Testing, testing.
Good morning, everyone.
It is 1020 on October 13, 2026 in this meeting of the Chicago City Council's Committee on
Zoning Landmark and Building Standard is called to order.
We will start off with a roll call.
Nicole, please roll.
Alderman Laspata.
Alderman Hopkins.
Alderman Hall.
Alderwoman Harris.
Alderman Beal.
Alderwoman Ramirez.
alderman moore alderman mosley alderman cicho lopez alder fuentes alderman burnett
alderwoman cruz alderman conway alder cassada alderman riley alderman knutson alderman clay
vice chair lawson and chair viegas we have a quorum
we have quorum um these are here we're going to start this morning off with the approval of the
rule 45 report containing the minutes of september meeting all members of this committee should have
received a copy of this report electronically via the shared drive alderman knutson makes a
motion to approve the report all in favor please say aye aye oppose nay independent chair the ayes
have it moving on i will now read the items to be deferred i'll read the page number and the
description and then take a motion for all at the end. First up is middle of page four, file
number 23087 for various addresses on South Dearborn, South Federal, West Pershing, and West
40th Street. Moving on to the middle of page 15, file number 23146-T1, common address 1415 West
Diversity Parkway. Next is document number 0202.
Next is document number 02026-0027579 regarding single-room occupancy residential development.
Lastly, all of pages 16 through 17, including file 23158-T1 for the address commonly known as 4200 South Dr. Martin Luther King-Jeward Drive, file 23174, common address 37 East Garfield Street, file 23179 for various addresses on Halstead, North Kingsbury, and Ogden Avenue.
Lastly, file number 23164, common address 718 North St. Louis Avenue.
Alderman LaSpada makes a motion to defer the previously listed items.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In opinion of the 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's
rule of order procedure.
Public comment will be limited to 30 minutes.
The Committee on Zoning will call as many speakers as time allows.
Our first speaker is Eric Rubenstein, followed by Mark Rosen, Mark Rosen, Rose, Eric Rubenstein,
and then Mark Rose. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Single Room Operators Association,
representing SRO citywide, strongly opposes Third Ward Alderman Pat Dowell's proposed
anti-SRO ordinance for multiple reasons. The proposed ordinance would gut the city's SRO
preservation legislation from 2014 and create an either-or scenario. As alderman, you either
support SRO preservation or you favor the elimination of extremely affordable SRO housing
desperately needed the shelter very poor single adult.
needed to shelter very poor single adult Chicago citizens. Remember, SROs are one step above
homelessness, and we must stop SRO residents from being victimized. With the proposed special use
permit for SROs, aldermen could deny approval of required building department repair or renovation
permits, this could lead to the physical deterioration of SROs creating a neighborhood
blight, likely leading to a housing court case and a possible SRO closure ordered by a judge,
so SRO residents would be forced into the streets. This proposed anti-SRO ordinance
would discourage and greatly restrict locations where new SRO construction could occur.
These uncertainties in likely poor locations to operate away from grocery shopping and bus lines
would lead to higher costs and harm the SRO residents.
An SRO special use permit could block a potential SRO sale or ownership transfer of existing SROs that were protected and grandfathered in these zoning ordinance.
This could prohibit that SRO from continuing to operate, again forcing SRO residents to be uprooted and face homelessness.
For these and other reasons, we ask the Zoning Committee to vote down, again, vote down Alderman Pat Dowell's proposed anti-SRO ordinance and help prevent more tents, T-E-N-T-S, from rising in city parks to shelter the very poor and vulnerable former SRO residents.
thank you for listening thank you mr rubinstein our next speaker is during
Hubbard followed by Jessica Jackson you're during Hubbard Southwest Airlines
all right I don't don't see mr. Hubert miss Jessica Jackson followed by
Timothy Bennett I got you so so it's not public comment you don't want to okay
Okay, gotcha, thank you.
Ms. Jackson, after this.
Okay.
Okay, so the one thing that I'm noticing is
when aldermen decide to show up for work.
Now, when we have meetings like public safety,
it's amazing how we can't get a quorum.
You can't get a quorum.
you won't come alderman won't come to work not even alderman brian hopkins who's over public
safety he can't get a quorum when it's time to talk about the safety of this city yet when you
have things like zoning landmarks and building standards where you have these white contractors
come in here and everybody's going to grab for this tiff
coming here. And everybody's going to grab for this TIF money. So everybody's going to get money
off the top. It's not going to matter what's on properly or not. You're going to manipulate the
laws and rules for landmarks. You do whatever you want with building standards as it pertains
to property owners. Now you all are sitting here all day and act like every ordinance that you're
doing, every law that you're doing, is to house, quote-unquote, the parvished, the underprivileged,
the poor, the da-da-da-da-da, that whole saga.
But you all are not going to do anything to protect the rights of homeowners, property
owners.
What property owners can look forward to is that you all aggressively hike property taxes
so that you all can help crook Governor J.B. Prisker
steal more real estate, especially off the south side,
especially around the Obama Center.
There's going to be absolutely no conversation in City Hall
to talk about how private citizens who own property,
how our real estate is getting taken from us
Because of aggressive property taxes, because of bogus court cases, because of corrupt county officials that steal property and you all know everything about it and you all won't do anything about it.
You all won't do anything about your ordinances that's supposed to protect property owners, but you're going to come in here so that you all can get some TIF money for these white contractors.
It's the most disgusting thing to act like you care about how people live.
To act like you care about how people live while you intentionally forcing people out of property that they own and pay for.
Because you all trying to act like you some social justice housing people who really just taking our money to house.
Thank you, Mr. Jackson. Our next speaker is Timothy Bennett. Nope.
Jim Jobes. Yep. Jim Jobes. Another one. All right.
before we do that let's add alderman hopkins to the role for the purpose of the quorum as well
as alderman cassava james anderson followed by nick hunder my name is james anderson and i'm
speaking against the application in case number 28741 which proposes a parking garage for 630
cars located at 370 east garfield boulevard mr chairman and members of the committee this
property is adjacent to the Garfield station on the CTA Green Line. This is no place to build a
giant parking structure. Property near the L has to be for people, a high-intensity residential,
commercial, or institutional use that will benefit from being next to an L stop.
The development proposed is detrimental to the city. It's something we should be trying to undo
in locations where it exists. We should not be adding car-oriented land uses to property
adjacent to the L. I would like to address the process here as well. If a developer came in and
as well. If a developer came in and proposed 630 apartments at this location, the application would
be the subject of years of community meetings, arguments that it would generate too much car
traffic, that it's changing the character of the neighborhood, or that the apartments would be
either not affordable enough or too affordable. And eventually the alderman would say no.
but 630 car parking places will sail through and my testimony here today for three minutes will be
the only objection then the members of this committee will go sit in finance committee and
wonder why the city is broke car oriented development is why the city is broke it is
economically unsustainable to build for cars all it does is push people further apart and promote
more car dependency, which pushes people even further apart and promotes even more car dependency.
Eventually, there's no city, just highways and parking lots and cars. I respectfully urge the
committee to deny the application for zoning relief. Thank you, Mr. Anderson. Next is Nick
Hunter, followed by Michael Vorbeck. Good morning. My name is Nick Hunter. I'm representing Biker
now, a citywide coalition of bicyclists who travel basically anywhere. So I want to talk
about the Cortland Bridge, and we're going to ask you to not unlandmark that. Our pitch is pretty
simple. So it looks like CDOT doesn't know what the fix is. And it looks like we are going to have
to spend a lot of money, whether it is demoing and rebuilding a bridge, building a second bridge,
or doing structural pairs to the current one. So we would ask you that if we are going to spend
all of this money anyways, we would like to see either the Cortland Bridge expanded in its current
capacity or just build another bridge next to the current one and leave our wide open bridge that
has been heavily used by pedestrians, cyclists, people who just want to come out and have a
picnic and use this newly open space. It's an essential east-west crossing as are most east-west
east-west crossing as are most east-west crossings in the city. And it, by default, is serving as a
606 extension already. So the last time a private developer said they built one, which was Sterling
Bay, they fell through. And now we're really hoping the Foundry Park will build one, but that's also
not going to come for another five years. So it's a really long delay in hopes for something that
might actually just not happen anyways. Again, it's an essential connection. It's pretty much
unsafe, dangerous, or at least highly unadvisable to try and get from all the way on the west side
to any of the Lakeshore communities without going way out of your way.
Your sort of comparable options are you go up to Belmont,
which is 13 blocks north, or you go down to Kinsey,
which is 15 blocks north.
So you're creating this huge gap in a safe infrastructure.
And I would say that we don't really trust that if we rebuild,
tear down and rebuild a new bridge,
that we're going to get something that is safe for bikes.
We just spent $22 million on rebuilding Webster just north,
and all it did was get a painted bike lane.
So we didn't make that connection any better,
And we're at serious risk of making that same mistake.
Just a few data points.
So if you look at Strava, which is sort of like a conglomeration of bike data, it's pretty obvious that between 13 months ago when it was closed and now, how many more people are using this?
It's a great example of if you build it, they will come.
And in this case, we didn't build anything.
We just realized that it wasn't safe for cars.
And we closed it.
And then suddenly, like easily a thousand people are using it a day.
Just stand out there for an hour.
where you will see truly hundreds of cyclists come across.
So, and I just want to quickly remind you,
so there's an election coming up
and there hasn't been a lot for bike infrastructure done.
And we are looking at how all of you are voting.
We are all, all the transportation groups are aligned.
We have a pack, we have a lot of money to throw around.
So consider this sort of a first option to see how you vote,
whether you support or don't support bicyclists
and we will adjust accordingly.
And we are happy to support you,
but we are equally happy to go against you.
So again, I do urge you to not unlandmark this bridge and set a terrible precedent of thinking that we can just unlandmark or throw whatever regulation is in our way just.
mark or throw whatever regulation is in our way just to achieve something that, again, CDOT is
said, we don't know if removing the landmark will actually speed up anything. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hunter. Our next speaker is Michael Rohrbeck, followed by
Chevy Meeks. Hello. I'm here to speak against the proposed special use requirements being
proposed for SROs. My name is Mike Rohrbeck. I'm with Voice of the People Chicago. For more than
six decades, we've been fighting for affordable housing. And in the last few years, in the area
that we work most closely in, 46th and 48th Ward, there's been about 400 units in four buildings
that really have been at risk, both single room occupancy and really small unit buildings that
are when they are housing the lowest income our most important hedge against
homelessness and you've heard the stuff before but bottom line is people that
are super low income have a hard time paying just the expenses of an
apartment much less a mortgage and taxes on top of it we need to be treating
these owners like they're our city's most important resource, because they're what is
keeping a lot more folks from living on the sidewalk. So we're doing our best fighting to
save affordable housing in our community. We need the city council to make it easier on owners to
preserve and create very affordable housing and we just uh ask that you oppose this uh ordinance
thank you mr orbeck our next speakers chevy uh chevy meeks followed by nicole mccarthy
good morning good morning my name is chevy meeks
Good morning. Morning. My name is Chevy Meeks. My husband, Glenn Meeks, and I have operated an SRO
in the historic Pullman District for more than 20 years. We know that we're providing a really
good resource for people who need affordable housing. We've received multiple calls per week
asking for vacancies in our building. We know that there is a great need. So what we do is we
provide a very good safe environment for for the homeless we provide a safe
environment for those who are seeking affordable home affordable housing and
we would like to oppose the proposed SRO ordinance my wife has allowed me to
take part of her three minutes I appreciate that my name is Meeks and I
I just want to just emphasize a few things.
Some of you may or may not know that SROs,
we represent a very small, almost minuscule,
when you look at the entire housing market.
We're very small.
And to add additional scrutiny to a very small entity,
to me, it's like piling on this overkill.
Did you realize that every two years, we get approval?
We have to have approval from the fire department, the electrical department, plumbing department, and conservations every two years in order to operate.
