight-story building at the
corner of Howard and Paulina with 60 affordable
workforce housing units. The other thing, you should
have a
new ordinance in front of you. In the interim since we
filed,
one of the two properties here was rezoned
B-3-3. So we're rezoning from
B-1-3 and B-3-3 to
B-3-3,
which has always been the proposed underlying zoning, and then to a planned
development. And we sent out new notices to the neighbors,
but I just want to put all that on the record so you have that.
And I guess before I continue, I'd ask if you'd incorporate the findings and
records of the plan commission into this hearing.
This item was heard and passed by the Chicago Plan Commission.
Alderman Burnett makes a motion to incorporate all records and findings from that
hearing. All in favor, please say "Aye." Aye.
All opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, and the
records are incorporated.
All I'll say is this is, from our perspective, a fantastic
project. We've worked with Alder Hadden for a few years on this.
It's taken a while to get it financed, so we're
now prepared to move forward, and it's going to provide new
affordable housing directly across from the
Howard Street El, which is obviously a very busy
rapid transit location, and
gone through a great deal of community effort.
I don't know that Alderman Hadden's on the call, but I know that we have her
support, and we would take any questions the committee might have.
We can confirm there's a letter of support on file
from Alderman Hadden.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
All right. Seeing no questions,
Alderman Beale moves do pass. All in favor, please say "Aye." Aye.
All opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed as revised.
Thank you very much.
Ladies and gentlemen, there being no further business before the Committee
of Zoning, Chairwoman Dowell makes a motion to adjourn the
meeting. All in favor, please say "Aye." Aye.
All opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The meeting is adjourned.