And in addition to that, if we decided that we wanted to sell our SRO, we have to get approval from our alderman already.
And so additional scrutiny is, to me, is unnecessary.
We're already being scrutinized enough as a small entity.
Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Meeks.
Our next speaker is Nicole McCarthy, followed by Carla Longo McNamara.
Longo McNamara. Thank you. Good morning committee members. Thank you Chairman Villegas. My name is
Nicole McCarthy and I'm the executive director of the West Town Chamber of Commerce. I'm here to
provide public comment on amendment 9146 which proposes a zoning change for sections of West
Chicago Avenue from a B13 neighborhood shopping district to a B33 community shopping district.
Much like the hard-working alder people in West Town, Alderman Villegas and Alderman
Laspata, thank you for your dedication to our neighborhood. The Chamber of Commerce supports
zoning changes that create easier and cost-saving licensing pathways for small businesses without
adding loopholes for large chains to move in and disrupt the character of our neighborhood.
Westtown is unique because our business community is 95% independently owned and local. So thank you
for your time and your careful consideration of your impact on our communities. Thank you.
Thank you, Ms. McNamara. I'd like to recognize Alderman Byron Ciccio-Lopez for the purposes of quorum.
Our next speaker is Carla Longo McNamara, followed by Marta Vito-Lins.
Hi, good morning to the committee. Thank you for letting me speak today.
My name is Carla Longo McNamara, and I'm the owner of the subject property at 4643-4639 South Wallace
in the 15th ward which i've owned this property for 20 years since 2005. i am speaking against
the application number 27173. last year i worked with the local community and the canaryville
improvement association along with my ward alderman to change the subject property from
the zoning of rs-3 to the existing b2-3. the type 1 approval was ratified by the city council on
september 25th 2025 with a 49 to 0 vote since that approval i have invested over 125 thousand
dollars in professional development expenses pursuing complete
and development expenses pursuing completed architectural drawings permits and legal
expenses for the project consistent with the type 1 zoning approval the currently proposed down zone
ordinance would take away those developmental rights for my my plan for the property remains
the same i am proposing to develop the property with a mixed-use commercial building that would
contain an expansion of my existing child care facility along with six residential units one of
which I will continue to reside in indefinitely. I have currently owned and operated a child care
facility for the last 20 years in the 11th Ward community since 2007. I am an established business
providing a needed service to my community. I respectfully request that the committee on zoning
either deferred vote on this matter until after permits for the already approved type one project
are issued or deny the request to zone zone. I am happy to provide any additional information
the committee requests for its consideration of this matter i currently employ 15 women many of
which are 15th ward residents i will be increasing available jobs in my community and providing
valuable services to families who are in need of quality child care thank you so much for your time
today and consideration of this matter thank you uh ms mcnamara our next speaker is marta vitilins
followed by rudy fash hi there excuse me hi there thank you so much for having me today my name is
Marta Vittelens. I have been a Chicagoan for 12 years. I'm a resident of the 27th Ward. I've been
a city cyclist for eight years, and I've been a full-time city cyclist for about five years.
I'm here to speak about the landmark status of the Cortland Bridge and requesting that the
committee oppose the repeal of the landmark status and keep it open to pedestrians and
micro-mobility and to Chicago residents. I bike for pleasure, but I mostly bike to commute. I
frequently travel north and across the river, and today I just want to speak to my personal
experience with safety, with getting to the Lakeshore neighborhood.
So I live on Chicago Avenue, which, as we all know,
the Chicago Avenue Bridge is currently closed
for the construction of Bally's Casino.
So my current option to get to the north side
and across the bridge, I can either go south to Grand,
which is currently under construction
and is subjected to the downtown traffic.
When Bally's opens, this will also be a major throwaway
for cars going across right there.
Chicago Avenue, as I mentioned, is currently closed.
But with the upcoming casino, we anticipate there will be more, rather I anticipate there will be more car traffic and a lot of people coming from outside the city who may or may not be expecting for there to be bikes and pedestrians crossing.
I can go up to Division, which has highway access and is extremely unsafe.
Just on a personal note, before I realized that the Cortland Avenue Bridge was still open to cyclists,
I was taking Division to get back west, and no fewer than five times nearly got hit by a car.
And then I can go up to North Avenue, which, as we know, also has the highway access,
no bike lanes, extremely heavy traffic, very unsafe for cyclists.
So by here, I'm at Cortland.
Cortland gives incredible access to a major number of thoroughfares that really help access to the north side
and to the lake. That would include Clybourne, where I personally buy my groceries and where
I also do fitness classes, to Armitage, which is how I get to the lake, or to Halstead, which is
how I access most of the north side. Having it as a dedicated bike and pedestrian lane
makes it a respite to really have a safe, enjoyable journey to get to those areas of the city.
Additionally, I just want to speak very briefly to what road damage calculators say, which is that
when I look at my previous motor vehicle I had, which was the Toyota RAV4, it takes 150,000 trips
on my current road bike to do the same amount of damage as my previous car did. So thank you all so
much for the time. I really implore the committee to oppose the repeal of the landmark status of the
implore the committee to oppose the repeal of the landmark status of the courtland avenue bridge it
really has been such an incredible asset i hope that you all take those comments into consideration
thank you thank you miss fidelins our next speaker is rudy fosh followed by our follows
our last speaker bailey sid okay good morning committee and thank you chair viegas my name
is rudy faust excuse me i am a first ward resident and i'm speaking to oppose the removal of landmark
status for the Cortland Street Bridge. We're justifiably proud of our bridges here in Chicago
and we also know, as we just heard, that many of our bridges need repair and some need to be
replaced. But in adapting the Cortland Street Bridge for pedestrians, bicyclists, and disabled
users, we can meet an immediate need and improve the safety with our first truly protected crossing
over the river. C-Duff's working on these crossings, but mainly for cars. With their
designs, pedestrians often walk next to traffic, as on the recently refurbished Diversi Bridge and
Fullerton Bridges, and cyclists get plastic flex posts, if anything, and those are soon destroyed
if, you know, and not repaired. So the recently needless deaths of Damien Gomez and Juan Martin
marquez on the southwest side shows what happens when we don't protect our family members when
they're trying to get to their jobs and go about their lives people are increasingly using active
transportation to do their work get to their jobs and just for recreation as well i use
the courtland bridge frequently in a recent commute and i'm increasingly seeing parents use
the 606, its connector, to bring their kids to schools and activities. There are many projects
in the area, I realize, that need intention to.
i realize that need uh intention to improve road safety the ashland viaduct comes to mind
but we can have an immediate win with the for with this first fully protected uh crossing and
we've seen it done elsewhere in louisville cincinnati memphis and i think we can do it here
thank you thank you mr fos our final speaker is bailey sid don't see uh mr sid
that concludes our public comment period.
I'd like to also acknowledge Alderman Burnett,
Alderman Cruz, and I already did C. Chalopez.
Off of the purposes of quorum.
All right, first up, we have document number R2026-0028815
introduced by myself and several others
regarding the establishment of a problem landlord
and Housing Court Coordination Task Force to examine and recommend improvements to response
to chronic and repeat housing code violations. This item has a substitute. All committee members
will find a copy of this packet before you. Alderman Knudsen makes a motion to accept the
substitute. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay. And pin the chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute is before us. So ladies and gentlemen, this is a resolution to create a
task force that I think is long overdue as it relates to coordinating with the chief judge
and given that we have a new chief judge this provides a great opportunity for us to
establish a relationship with him as he is in the process of also
changing out some of the housing housing judges so this is a perfect opportunity
opportunity. So every Chicago resident deserves to live in a safe, well-maintained home. When
landlords repeatedly neglect their properties, ignore building code violations, and delay
necessary repairs, tenants are left dealing with unsafe living conditions and a system that could
be difficult to navigate. That's why I and a bunch of my colleagues introduced legislation to
establish this Problem Landlord Housing Coordination Task Force. The goal is straightforward.
Improve how our city identifies repeat offenders, coordinates enforcement, and works with the Cook County Circuit Court to address serious reoccurring housing violations.
Today, what we see is multiple departments and agencies may be involved in addressing the same property, yet information and enforcement efforts do not always align.
We need to examine where those gaps exist and how to resolve them.
This task force will bring together representatives from the city council,
the mayor's office, Department of Buildings, Department of Technology and Innovation,
Department of Housing, Department of Law, and the Circuit Court of Cook County.
You'll also hear from tenant advocates, legal aid organizations,
and community groups and property owners.
Together, they will examine how we can better identify repeat violations,
recognize common ownership across multiple properties,
improve communication with tenants, prioritize serious health and safety risk,
and ensure that enforcement actions and court orders receive appropriate follow-through.
Importantly, this task force does not interfere with judicial independence or impose new penalties.
It establishes a process to identify what is working, where the system is falling short, and what changes may be needed.
The task force will be required to submit recommendations within 180 days of its first meeting.
Our responsibility is to make sure residents are not left navigating disconnected systems while serious housing problems go unresolved.
By improving coordination and accountability, we can work toward a safer housing conditions
and a more effective response to chronic problem properties.
Are there any questions from any members of the committee?
Alderman Conway.
Thank you.
So usually I am opposed to these blue ribbon, unelected task forces because we have way, way, way too many.
But to your credit and the credit of the sponsors, this seems particularly well-timed with the fervent discussion
where it happened about tenant rights at the moment.
And, of course, with the introduced pro-legislation as well as the fair legislation,
my only question would be how does this interact with um with that discussion of legislation and
then also is this potentially premature because we're having that discussion and perhaps shouldn't
we wait till see where that goes before we implement this right so i thank you for that
question i think um this is an issue that has been going on for a long time and i think because
of the fact that there's a new chief judge that is when I had discussions with him is very excited
about trying to figure out how to help get these issues solved quickly and the fact that he's in
the process of changing out his judges in the housing court I think it just make it timely and
so I wouldn't have moved without having discussion with him and a commitment from him to figure out
how he can help the city so this is the reason why and I think that these are parallel tracks
that we can work on this while we're in the process of discussing fair and pro if we get
to some type of compromise. That's great. And I've known Judge Beach for 20 plus years when
he was a DUI attorney and I was a traffic prosecutor and excited he's the chief judge
and he's obviously grabbed the horns of the court system by the horns. And I should have left the
metaphors at home, I think. But nonetheless, I'm excited about the potential for that. If there's
If there's no other questions, move to pass.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Edwin Conway.
Vice Chair Wilson.
Thank you, Chair, and thank you for your leadership on this.
I almost wish we had this first before we were doing rental ordinances.
I know.
Not that I disagree with my colleague from the 34th Ward much,
but this is helpful to have and helpful to help identify some of these things
in a way that is collaborative with the council, with departments,
the mayor's office, and the chief judge.
My question is about the timing.
Just I know there's meetings every so often, and then there's a report, I believe, with 180 days.
Will you just sort of walk us through what that timeline looks like?
Yeah, so we put that 180 days because there is a sense of urgency that we need to get this issue resolved.
And if there's a report that can be done quicker, I mean, obviously we'll welcome it.
But we put an arbitrary timeline of six months there.
So what I envision, once this passes and once it's published, that we will go ahead and invite the entities that are part of the resolution, and then also, more importantly, invite the chief judge to make sure that he's providing a representative from his court system to help us navigate this.
So it's going to be very quick, and again, this is going to be a parallel track with what we're trying to accomplish with both competing ordinances around rental rights as well as housing provider rights.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you.
All right.
Seeing no other questions, Alderman Conway makes a motion to pass the resolution.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion, Chair, the ayes have it.
All right.
I'd like to also recognize Alderman Fuentes for the purposes of quorum, Alderman Riley
for the purposes of quorum, Alderman Rosana Rodriguez, non-member.
Okay, that's it.
All right.
So that motion was accepted, was passed with the substitute.
Next, we have document number 02026-0028463,
an ordinance introduced by Alderman Lawson
that amends the municipal code
to allow lawful cannabis dispensaries
to include medical cannabis.
This item has a substitute ordinance.
All committee members will find a copy
of the substitute ordinance in the share drive
and in the packet before you.
Alderman Citro-Lopez makes a motion
to accept the substitute ordinance.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye, all opposed, nay.
And Pineda, Chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute is before us.
We have Alderman Lawson here to present on this matter.
Thanks, Chair.
Thank you, Chair.
Happy to bring this forward and talk a little bit about it.
Just for purposes for my colleagues, the only change in the substitute from what was introduced
is the number eight, which had been a seven in the first underlying section.
But what we're doing here, Springfield did a number of cleanups in the last session that
were signed this summer, one of which allows all of the social equity dispensaries to now begin to
sell cannabis to medical patients. For some reason, when the social equity program started,
it was only those original medical licensees that were allowed to sell medical. Springfield has
changed its rules to allow everyone to sell medical now. We've seen how social equity operates
in most of our neighborhoods. And I've talked to, I think, all of our colleagues that certainly have
a dispensary and some that have them coming and see this as a bonus um my we should not see much
difference in operations um the only difference is a medical patient doesn't pay the tax um so
these folks are accessing medical cannabis uh in certain locations now and they'll be able to have
more access throughout the city which was the whole point of of this program just uh on the
technical side as well uh everyone right now that sells cannabis legally in the city has obtained
special use to do so. They are not uniform. So they would all, if we don't pass this,
they would all have to go back to the Zoning Board of Appeals potentially to allow the medical
sale as opposed to just the adult use recreation. So this makes it clean up in one fell swoop,
saves us a lot of time and money and headache for our partners in this industry.
Happy to answer questions. I appreciate my colleagues' support. Thank you, Chair.
Any questions from members of the committee? Alderman Conway.
Yeah, I would only, I just rise to thank my colleague here. I'm going through this right
now with zen leaf a a dispensary in my ward and and it's a a pain that doesn't make a lot of sense
here the fact they have to go get a type one to get medical and they've been a dispensary for years
so i want to thank alderman loss for putting this forward and and it's a it's no brain or
common sense legislation so move to pass no other questions thank you alderman conway any questions
from members of the committee alderman riley um thank you chairman i was just talking to one of
the sponsors about what the problem is here and this seems like common sense uh recreational is
is the issue that most neighbors worry about the medical use should be the most most permissive
so yeah let's take the red tape out of this process and make it easier for the industry i
i'll be voting for this thank you chairman thank you alderman riley any other questions from
members of the committee seeing none alderman conway makes a motion uh do pass uh all in favor
please say aye. Aye. Opposed nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The matter passes
as substitute, as substituted rather. All right, we're going to, all right, we have our, we're going
to skip the next few, next few ordinances until Alderman Martin is available to come and testify
Next up, we have document number 02026-002785.
Number 02026-0027856, introduced by Alderman Hopkins and co-sponsored by Alderman Wagaspak
in Knudsen, that repeals the historical landmark designation of Cortland Bridge.
We are Alderman Hopkins here to present on this matter.
Alderman Hopkins.
Yeah, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
This issue is much more complicated than it appears on its surface, simply because it
involves two levels of historical protection designation at the state and at the federal
level. We can take this action unilaterally to begin the process. However, it is a process that
would take years to complete. And I had a meeting recently along with Alderman Wagesbeck and
Alderman Knudsen, whose wards continue to be severely impacted by this bridge closure.
and we've asked the Department of Transportation to do everything possible to work within the
current landmark designation and even as we try to proceed going forward with removing it
we don't want it to delay the current rehabilitation work which is necessitated by the condition of the
bridge. So after having the engineers review the construction timeframe, they have committed
to completing this work by the end of 2028, which is a significant reduction in the amount of time
that they were talking about for the past year while this bridge has been closed.
And the engineers have been doing assessments, still working on the scope of work. But we were
told at one point it could take up to five years to complete this bridge. And again, the work
hasn't commenced yet. The only thing they've done in the last year is engineering studies and
evaluation of the components of the bridge. So we'll continue to urge them to actually complete
the scope of work and get started. But they are confident now based on what they know.
but they are confident now based on what they know once work begins assuming there's no other
you know surprises waiting for us and that happens on construction projects we understand that
but they have given us a time frame now where the work will be completed at the end of 2028
so i would like to move to defer this item again we're not giving up the idea that landmark
designation could be and should be removed but we don't want to interfere with the sensitivity
of this moment where CDOT is completing their scope of work dealing with federal agencies who
may not be in favor of the action that we would take to remove the landmark designation. So we're
going to allow this process to play out. I thank the commissioner for giving me his assurance which
he did just a half an hour ago in a phone call that this time frame is something that they can
commit to and they feel relatively confident at least confident enough that they allowed me to
make this statement today, again, along with my colleagues, Alderman Wagesbeck and Alderman Knudsen.
So with that in mind, Madam Chairman, or Mr. Chairman, I would move to defer this matter at
this time. Thank you, Alderman. Alderman Hopkins makes a motion to defer the previously read item.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Oppenative, Chair, the ayes have it. Item is
deferred. Thank you, Alderman. Next up, we have document number 02026-002825,
a permit fee waiver for historical landmark property located at 208 south lasalle we have
john ritzhoof the historic preservation division of the department of planning and development to
present on this matter mr ritzhoof yes good morning chairman and uh good morning alderman
i'm here for uh to introduce permit fee waiver for the conversion of floors 14 to 16
of an office building into residential uses as 208 south lasalle street um the project is in
the project is in the 42nd ward alderman riley in the central planning region loop community area
community area number 32 the landmark building is on the west side of south la salle street
between west adams and west quincy streets um advance the slide please thank you very much
208 south la salle was designated landmark on december the 7th 2007. the photo shows its east
and south elevations the scope of the work is to convert floors 14 to 16 of office space into 167
apartment units residential amenity areas and a residential lobby will be provided
the owner plans to spend 45 million dollars on renovations and seeks a permit fee waiver
in the amount of 78 000 the staff of the commission on landmarks has reviewed the plans
and the scope of the work for the project and determined that it meets historic preservation
guidelines alderman riley is in support of the permit fee waiver has provided a signed order
and has transmitted the order to the city clerk for city council introduction any any questions
that's it mr vincent thank you for your presentation alderman beal thank you mr chairman
i just have one quick question you say the permit fee waiver is what's the overall cost on that
$78,000.
Okay.
Well, that's not a lot of money considering the scope of this entire project.
Exactly.
However, most fee waivers, is it typically for external and not internal?
In this one, this would be for the entire work of this conversion on floors 14, 15, and 16, and for the 167 units.
Actually, I don't believe there is any external work as part of this permit.
Okay.
Can we just get clarity from the department on the criteria of the fee?
On the criteria of the fee waivers because I I was under the impression it's typically
external of the building and not internal
workings of the building
Ms. Kovella could you provide a response to Alderman Beal? Thank you chairman Deanna Kovala with the historic preservation division
Alderman the ordinance basically states that the building permit fee waiver for landmark properties
shall be approved for any work that is subject to the review of the Commission on Chicago
Landmarks. It does not exclude the interior work. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Alderman Beal. Any
other question from members of the committee? I do not see Alderman Riley here. Seeing no other
questions, Alderman Beal makes a motion. Do pass. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Oppose and nay.
and opinion of the chair the ayes have it the item is passed next up we will have we have large
signs over 100 square feet in the area 24 feet above grade we will hear them all together i'll
read the ward followed by the address and take a motion at the end in the first ward one sign each
at 1300 north ashland 2001 north california and 2308 north milwaukee avenue two signs in the first
ward located at 1279 north milwaukee avenue five signs in the second ward located at 1050 north
State Street. Three signs in the 8th Ward located at 901 East 95th Street. In the 11th Ward, 1120
West Exchange Street. Two signs in the 11th Ward located at 3455 South Ashland Avenue. Two signs
in the 19th Ward located at 3951 West 103rd Street. Two signs in the 27th Ward located at 800
North Kedsey. In the 27th Ward, one sign each at 1144 West Washington Boulevard, 1460 North
Hosshed Street and 1053 West Grand Avenue. One sign in the 29th Ward located at 3202 North
Harlem Avenue. Two signs in the 32nd Ward located at 1030 West North Avenue. In the 32nd Ward one
sign each located at 1830 West Fullerton Avenue and 1612 North.
30 West Fullerton Avenue and 1612 North Street. Two signs in the 32nd Ward located at 2184 North
Elston Avenue. Two signs in the 34th Ward located at 10 South Dearborn Street. In the 34th Ward,
310 South Racine Avenue. Two signs in the 41st Ward located at 10,000 West O'Hare. Staying in
the 41st Ward, one sign each at 8101 West Higgins and 6417 West Higgins. One sign in the 42nd
Ward located at 9 West Kinsey Street, two signs in the 42nd Ward located at 444 North Wabash Avenue,
two signs in the 42nd Ward located at 111 North Canal Street, one sign each in the 42nd Ward
located at 58 East Oak Street, 663 North Michigan Avenue, 55 East Ontario Street, and 123 North
Wacker Drive. Lastly, three signs in the 45th Ward located at 4059 North Cicero Avenue. If there are
no questions or comments from members of the committee. Alderman Casala makes a motion,
do pass on the orders. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. Independent
chair, the ayes have it. And the orders are passed. We will now move on to the map amendments
in an effort to ensure the committee meetings runs as smoothly as possible. Items will be
grouped together according to witness and will be heard in that order rather than ward order.
Our first item up is file number A-9146 in the First Ward, common address, 1600 to 1760 West Chicago Avenue and 1601 to 1759 West Chicago Avenue.
The change request is a B1-3 Neighborhood Shopping District to B3-3 Community Shopping District and B1-2 Neighborhood Shopping District to B3-2 Community Shopping District.
Alderman LaSpada.
Thank you very much, Chairman.
This item comes out of feedback from local businesses and consulting with our community, like the East Village Association.
We are delighted to see such a...
delighted to see such a bustling and interesting restaurant scene on Chicago Avenue. It is
amazing to see so many new independent restaurants opening. The challenge that they face
is based off of the variety of zoning categories along Chicago Avenue. Sometimes a business will
sign a lease and then spend between four to six months waiting for zoning change to occur and be
vetted before they can open their restaurant. What this means for business is oftentimes
$60,000 to $75,000 of rent out the door for a vacant storefront before they can even put in
for permits. In talking to our businesses and our neighbors, creating that clarity and the stability
up front, knowing that you're not going to have zoning conflicts to deal with before you open a
new business, is going to be that much more beneficial for this corridor. It's one thing
we can take off your plate when you're looking to do business in Westtown. With that said,
We received a letter of support from the East Village Association,
and I would ask favorable consideration from my colleagues.
Thank you, Alderman LaSpada.
Any questions from members of the committee?
All right, seeing none, Alderman Fuentes makes a motion.
Do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you, Alderman LaSpada.
I'd like to go ahead and Alderman Hall has requested to attend this meeting
by remote means under the provisions of Rule 59.
Alderman Beal makes a motion to approve the Alderman's request.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay.
And in the opinion of the chairs, the ayes have it.
Alderman Hall. Thank you so much, colleagues. I appreciate it.
Thank you. Alderman Hall is included for the purposes of quorum.
included for the purposes of quorum our next item is file number a-9144 in the 15th ward
common address is 4639 to 4643 south wallace avenue the change request is a b2-3 neighborhood
mixed-use district to a rs3 residential single unit detached house district alderman raymond
lopez good morning chairman and members of the committee i ask for the committee's favorable
recommendation on this item which returns the properties in question to their original zoning
which is fully supported by the community happy to answer any questions you may have
are there any questions from members of the committee right seeing none alderman moore
makes a motion do pass all in favor please say aye opposed say nay and appealing to chair the
eyes have it the item is passed next is file number a dash nine one five zero in the 20th ward
is she all right right i don't see alderman jeanette taylor or a representative from her
office here so we're going to go ahead and skip this matter our next next file is uh file number
eight dash nine one four nine in the 49th ward the common address is 1721 west greenleaf avenue
The change request is the RT4 residential two-flat townhouse, multi-unit district to B3-3 Community Shopping District, pursuant to Section 17-13-0303-D of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance, necessary relief pursuant to Section 17-13-1003 and 17-13-1001 of the Chicago Zoning Ordinances included.
Who do we have from Alderman Hatton's office to present?
could you please identify yourself for the record please hi good morning my name is
Imani Clayton I'm the manager of economic development in Alderwoman Haddon's office
manager of economic development in alderwoman haddon's office please proceed thank you very
much our item is an aldermatic map amendment of 1721 west greenleaf avenue which is the old
firehouse we are requesting a b3-3 from r24 as necessary relief for a planned redevelopment for
the firehouse to a locally owned co-working and event space we need to do this to make the sale
of the city-owned property possible to to the developer who has selected who was selected through
an rfp excuse me process for purchase of the site alderwoman asks for favorable vote by members of
the committee are there any questions from members of the committee seeing none alderman mosley makes
a motion do pass all in favor please say aye aye opposed say nay the opinion of chair the ayes have
it the item is passed next is file number two three one three one in the third ward common
address 1608 south wabash avenue the change request is dx-5 downtown mixed use district to a ds
dash street downtown service district we have attorney mark rose here to present on the matter
mr rose you can come here you can present from here mr rose if you like front row
sleeping good morning my name is mark j rose i represent the applicant
REPRESENT THE APPLICANT, WHICH IS MR. HENRY S. REINKE AND A COMPANY WHICH HE FORMED AND ORDERS TO
HOLD TITLE TO THE PROPERTY AT 1608 SOUTH WABASH AVENUE. AT THE CURRENT TIME, THIS PROPERTY IS
zoned as a dx5 for mixed use my client has operated a business at this location since 1986
they are engaged in the sale of interior building materials we are seeking approval to reclassify
the zoning from dx5 to ds3 we'd like to build a facility where we can store our interior
building materials at the present time those materials are stored outside and subject to the
elements the construction of this facility would also allow customers to bring their motor vehicles
into the yard into a covered area so that we could get some traffic off the street
with me this morning is tim bennett the architect for the project
and mr gary stenwin who represents ownership and we are available to answer any questions
that you may have thank you mr rose on any question from members of the committee
seeing none alderman down yes thank you mr chairman as was stated by mr rose this bill
this business has been in the ward for decades and i support the zoning change that they're
requesting thank you thank you alderman down seeing no further
thank you alderman dow seeing no further questions all the more makes a motion do pass all in favor
please say aye aye oppose say nay and pinnature the ayes have it the item is passed thank you
thank you very much yep we will hold the next two items until the attorney is available to present
we'll go to the bottom of page five file number two three one six two dash t1 in the 26th ward
The common address is 1140 North California Avenue.
The change request is a B3-1 Community Shopping District to a B3-3 Community Shopping District.
Katie Janko-Dale is here to present on the matter.
She's not here.
Everybody's stepping out.
All right.
We will hold her item since she's not here now.
We will come back to this item.
um we'll go to top of page six file number 23163 in the 45th ward common address is 4841 north
lips avenue the change request is a b3-2 community shopping district to a c1-2 neighborhood commercial
district we have paul kopak here to present on the matter good morning mr chairman members of
the committee my name is paul kopak i represent the applicant 4841 north lips llc
The request today is to change the zoning from the current B3-2 to that of the C1-2.
The plan is to renovate an old firehouse.
The plan will be to add four dwelling units on the second floor.
Renovation of the first floor commercial space, six off-street parking spaces are proposed,
two separate spaces serving the commercial use and four spaces serving the commercial use.
serving the commercial use and four spaces serving the residential units with four bicycle parking
spaces. We met with the community. There is a letter of support, I believe, from Alderman Gardner
in your file. Thank you, Mr. Kopech. We do have a file. We do have a letter of support from Alderman
Gardner on file. Are there any questions from members of the committee? Seeing none, Alderman
Laspata makes a motion to pass. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. In the
opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed. Thank you. Thank you very much. Be well.
To go back to the page five, top of page five, file number 23135 in the third ward,
common address is 3927 to 3933 South King Drive. The change request is RM5 Residential Unit
district to b3 dash three community shopping district mark kupiak is here to present on the
matter mark mr chairman members of the committee we're talking about the property 3927 south king
drive 3927 to 3933 south yes uh mr mr chairman uh actually i got a email this morning from the uh
from the planning department and uh i'd like to defer this today if we could
you want to defer this item yeah we we may have to tinker with a little bit all right
vice chair law also makes a motion to defer the previously read item all in favor please say aye
aye oppose say nay in opinion chair the ayes have it this item is deferred thank you next is file
number 231723 in the 23rd board change request is the common address is 51 5312 south kenneth
avenue change request is rs-2 residential single unit detached house district to rt4 residential
two flat townhouse and multi-unit district mark kupiak consider presenting the matter mr chairman
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Mark Kupiak. I represent the applicant, owner of the subject property. And on this one, the actual owner of the property is Jaime Diaz. And Jaime bought a three-unit residential building. And he bought the building subject to a pending building court case, which he knew about.
So after closing, he was busy taking care of the violations,
needed a revised permit to bring it into compliance as built,
and only then did he find out that the city noticed that the lot,
despite the fact that it has a building on it, is a split zoning lot.
Most of it's R4, like the rest of the block, but the corner of it is, in fact, R2.
So it's a split zoning lot.
They look at the R2, and so after review, and we were working with Kyle from the zoning department,
says we need to rezone it to rezone the whole lot to R4.
So we're before you asking for your support for the rezoning,
and we have been working with Alderman's office on this,
and she checked with the zoning department to try to understand why at this point we're coming for the rezoning,
but that's what we were told to do.
We do have a letter of support on file from Alderman Tomades.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Alderman Casala makes a motion.
Do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, say nay.
And pin the chair of the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you, Mr.
Thank you.
Our next file is number 23162-T1 in the 26th Ward.
Common address is 1140 North California Avenue.
Change request is a B3-1 Community Shopping District to B3-3 Community Shopping District.
We have Attorney Katie Jenkel-Dale here to present on the matter.
Good morning.
For the record, my name is Katie Jenkel-Dale.
Katie Jankydale from the law firm of DLA Piper.
We represent Humboldt Park Health, which is the applicant for this matter.
The zoning change requested is from the B31 to the B33 district
to allow for a three-story behavioral health urgent care medical office building on the site.
We met and worked with Alderperson Fuentes and her ZAC on this matter,
and you should have a letter, although I also see Alderperson Fuentes is here.
With that, I also have Dan's board from JGMA and representatives from the development team if there are any questions, but respectfully request your favorable recommendation. Thank you.
Thank you, Katie. We do have a letter of support from Alderman Fuentes. Any questions from members of the committee? Seeing none. Alderman Fuentes?
yeah thank you chairman this site currently is an abandoned laundromat uh that's fenced up we're
looking forward to humble park health expanding their medical services to the california corridor
also bookmarking this particular corner behind the gas station which will make it safer
and be a resource for our residents it's gone through our zoning advisory council
process and so we look forward to supporting this zoning change i ask for my colleagues favorable
support. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, Alderman. Alderman Knudsen makes a motion, do pass. All in
favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed, say nay. In opinion, Chair, the ayes have it. The item is
passed. Thank you. Next up is middle of page 6, file number 23170T1. In the 5th Ward, the common
address is 5482 South Ridge Ward Court. The change request is RT4 residential 2-flat, townhouse,
multi-unit district to rm 4.5 residential multi-unit district uh ximena castro is here to
present on the matter miss castro good morning morning almost noon but still in the morning
uh my name for the record is humana castro i am a partner
I am a partner at Acosta Esger.
And to my right, I'm joined by my other law firm partner, Michael Esger.
So we're very happy he's here today.
All right.
So for the property, for this matter, 5482 South Ridgewood Court.
At this time, I'd like to ask the substitute narrative and the substitute ordinance to please be incorporated into the record.
Audubon Quesada moves to accept the substitute narrative and plans for the type 1 application.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Polls say nay.
In opinion, Chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute narrative and plans are accepted.
An ordinance.
As well as the ordinance.
Thank you very much.
The property is located in an RT4 zoning district.
It is improved with a single-family home with a rear two-story addition, and there is no parking.
We're seeking to rezone the property to an RM4.5 to rebuild the addition at the exact location in order to expand the current kitchen.
the height will remain the same there will be no parking and we're seeking variations as part of
the type 1 plans including reducing the front setback reducing the side setback reducing the
combined setbacks reducing the rear yard setback and reducing rear yard open space we have the
support of the immediate neighbors uh and also from the alderman and we'd like to seek your
favorable favorable consideration for this matter. Thank you. We do have a letter of support from
Alderman Yancey on file. Are there any questions from members of the committee? All right. Seeing
none, Alderman Beal makes a motion to accept the... Okay, I'm sorry. If there are no further
questions, members, do I hear a motion? Do pass. Alderman Beal makes a motion. Do pass. All in favor,
please say aye. Opposed, say nay. And depending on the chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed.
thank you as amended thank you I'd like to also acknowledge Alderman Ramirez for
the purposes of quorum our next item is file number 23171-T1 in the 24th Ward
171-T1 in the 24th Ward. The common address is 4125 and 4127 West Fifth Avenue. The change
request is RT4 Residential 2 Flat Townhouse and Multi-Unit District to RM4.5 Residential
Multi-Unit District. Attorney Jimena Castro is here to present on the matter. Thank you very
much, Mr. Chairman. Again, for the record, my name is Jimena Castro. I'm a partner at Acosta
esger here today for the matter located at the two matters located at 21 uh 4125 and 4127
west 5th avenue at this time i'd like to ask for the substitute ordinance to please be incorporated
into the record uh just the ordinance all right um alderman fuentes moves to accept the substitute
ordinance and a ordinance all in favor please say aye aye oppose a nay and pineture the ayes have
it thank you very much substitute ordinances in front of us thank you very much uh the properties
uh are zoned rt4 they are two vacant lots side by side and the lots are uh determined to be one
zoning lot we're seeking to rezone to an rm 4.5 to subdivide the lots into two zoning lots and
in that uh in that line also construct two buildings uh both three stories both will
include three units, two parking spaces on each lot, and three bicycle spaces on each lot.
As part of the type one rezoning, we're also seeking variations to include relief for reducing
the east side setback on both lots, reducing the combined setbacks on both lots, and reducing the
rear yard setback on both lots. We have aldermanic support and as well as neighbor support, and we'd
like to seek your favorable consideration for this matter. Thank you. And any question from
Thank you and any question from members of the committee and one question are these rentals or?
These are rentals. Okay. Any other questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none
Alderman Dowell
makes a motion do pass as
As amended all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed say nay. In punitive chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed as amended.
All right, the next item will be deferred file number 23173-T1 in the 25th Ward the common address is
2142 west 18th place the change request is rt4 residential two flat townhouse and multi-unit
district for rm5 residential multi-unit district alderman beal makes a motion to defer previously
read item all in favor place say aye aye all opposed say nay and pin your chair the ayes have
it the item is deferred thank you next next up is file number 23169-t1 in the 32nd ward
Common address is 2315 to 2317 West Berry Avenue.
The change request is RS3 Residential Single Unit,
Detached House District to RT4 Residential 2 Flat,
Townhouse and Multi-Unit District.
Michael Esger is here to present on the matter.
Michael.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
Michael Esger, on behalf of the applicant 2317 West Berry LLC,
or Berry LLC,
and the last month we were before you to,
and received approval for a for sale townhome project on the river in the 32nd ward and at
that time we referenced that the off the affordable housing solution would be done off-site we've been
working closely with the department of housing and with the alderman's office to have 2317
Westbury be that off-site solution, so the rezoning today allows for an expansion of
expansion of the existing three-unit building, and these units will be sold as affordable units
for folks in 120% of AMI and in connection with that approved plan development. So we have a
letter of support from the Alderman, and I'm here to answer any questions. Thank you. Thank you,
Mr. Esker. Any questions from members of the committee? Seeing none, Alderman Moore makes a
Motion do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Poll say nay.
Impedio to chair the ayes.
Have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you very much.
We're going to skip the next item on the bottom of seven,
and we will move to the top of page eight,
file number 23176-T1 in the 39th Ward.
The common address is 3244 to 3250 West Bryn Mawr Avenue.
The change request is a B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed Use District
to a B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed Use District.
Ximena Castro is here to present on the matter. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Again, for the
record, my name is Ximena Castro, a partner at Acosta Esger, here today for the matter located
at 3244 through 50 West Bryn Mawr Avenue. At this time, I'd like to ask for the substitute narrative
and plans to please be incorporated into the record. Which address are you talking about,
ms castro yeah um i mean i have no i mean this is okay he had substitute narrative and plans
Let us hold this right now, Jimena, while you go talk to the Planned Department right quick.
We'll move to the next item, middle of page 8, file number 23148-T1.
In the 6th Ward, the common address is 7353 to 7359 South Indiana Avenue.
The change request is RS-2 residential single unit, detached house, district to RT4 residential 2 flat, townhouse, and multi-unit district.
Attorney Agnes Pleka is here to present on the matter.
Ms. Pleka?
Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Maybe good afternoon, actually. I'm not sure. Members of the committee, for the record, my name is Agnes Pleka. I'm an attorney with law office of Jaffee and Berlin LLC. And I'm representing the applicant 73rd and Indiana LLC in this proposed rezoning from the RS2 residential single unit detached house district to RT4 residential two-flat townhouse and multi-unit district.
and this is a vacant unimproved parcel located in the northeast corner of South Indiana Avenue
and East 74th Street and it it has about 10,600 square feet of lead area and the applicant is
proposing to transform this site into something quite creative actually because we have a little
bit larger lead area instead of going vertical for this proposed eight dwelling unit building
or going horizontal so the property is wide enough to have sort of like four sections each section
with two units which allows for multi-generational housing so everybody was very excited about this
project the applicant worked closely with alderman hall and in the community we had our last meeting
actually last friday alderman was very excited about it i don't see him today he was he said
He said that he was going to stop.
I am president.
Hello, sir.
Thank you so much.
We're hoping that you continue to support this exciting project for us.
And we ask for the committee's recommendation as well.
Thank you, Ms. Pleka.
Any question from members of the committee?
Seeing none.
Alderman Hall?
Yes.
First of all, thank you so much, Chairman.
And thank you to your team for, number one, not just with this,
but making sure that I was lock steady for today.
And I just want to say in concluding, it's been a long time coming that we've had this many homes being built in the Sixth Ward.
And I just want to thank Benjamin and his team, his lawyer, everyone who made this simple, easy for the community to understand, to participate.
And I just want to again say thank you and welcome to the Sixth Ward.
And the future is looking bright for us.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you, Alderman Hall.
Seeing other questions, Alderman Beal makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
Opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it. The item is passed. Thank you. Bottom of page 8, file number 23147-T1, 27th Ward. Common address is 2156 West Warren Boulevard. The change request is RT4 Residential 2 Flat, Townhouse and Multi-Unit District for RM5 Residential Multi-Unit District. Attorney Agnes Plek is here to present on the matter. Ms. Plek?
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, for the record, my name is Agnes Plaka.
I'm an attorney with law firm of Jeffy and Berlin LLC,
and I'm here to represent the applicant and the owner of the property, 2156 W Warren LLC.
And this TSL location is located in the northeast corner of North Levitt and West Warren Boulevard.
It is also a vacant, unimproved lot.
Previously was used by an overflow surface parking lot,
so not quite the best use for this for this beautiful property so the applicant is proposing
to redevelop this site with a new four-story residential building containing eight dwelling
units and five accessory parking spaces located at the rear of the property
spaces located at the rear of the property the proposed rezoning to rm5 is needed to comply with
the far and building height requirements we are also asking for optional relief from the rewrite
open space and some setbacks we have a little bit of unusual circumstances here this property does
not have a public alley so all the block all the residents rely on this private drive so the
building and the parking had to be designed in order to ensure that there's no abstraction to
this private drive. We've worked with Alderman Brunette. We had a well-attended community
meeting. We also worked with an extra neighbor to ensure that private drive access, and we had
a positive feedback, and I'm hoping that Alderman will express his support here today as well,
and we are asking for your favorable recommendation. Thank you, Attorney Pleka.
Any questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Alderman Burnett.
Thank you.
Yes, the applicant did a great job with the community
and engaging with the questions,
making sure that there were no intrusions
in preventing their neighbors from getting into their unit,
especially they have a coach yard in the back.
So I want to thank them for engaging properly
and talking about all the concerns
and their commitment to the community
and the hiring practices.
And so I ask my colleagues
for their favorable support as well.
Thank you, Alderman Burnett.
Thank you, sir.
Alderman Wright, seeing no further questions from members of the committee,
Alderman Riley makes a motion.
Do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
All opposed, say nay.
And the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Top of page 9, file number 23149-T1 in the 28th Ward.
Common address is 2400 West Grenshaw Street, 1124 Southwestern Avenue.
Change request is C1-2, neighborhood commercial district to B2-3, neighborhood mixed-use district.
Attorney Agnes Plek is here to present on the matter.
Attorney.
attorney and mr chairman for the record again my name is agnos pluck i'm an attorney with law firm
jaffe in berlin and i'm here to represent the applicant 1100s western llc and again this is a
corner property vacant property a very substandard lot it is about 50 feet shorter than a standard
lot in the city so we had a lot of design issues and and site planning hardships this proposed
rezoning will allow residential use on the ground floor and seven dwelling units uh within the
proposed building with three accessory parking spaces and the proposed uh optional relief
includes the reduction in the rear setback which is necessitated by that short substandard depth
of the lot we've had a very extensive review by the community we work with element urban
We made some adjustments in terms of the design and the number of parking spaces,
and we're hoping that you will support our project.
Hopefully, you have a letter from Alderman Irvin on the file previously sent to you.
Thank you, Attorney Pleka.
Was asked to ask you about the parking agreement?
Yes.
Yeah.
We have a licensed parking agreement, which is going to be honored by the developer.
he actually owns several buildings on that property and along that along that block so
we are going to use sort of all those parking spaces interchangeably as they are needed and
and required for that project gotcha thank you for that we do have a letter of support from
alderman urban any questions from members of the committee seeing none a woman ramirez makes a
motion do pass all in favor please say aye aye opposed say nay an opinion to chair the guys have
item is passed thank you so much you men are you ready
good
File number 23175-T1 in the 32nd Ward.
Common address is 1933 North Winchester Avenue.
The change request is RS3, residential single unit detached house district to RM4.5, residential multi-unit district.
We're going to defer that item, and Vice Chair Lawson makes a motion to defer the previously read item.
Thank you.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye. Aye. Of all opposed, say nay. And Peter, Chair, the ayes have it. The item is deferred.
All right. Top of page 8, file number 23176-D1 in the 39th Ward. Common address is 3244 to 3250
West Bryn Mawr Avenue. The change request is a B2-3 Neighborhood Mixed Use District to B2-3
Neighborhood Mixed Use District. And Attorney Jimena Castro is here to present on the matter.
Thank you very much. And I apologize for the mishap. For the record, my name is Jimena Castro,
attorney at Acosta Esger here today for the property at 3244-50 West Bryn Mawr. There are
no substitute narrative or plans and there are no changes. The property is improved with the long
vacant one-story building. It was previously rezoned to allow for a B2-3 district under a
type 1 rezoning to authorize a four-story building with 30 dwelling units, 1,413 square feet of
ground floor commercial space and 27 parking spaces the applicant now seeks to revise a prior
type 1 rezoning to retain the b23 zoning district but allow a five-story building
with 40 dwelling units a thousand four hundred and ninety square feet of ground floor commercial
space and 25 parking spaces the zoning relief incorporated into the type one includes rear yard
setback relief and reduction of the mla by four percent and reduction of the loading requirements
to zero the proposed change was presented to the hollywood north park community association which
supports the proposal and all the woman sam nugent has also indicated her support uh and given it to
the committee and we'd like to ask for your favorable consideration for this matter all right
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Alderman Spada makes a motion to pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye.
All opposed, say nay.
And pin it, Chair, the ayes have it.
The item is passed.
Thank you very much.
Middle of the page 9, file number 23152-T1 in 11th Ward.
Common address is 3439 South Morgan Street.
The change request is a B1-3 neighborhood in the Shopping District to a B2-3 neighborhood
mixed-use district.
Attorney Fred Augustin is here to present on the matter.
Good morning, Chairman.
For the record, Fred Augustin.
I'm the attorney with the law of Sam Banks.
I'm here on behalf of the applicant and property owner, QHN LLC.
Applicant owns the property at 3439 South Morgan Street.
Property is currently vacant and unimproved.
We are seeking to rezone the property from the current B13 district to a B2-3 district.
The reason for this change is to allow for the redevelopment of the property with a new three-story residential building
containing six units and off-street parking for three cars.
Since this is a type one zoning amendment, we are seeking relief to decrease the required off-street parking from six to three
since it is a transit-served location.
We have worked with Alderwoman Lee and her office on this matter.
We had a community meeting.
all were in support. We're here to answer any questions the committee may have.
have i don't believe so oh we do i'm going to read that into your sure um we have submitted a
substitute narrative and plans for the record if um the committee could consider incorporate that
into the um alderman knutson moves to accept substitute airing plans for the type one
application all in favor please say aye aye all opposed say nay independent chair the ayes have
it substitute narrative plans are accepted are any other questions from members of the committee
seeing none alderman moore makes a motion do pass all in favor please say aye aye all opposed say
nay and pin your chair the ayes have it the item is passed thank you as amended all right good
morning committee members and guests um in the bottom of page nine is document number 23153-t1
in the 36th ward common address is 1921 west chicago avenue change request b32 community
shopping district to b33 community shopping district uh once again fred augustine thank
you chairman uh for the record fred augustine i'm here on behalf of the applicant and owner
west town development llc applicant owns the property in 1921 west chicago it's currently
improved with a two-story single-family residence and a detached garage the applicant is seeking to
rezone the property from the current b32 community shopping district to a b33 community shopping
district um the plan is to also redevelop the property with a new four-story mixed-use building
with commercial space at grade three dwelling units above as well as three off-street parking spaces
off-street parking spaces. Since this is a type one, we are seeking to increase the off-street
parking from two spaces to three spaces, as well as reduce the rear setback from 30 feet to one
foot for only the floors containing residential uses. We have worked with Alderman Viegas and
his office on this matter. We presented the project before the Chicago Grand Neighbors
Association, as well as had a community meeting on it. All were in support. Here to answer any
questions the committee may have thank you sir uh chairman vegas anything dad thank you uh thank
you vice chair lawson the the applicant did go through our community process and we are in favor
of this project and i would ask my colleagues for a favorable consideration on this matter
any questions by committee members saying none all the more moves do pass all in favor say aye
aye any opposed say nay any chair the ayes have it item is passed top of page 10 is document number
23130-T1, also in the 36th Ward. Common address, 1807 to 1809 West Augusta Boulevard. Change
request, RM4.5, residential multi-unit district to RM4.5, residential multi-unit district.
Fred Augustin. Thank you, Chairman. For the record, Fred Augustin, on behalf of the applicant
and owner, M15 Land Investments, LLC, applicant owns the property at 1807 to 09 West Augusta
Boulevard. Property is currently improved with two structures and a rear garage. We are seeking
to rezone the property from the current RM 4.5 district to an RM 4.5 district. The reason for
this change is to allow for the redevelopment of the property with a new three-story residential
building containing six units, off-street parking for five cars. Chairman, just brief history,
the committee previously rezoned this property back in February from the current RT4 to an RM
4.5. That project was a type one. That also was a three-story, six-unit building with six
unit building with six off-street parking spaces since that time um the applicant has acquired the
property the applicant wanted to make changes to the current plan specifically instead of
six exterior spaces we are proposing a garage that will have five spaces but for the garage
our current plan is very similar to the previous plan that was approved
since this is a type one zoning amendment we are also seeking to increase the off-street parking
requirement from three spaces to five spaces, waive the rear
yard open space, reduce the front setback from 15 feet to 6
feet 8 inches, reduce the combined side setback requirement
to 6 feet, as well as reduce the rear setback from 30 feet to
21 feet. We have worked with Alderman Villegas. We presented
the revised project to the East Village Association. I'll run
in support. Here to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you. Chairman Villegas?
thank you vice chair this applicant went in front of our community groups to seek
favorable consideration and ask my colleagues that same favorable consideration for this matter
any questions by committee members saying none all the person fuentes moves do pass all in favor say
aye aye any opposed say nay and the chair the ayes have it and the item is passed
yeah uh next in the middle of page 10 is document number 23155-t1 in the 32nd ward
Common address, 1644 North Winchester Avenue.
Change request, RS3 Residential Single Unit Detached House District to RT4 Residential
Two-Flat Townhouse and Multi-Unit District, Fred Augustin.
Thank you again, Chairman.
Fred Augustin, for the record, I'm here on behalf of the applicants, Amit and Ann Vias.
They own the property at 1644 North Winchester.
Property is currently approved with a three-story single-family residence and a rear detached
garage.
the applicant is seeking to rezone the property from the current rs3 district to an rt4 district
the plan is to keep the existing home however the owners
the existing home um however the owners are planning to build a three-story addition to the
side as well as a dormer addition a rear rear one-story addition slash passageway and a new
three-car garage since this is a type one we're also seeking relief to allow for the enclosed
passageway in the rear setback as well as reducing the front setback from 14.2 feet to 12.38 feet
reduce the combined side setback requirement from 7.2 feet to 4 feet,
reduce the rear setback from 33.88 feet down to 22 feet,
as well as reduce the setback for the rear property line from 2 feet to 0.
We have worked with Alderman Wagsback on this matter.
We presented the project before the Bucktown Community Organization.
I believe all are in support.
Here to answer any questions.
Thank you.
Any questions by committee members?
Seeing none, all in Riley moves do pass.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Any opposed say nay.
Take the sure the ayes have it.
Ayes don't surpass.
Thank you.
Thank you, Fred.
Next up at the bottom of page 10 is document number 23154-T1 in the 24th Ward.
Common address 1147 through 1151 South Independence Boulevard.
Change request to RT4, Residential Two-Flat Townhouse and Multi-Unit District,
and C12 Neighborhood Commercial District to C12 Neighborhood Commercial District.
We have attorney Nick Fatikas.
Thank you, Vice Chair.
Nick Fatikas from the Law Offices of Sandbanks.
For the record, I'm here on behalf of the property owner, Rose D. Property, LLC.
The Rose D. Property currently operates a one-story car wash at 1151 South Independence.
The neighboring lot to the north at 1147 South Independence is a city-owned lot that the
applicants attempting to purchase and incorporate into um the car wash property
uh so we are seeking a zoning change to establish a uniform c1
in a zoning change to establish a uniform c1-2 zoning district um we did work with the alderman's
office alderman scott's office and i believe a letter is already uh on file happy to answer any
questions you or the committee members have we do have a letter from alderman scott any questions
by committee members saying none alderman burnett moves do pass all in favor say aye aye any opposed
say nay can the chair the ayes have it item is passed top of page 11 is document number 23156-t1
in the 27th ward common address 2342 through 2346 west jackson boulevard change request rm5
residential multi-unit district to b23 neighborhood mixed-use district nick fatikas thank you chair
again for the record nick fatikas from the law offices of sam banks i'm here on behalf of the
applicant uh wood capital investments 9 llc the applicant is proposing to purchase what's currently
a vacant lot at 2346 West Jackson to develop it with the new five-story, 15-unit residential
building. The issue is that the subject property or the unimproved property is part of the same
zoning lot as the adjacent lot at 2342 West Jackson. And for that reason, we are seeking
a type one zoning change to allow for the lots to be divided so that, again, the vacant parcel can
be developed this is a type one application and we are seeking a series of setback reductions
for the front and side setbacks of the existing structure which will remain again the 2342
property is a four unit building on what will become a 29 foot wide zoning lot and then again
the proposed lot at the corner is about 40 feet wide and the setbacks are called out in our
uh narrative uh happy to answer any questions you or the committee members have and again we did
work with uh alderman burnett on this proposal thank you alderman burnett yep this this went
to our community group process almost a year ago um and because the type one application process
type one application process they've had to make a couple tweaks and come back uh so the community
was supportive and i continue to maintain my support here as well so i ask my colleagues to
support thank you alderman any questions by committee members seeing none all the women
ramirez moves do pass all in favor say aye aye any opposed say nay can the chair the eyes have
it item is passed thank you light day for you today up next middle of page 11 is document number
23105-T1 in the 6th Ward. Common address 124 through 130 East 75th Street. Change request
B11 Neighborhood Shopping District to M11 Limited Manufacturing District. Now we have attorney
Tyler Manick. Thank you Vice Chair Lawson and members of the committee. For the record my name
is Tyler Manick, attorney for the property owner of 124 to 130 East 75th Street. The property is
currently improved with a gas station and accessory convenience store. The applicant seeks to expand
the convenience store and modernize it, expanding it to 2,804 square feet. This site will have three
gas pumps and six parking spaces. To accomplish this project, the applicant requires a zoning map
amendment from B-1-1 to a M-1-1 limited manufacturing district, along with associated
variations to reduce the rear setback to 10 feet and to reduce the minimum lot area to for a gas
station to 13 288.8 square feet the applicant did work on this application with alderman hall
the community group and adjacent neighbor who i all believe are supportive with this project
in conclusion i respectfully request that this committee recommend to pass an ordinance for a
zoning map amendment on this property, rezoning the parcel to M11. And I'd be happy to answer
any questions. Thank you. I know Alderman Hall was on earlier. I don't see him now. We do have
a letter from him. I have a quick question. Will this still require special use or is that all
accomplished with what we're doing today? My understanding is it needs a special use.
with what we're doing today my understanding is it needs a special use on top of that okay thank
you any other questions by committee members uh seeing none all the women dial moves do pass all
in favor say aye aye and they oppose say nay putting sure the ayes have it item is passed
bottom of page 11 is document number 23150 in the 16th ward common address 6701 through 31
southwestern avenue change request b11 neighborhood shopping district to c22 motor vehicle related
commercial district. Attorney Tyler Manick. Thank you again, Mr. Vice Chair and members of the
committee. My name is Tyler Manick, attorney for the owner of the property at 6701-31 Southwestern.
The site is currently improved with two commercial buildings. The applicant seeks to reuse the site
for the establishment of a car dealership. To do so, the applicant requires a zoning map amendment
to rezone this parcel from b12 to c22 the applicant has worked with alderwoman coleman
undergone her review process and i believe she has confirmed her support with the committee yes
with that i respectfully request that this committee recommend the passage of an ordinance
rezoning 6701 the 31 southwestern to c22 and i'd be happy to answer any questions
Any questions by committee members? Seeing none, all of Inveil moves do pass. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed, say nay.
Make sure the ayes have it. Item is passed.
Top of page 12 is document number 23157 in the 25th Ward. Common address is 2249 West Cermak Road.
Change request, B32 Community Shopping District to B23 Neighborhood Mixed-Use District.
Once again, Tyler Manick.
Thank you again, Mr. Vice Chair and members of the committee.
again for the record my name is tyler manic attorney for the property owner of 2249 west
cermac the property is improved with a two-story residential building containing four dwelling units
containing four dwelling units. The basement is a full story. It is above ground, but technically
below grade due to the elevated public way adjacent to the parcel. The applicant seeks to
activate the basement with two dwelling units to accomplish this project. The applicant needs a
zoning map amendment to rezone this parcel from B3 to the B2-3. The applicant met with Alderman
ciccio lopez and his zoning advisory board and i believe the alderman has confirmed his support
of this application with the committee in conclusion i respectfully request this
committee's favorable recommendation to pass an ordinance rezoning 2249 west cermak
to b23 zoning district i'd be happy to answer any questions thank you mr manik we do have a
letter from alderman ciccio lopez if you have any questions by committee members
Seeing none, Alderman Quesada moves to pass. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay.
Finishing the ayes have it. Item is passed.
Middle of page 12 is document number 23160-T1 in the 40th Ward.
Common address 2648-2658 West Lawrence Avenue.
Change request B32 Community Shopping District to B23 Neighborhood Mixed Use District.
Mr. Manick.
Thank you again. For the record, my name is Tyler Manick,
attorney for the property owner of 2648 to 58 west lawrence properties improved with a vacant
single-story commercial building the owner intends to construct a new five-story mixed-use building
containing 37 dwelling units 2,914 square feet of ground floor commercial space and 13 parking
spaces to construct this building the applicant requires a zoning map amendment to rezone the
parcel from B3-2 to B2-3 with associated variations to reduce the rear setback to 20 feet and to
reduce the minimum lot area per dwelling unit by no more than 90 percent or by no more than 10 percent.
by no more than 10 percent the applicant met with alderman vasquez underwent his community
review process including meeting with his community group and participating in a general community
meeting which resulted in the alderman tendering this committee his letter of support
in conclusion i respectfully request this committee's recommendation to pass an ordinance
rezoning this parcel from b3 to the b23 and i'd be happy to answer any questions thank you we do
have a letter from alderman vasquez any questions by committee members saying none alderman conway
moves do pass all in favor say aye aye any opposed say nay in the chair the eyes have it is passed
bottom of page 12 is document number 23161-t1 in the 37th ward common address 1745 through 1759
north cicero avenue change request c21 motor vehicle related district to b23 neighborhood
mixed-use district. Mr. Manik. Thank you, Mr. Chair, Mr. Vice-Chair, members of the committee.
For the record, Tyler Manik here on behalf of the property owner of 1745, the 49 North Cicero.
This application does have a substitute narrative and plans that I respectfully request are
incorporated into the record. Yes, Aldermobile moves to accept the substitute narrative and
plans for the type 1 application. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed say nay.
They ensure the ICE habit. Substitute narrative and plans are accepted.
Property is currently used as vehicular storage.
The owner intends to construct a new five-story residential building containing 36 dwelling units.
To do so, the applicant requires a zoning map amendment rezoning the parcel from C21 to B23
with additional relief to increase the vehicular parking ratio, reduce the bicycle parking ratio,
reduce the ground floor Cicero transparency requirement by no more than 25% to reduce
the parkway tree requirement and to reduce the rear setback.
requirement, and to reduce the rear setback. The applicant has worked closely with Alderwomen
Mitts, participated in a general community meeting, which resulted in the Alderwomen
submitting to this committee a letter of support. In conclusion, I respectfully request this
committee to recommend passage of an ordinance rezoning 1745 to 1749 North Cicero to B23,
and I'd be happy to answer any questions. Thank you. We do have a letter from Alderwomen
Do I have any questions by committee members?
Seeing none, Alderman Riley moves to pass.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Any opposed say nay.
Can you ensure the ayes have it?
Item is passed as substituted.
Thank you, Mr. Manick.
Top of page 13 is document number 23159 in the 16th Ward.
Common address 814 West 69th Street.
Change request, RS3, Residential Single Unit, Detached House District, to C11 Neighborhood Commercial District.
Yes.
uh please take this seat right here and then state your name for the record thank you
good afternoon uh chair members of the committee my name is laurie gregory and i'm here on behalf
of washington legacy group llc uh to respectfully respectfully request approval uh to rezone 814
west 69th street um from rs3 to a c1-1 uh this property has been part of my family
a story for many years. It was once the Gemini Hotel, and after it closed, my grandmother acquired
it. So she always had the dream of creating something meaningful for our family with this
property. Since she has a dimension now, I've kind of taken that over, and I'm proposing to
renovate the existing two-story building into a mystery.
existing two-story building into a mixed-use property with a salon on the first floor and
one apartment on the second floor. The salon would be to provide services for the neighborhood as
well as a gathering spot, while the apartment would bring life back to the second floor of
the building. I have support from the community as well as Alderman Coleman, and I'm grateful
for the encouragement. My goal is to turn this property that needs care and investment into
something beautiful. I'm also committed to completing this project responsibly and follow
all applicable permitting, licensing, and building requirements. This building is about more than a
zoning change, but it's about honoring my grandmother's dream and restoring a family
property and giving back to the community that i care about i respectfully ask for your approval
so i can carry her vision forward uh thank you for your time and consideration okay thank you
miss gregory do i have any questions by committee members alderman bill representing yourself or
are you consul representing uh washington legacy group that's my company okay so you're not an
attorney no sir okay um so who filed this you filed this yes sir i'm sorry what's the question
oh no i'm just i'm just trying to figure out um i mean typically we are um are represented by
counsel right uh coming before the property owner representative you're the sole owner
yes okay and everything was filed inappropriate um that's yes is the indication we have no
problem with this and alderman supports it yes you have a letter from alderman coleman yeah
no move to pass all right any other questions alderman riley thank you chairman i just have
one and and um certainly i wish the applicant well one thing that stood out to me in the comments so
Well, one thing that stood out to me in the comments, though, this was to be a hair salon, but then also a gathering place.
And the only reason I clung to the words gathering place is I know in other wards we've had issues where barbershops and hair salons and nail parlors sometimes transition into a different use in the evening.
You know, where you have cocktail parties and events like that.
so i was just curious to understand what you meant by gathering place uh just because salons
are usually a place where community uh gets together and uh share stories while we get our
hair done but also i would like to specify that my partner has been owning a salon for 20 years
um so we're well so you're not throwing parties here no sir okay good that's the only reason i
wanted to ask because this has become a trend in in certain parts of the city um it's a hair salon
by day and at night it's a banging nightclub so as long as that's not the plan i i joined my
colleague in moving to pass thank you um you answered my question you do not also do hair
that's your partner's job yes correct that's great um best of luck to you uh on the project
and carrying your grandmother's legacy um oh i'm sorry a little bit more thank you so much um
yeah grew up in this community used to it used to be a part of the 17th ward um years ago and
And as Autumn and Stephanie and myself work together to revitalize 69th Street, she has a portion of 69th Street I have, a portion between Halsted all the way down, basically to Western, if you will.
And as we try to revitalize this, I think this is a good project.
What I'm excited about, one of the things that we talk about in our communities is when properties go to, you know, the children or grandchildren, they don't take care of them or they let them go.
let them go and for someone this young lady to step up and um do what she's doing it's going to
be an asset um to the inglewood community and i look forward to um you prospering there so um i
definitely support this and i move to pass on this item all right anyone else all the more moves do
pass all in favor say aye aye any opposed say nay any chair the ayes have it item is passed
thank you thank you middle of page 13 is document number 23151 of the 23rd ward
common address 5300 to 5358 west 55th street 5425 to 5459 south laurel avenue
5426 through 5458 south lockwood avenue change request is an rs3 residential single unit detached
house district to b21 neighborhood mixed use district we have attorney warren silver
thank you uh vice chair lawson and good afternoon to you and members of the committee
uh for the record i am warren silver of silver law office pc representing southwest airlines co
and we are seeking to rezone the subject property from the current rs3 to b21 the subject property
currently is uh the site of the former saint camilla's church school rectory uh the last of
all those facilities to close was the church which closed into uh in 2020 the school closed long
before that hung on as a overflow site for chicago public school for a short while but that closed in
2012. There's also a substantial amount of parking on these properties right now, which span
between Long and Lockwood across Laurel. And at this time, Southwest is in the process
southwest is uh in the process of acquiring the property from the chicago archdiocese
to support its midway airport presence which is one of its most important in the country and it's
a major contributor to the economy of the southwest side and in fact the entire city of chicago
the purpose of the acquisition would be to remove these long vacant buildings
and create a surface parking lot with approximately 364 parking spaces for the use of Southwest's
employees and visitors with business at its midway facilities.
It's not being developed for use of passengers or for the general public.
It's strictly intended to support Southwest's operations and to take pressure off of publicly
available parking on neighborhood streets.
uh in order to allow the use uh as a non-accessory parking we would need to the rezoning to the b21
zoning district uh midway chamber of commerce we've communicated uh with that group and they're
very much in favor of it as is uh Alderwoman Tabaris who I understand has sent you a letter
of support on the matter and we're pleased to note that both the chamber and uh all the women are
strongly in favor of this project um with me today for questions if the committee has any
uh are darren hubbard who is the facilities project manager for southwest airlines and jim
job's the senior principal of ljc design and engineering uh who is uh the project architect
uh and we'll happy to hear any questions great thank you any questions by committee members
uh seeing none all the women claim moves do pass all in favor say aye
any opposed say nay to the chair the ayes have it item is passed thank you
the chair of the ice have it item is passed thank you very much thank you bottom of page 13 file
number 23166-T1 27th ward common address is 537 to 547 west oak street 939 to 957
north larabee street change request is dr-3 downtown residential district to dr-3 downtown
residential district attorney steve friedland is here to present good afternoon uh steve friedland
with Applegate and Thorne Thompson here on behalf of Oak Larabee LLC. I have with me today a
representative of the applicant, Mike Roan, who's with Brinshore Development, and our architect
representative from Papa George Hames, Tim Kent. This project is on land owned by the Chicago
Housing Authority. It is being developed in a joint venture between Brinshore Development and
michael's development they have done thousands of units of housing with the chicago housing
authority and other affordable type projects this is a mixed rate development it's proposing a
seven-story building with 78 units and it will have a breakdown of 47 of the units will be low
income housing tax credit units seven of the units will be workforce units so those are units that
can have tenants who have no more than 80% AMI income, and then there will be 24 market rate
units, very similar to what CHA has done in the area over the years. This actually came before
this committee a few years ago. We did a type one rezoning in 2021 on the site, and these projects
unfortunately take a long time to develop. The financing took a long time to come together.
This does have financing from the Illinois Housing Development Authority with tax credits from the City of Chicago for TIF and from CHA for other financing.
So we're sort of here to rejuvenate this type one in 2026.
As a type one, there are certain matters of relief we're requesting.
we're requesting a rear yard relief which you can see there's a slight bump out into the rear yard
to go from 38.2 feet to 23 feet 3 and 3 8 inches and then there's other relief we're requesting
for the fact that this site is transit served and affordable there are no changes to the type
one drawings or the type one narrative that we submitted um i believe alder brunette is still
here or was here um i know that we have his support but um we would certainly be willing
to take any questions the committee might have thank you thank you uh alderman riley
given that this is just a few blocks north of my ward i'm curious do we have any renderings
to see what this actually looks like
rather than a massing diagram?
You know, we can certainly show them to you, Alderman.
For the type one drawings,
we wanted to highlight the setback issue.
I mean, this project has gone through quite a bit
of review with DPD, but we certainly have them.
I understand, but you're looking for this body
to vote for it.
and you know you've explained that the financing has been difficult to package you've experienced
delays sometimes that also even though you have an excellent architect that can result in
value engineering the aesthetic of the building um it might building materials used maybe cheaper
cheaper so if you could go to one of our other there there are um i mean that though these are
not obviously renderings but these though though no the go back to the other one yeah so we have
elevation drawings and you know it does indicate obviously you know the materials and the look of
the building um we also have renderings but they're not in the package that's up on the screen
okay chairman i would just suggest that in the future as we're bringing back projects before
this committee that renderings be available so we can actually look at what the final product
will be and i understand that these folks have received previous approval so i understand maybe
they didn't feel like they had to but i think that's important especially in the interest of
transparency yeah i appreciate those comments ultimately we'll we'll we'll do that moving
forward i would have liked to have seen some renderings as well um but just so i'm clear
where we're talking about precast concrete, essentially.
Yeah, maybe, Tim, would you like to take this mic?
It's on.
It is a precast structure.
Identify yourself with it.
I'm sorry.
My name is Tim Kent.
I'm a partner with Papa George Hames Architects here in Chicago.
It is a precast structure.
It's a light precast structure.
The detailing is quite elaborate.
It's a very urban building, and I think it's quite a handsome design.
I think it's going to fit very well into the neighborhood.
And we went through an extensive process with DPD back in 2022.
The design has not changed since then, and they ultimately approved the design.
Okay.
Again, I'm not going to hold this project up.
I'm not going to belabor the point, but speaking with DPD is one piece of the process.
That's the bureaucratic piece.
getting the approval for the project, that's what we do.
And so, and I obviously am a big fan of architecture
and I know Papa George Hames does wonderful work.
I would like to see their work on the big screens.
i would like to see their work on the big screens we know what we're voting for
um so maybe chairman between now and the council votes someone could send over a copy of the
renderings to me so i know my constituents to the south of this project will have great interest in
what this building would look like thank you chairman if you could provide that through the
chair yeah through the chair we'll get that to disseminate that to the members of the absolutely
we'll have the two this afternoon thank you is dpd here as well yeah if moving forward if we can get
those uh any renderings that are available for for projects okay will do appreciate it
any other questions from members of the committee all right seeing none uh alderman ramirez makes
a motion do pass all in favor please say aye opposed say nay and pin your chair the ayes have
it yet it is passed thank you top of page 14 file number 23165-t1 and 28th ward common address is
1140 to 1144 South California Avenue. Change request is the C1-2 Neighborhood Commercial
District to C1-3 Commercial District. Daniel Law is here to present on behalf of the matter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. This is 1140-44 South California. It's application 23165T1.
I represent Great Expectations Learning Academy, Inc., which is a preschool. They successfully
operated just adjacent across the alley south towards roosevelt road for some years this is
an applicant map amendment request from c12 to c13 neighborhood commercial neighborhood district
to allow construction of a surface parking lot the city owns these lots since 1988 so almost 40 years
it's good to see that they're they're being repurposed the applicants president
uh chetandra gray is arranged with the city to purchase these lots uh there'll be 19 parking
spaces um which will act as um i guess it's
which will act as, I guess it's considered accessory,
even though the alley's in between for servicing the daycare facility.
Once again, great expectations.
I understand from staff that we have a letter of support from Alderman Jason Irvin.
We do have a letter of support from Alderman Irvin on file.
Are there any questions from members of the committee?
Seeing none, Byron C. Chalopez makes a motion, do pass.
All in favor, please say aye.
I oppose, say nay, and opinion.
Chair, the ayes have it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Middle of page 14, file number 23177-T1, 28th Ward,
common address 1001 to 1003 South Campbell Avenue.
The change request is RT 3.5 residential two-flat townhouse
and multi-unit district.
It's an RT 4 residential two-flat townhouse
and multi-unit district.
Attorney Tom Pekarski is here to present.
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the committee.
I am Tom Pekarski of the law firm of Gordon and Pekarski.
representing Orlando Valdez, who is the owner and applicant of the property at 1003-03 South
Campbell Avenue. Thank you for giving us an opportunity to speak to you this morning.
We're before you seeking approval of an application to amend the zoning of the property
currently commonly known as 1003-03 South Campbell Avenue from the current RT 3.5 to
that of an RT4. Subject property is composed of two legal lots whose aggregate measurement is 41.71
by 45.8 feet. It is unimproved. Mr. Valdez seeks the zoning amendment to improve the site with a
single family home with the intention that it be his family's residence. The lot is not buildable
under the present zoning due to the insufficient lot area, thus necessitating the present
application we have reviewed the proposal with Alderman Irvin who has issued his support in
the form of a letter previously submitted to the chair and we have presented the plan to the
chair and we have presented the plan to the tri-taylor community association which is also
supportive and therefore we ask a vote of the committee recommending approval of the application
to the full city council thank you we do have a letter of support from alderman ervin on file
are there any questions from members of the committee seeing none alderman clay makes a
motion do pass all in favor please say aye aye all opposed say nay opinion chair of the ice have
But the item is passed.
Thank you, and have a great day.
Thank you.
Next is file number 23167-T1 in the 32nd Ward.
Common address is 2328, 2834 West Montana Street.
Change request is M1-2 Limited Manufacturing Business Park District
to R24 Residential 2 Flat Townhouse and Multi-Unit District.
Attorney Timothy Barton is here to present on the matter.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman.
um my name is timothy barton i'm with the firm of thomas rains attorney at law llc and i'm here
today on behalf of the laurel homes one incorporated which is both the applicant
and the contract purchaser of the property the subject site is 9600 square feet um this includes
this includes four separate parcels three of which are zoned m1-2 the fourth is zoned rt4
and for that reason we've added the change uh to the rt4 district in the substitute
the substitute will allow the will allow the applicant to ask for a variation
for one of the properties for a side septal
for one of the properties for a side setback the applicant is proposing to
build four separate two-story two-unit residences on these four lots the plan
sets for the buildings are included with the substitute narrative and I should
say at this point that there is a substitute application ordinance as well
its narrative and plans and i'd ask that they be incorporated into the record thank you uh
alderman ramirez moose accepts substitute narrative plans for the type one application
substitute narrative plans and ordinance for the type one application all in favor please say aye
aye all opposed say nay in opinion chair the eyes have the substitute narrative and plans
and ordinance are accepted thank you the project plans for the four parcels
were reviewed by two community groups, the Rightwood Neighbors and the Bucktown Community
Organization. Based on comments we received from the Bucktown Organization, changes were made to
the side yard setbacks, which involved separating the group of four structures further from the
two existing houses that was done and that necessary that wasn't that
necessitated the variations that are going to the side yard setback
variations that are going to be requested this the plan was approved or
I shouldn't say approved but the Alderman Alderman Wagesback has no
objection to this then uh he has submitted a letter to the committee for this if you have
questions i'm happy to answer them thank you attorney barton uh we do have a letter of support
from alderman wages back are there any questions from members of the committee seeing none
Seeing none, Alderman Clay makes a motion to do pass
with the substitute narrative of plans and ordinance.
All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All opposed, say nay.
The ayes have it.
Thank you.
Top of page 15, file number 23168-T1, 39th Ward.
Common address is 4301 West Montrose Avenue.
Change request is RT 3.5 residential 2-flat, townhouse, and multi-unit districts
to a C2-1 motor vehicle-related district.
We have Attorney Timothy Barton to present on the matter.
Attorney Barton.
Thank you.
Again, this has a substitute, in this case, a substitute narrative,
which I'd ask to be incorporated.
Vice Chair Lawson 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 opinion, Chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute narrative and plans are accepted.
I'm here today representing the Stagehands Local Union No. 2, which is both the applicant and the property owner for this parcel.
The subject site was previously occupied by an auto repair garage.
It is improved with a one-story garage and storage area.
The applicant, which operates a trade school across the street at 4300 West Montrose, is seeking the rezoning to convert the use of this zoning, the existing building, to an indoor storage facility and change the use of the existing vehicle use area to an outdoor training area for the trade school across the street at 4300.
The applicant is seeking to erect a security fence to protect valuable equipment that will be stored there, and so it is seeking relief based on sections.
And so it is seeking relief based on section 1710-0303-D of the ordinance, of Chicago's
owning ordinance, in order to build this fence at the property line.
Plans for the work are included in the ordinance.
Mailings were sent to owners within 250 feet.
the only response was from a person who was happy to see that the site would be
cleaned up and our office has been in touch with Alder Nugent's office at all
stages of the project and I understand that the alder has communicated her
approval for this project there is where this is recently yep there is a letter
of support on file from all women Nugent are there any questions from members of
committee seeing none alderman casada makes a motion to moves do pass as amended all in favor
please say aye aye all opposed say nay independent chair the ayes have it thank you very much
now we're on the top of page four file number a dash 9150 in the 20th ward common address is
5,000 to 5046 South
Wells Street. The change
request is the B1-1 Neighborhood Shopping
District to a RS3 Residential
Single Unit Detached House District.
All the woman, Taylor.
Good morning, Chair. Good morning.
So this is a vacant lot
in the community.
As you all know,
when I got an office, I
inherited 5,000 vacant lots.
We're now down to 2,000.
So any opportunity
for us to make sure that the community is able to utilize those lots and develop where I am supportive.
utilize those lots and develop where I am supportive of so I am supportive of this
thank you Alderman Taylor any questions from members of the committee seeing none Alderman
Knutson makes a motion do pass all in favor please say aye aye all opposed say nay independent
chair the ayes have it the item is passed top of page five nope strike that yep next up we have a
in ordinance dealing with transit oriental development in the 47th and 40th wards
document number 02026-0025391.
The item has a substitute ordinance.
All committee members will find a copy of the substitute ordinance
in the packets before you.
Alderman Knudsen makes a motion to accept the substitute ordinance.
All in favor, please say aye.
Aye, all opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute is before us.
We have Alderman Martin here to present on this matter.
Alderman Martin.
Thank you, Chairman, and good afternoon, colleagues.
The genesis of this work was a few years ago.
DPD was kind enough to work with us at the request of Chairwoman Silverstein on a corridor study for Western Avenue that started in the 49th Ward, 50th Ward, down the 40th Ward, and then through the 47th Ward.
Significant parts of Western Avenue were underutilized, a lot of vacant lots, used car lots, rental car lots, some of the, as you may recall, COVID drive-through testing.
And so we want to spur development, especially residential and mixed-use development along a corridor that's seeing increasing transit options, not just with the Western Brown Line Station, but also with the Western 49 bus and the 49 Express.
us. So working with DPD, they identified a number of different solutions, many of which we pushed
forward with, including a proactive upstoning of all of Western Avenue in my portion. Other
other alders can speak to their portions, to be 3-3. So that uniformity was helpful.
We've already seen some developers take advantage of that and move forward by right, which is great.
We're continuing, however, to look for ways to continue to incentivize residential and mixed
use development. And there are plenty of portions of that stretch, as I mentioned, that have right
now and could continue to have autofocused uses. And so whether it's the Brown Line station that
I mentioned several high schools, including Lane Tech in the area. We want to make sure that as
people continue to invest along portions of Western Avenue, that they're doing so with housing being
front of mind, as I know is very important to you, Chairman, and to this committee. So we engaged in
conversations with DPD earlier this year, and they let us know that they were already looking at a
broader TOD street framework that we were more than happy to fit in. So through those conversations,
there was an initial ordinance that was introduced assigned to this committee.
The substitute before you isn't something that would apply citywide should people want to opt
in particular corridors, but instead specifically list several in the 47th Ward. I know I'm working
with you, Chairman, and Raymond and Nicole, very good to work with. We have notice sent out to
some but not all of the affected corridors so we're hoping for a two-step here with this
committee's support to tackle two of those corridors not just western um today and then
hopefully next month two additional ones because after focusing beyond western avenue we selected
several additional comparable corridors that have lots of transit options and we want to see
continued growth especially residential and mixed use growth um so with this overlay we we feel
reasonably confident that we'll continue to incentivize that work as well as disincentivize
some of the non-residential uses that we know members of the community would like to move away
from. So I would ask for the committee's favorable consideration.
So I would ask for the committee's favorable consideration. Happy to answer questions. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Alderman Martin. Alderman Conway?
For putting this legislation forward. Just have a few questions and appreciate your segmentation under dash 0603 that you've kind of kept it to your ward and close by in that regard.
And I will say, noting this is kind of an enabling legislation for the city, my whole ward is a TOD, I think.
So some questions I have with regard to dash 06005, encouraged uses, I would ask what sort of the definition of encouraged there is,
in the sense that, hey, I coach six-year-old soccer.
I encourage them to do all sorts of things.
Sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
So oftentimes it doesn't.
And so I didn't know if that had a legal definition, and if not, why doesn't it say approved uses as an example?
I may defer to Patrick Murphy on this one.
Patrick and his team were very helpful in putting this substitute together.
For the record, I'm certainly not mocking the legislation for bringing out the six-year-old soccer.
I'm just sort of saying it's hard to see what encouraged really means.
Noted.
Patrick Murphy, please.
Sure.
patrick murphy with the department of planning uh it's not a it's not a defined term but it is
a repeat of language we use elsewhere in areas in the zoning code when where we like to identify
things that would be in this case encouraged to be done in the area it does not imply approved
it does not it does not presume approval by city council if someone were to propose one of these
uses that required a zoning change in order to proceed with it though it's just uh it's just
descriptive language that we use elsewhere it exists already in the pedestrian street
language that we use elsewhere it exists already in the pedestrian street portion of the municipal
code that already applies and just so you're clear alderman it this ordinance would only apply
in b and c not d zoned areas of the city oh so not not d zoned areas of your ward b and c
just a um i do have a little bit of b and c but i get it well obviously i get the bulk of my ward
is d as you said and i have sort of the um opposite question on the prohibited uses dash
zero six zero four um every now and again there's a weird situation where it it does make sense for
example to put a gas station near a train stop i mean obviously it's so is there a way around it in
the, if there is an unusual situation where it could make sense for have one of these
prohibited uses on a TOD street.
Yes, Patrick Murphy again with the Department of Planning.
So it would function just the same way that a pedestrian street designation, for instance,
functions today.
If there were an instance where a ward wanted to see something move ahead that's on the
prohibited list the local aldermanic office could support a repeal of the designation for
purposes of the applicant proceeding with whatever legislative process they needed and then permitting
for the subsequent use and then once that is complete uh if you so chose you could re-establish
the designation over that portion of a block or whatever whatever that segment is that was repealed
and that would just become a non-conformity okay so you could you could essentially change
zero six zero three two well you you would just so in essence you would you would strike out that
line yep as it associated with whatever you know if the address for your project fell within that
range along ravenswood there would be a council action to strike that line from the municipal
line from the municipal code got someone could proceed with whatever the project is once it's
completed then another ordinance could be introduced that unstrikes that line or re-establishes that
that segment as being subject to these restrictions wonderful total totally tracking now is this
just as a point of clarification is the the street segments part of this legislation is that all in
the 47th ward and i didn't know if other alders that have thoughts on that alderman martin that
are affected yeah i i believe so the answer is yes um i think this is something where if other
elders want to have similar treatment to their streets um this provides a blueprint would
encourage them to talk with dpd um and and any other departments that they see fit to see if
this is the right approach for them but based on feedback from our community this made sense for
as i mentioned two corridors that are in today's substitute and then two additional ones that we're
hoping to bring to the committee next month. I think that's great. I know people bemoan the
fact that we have 50 wards, but it does allow us to have 50 laboratories to test something like
this. So I think it makes a lot of a sense and potential enabling legislation for the rest of
the city. So if no other questions, I'll move to pass. Alderman Conway. Alderman Reilly.
so i'm sorry i've been bopping between our many committee hearings today um could the sponsor
explain to me how this would apply to the d districts downtown i just want to know
should i be caring about this short answer is it will not apply to anything outside of the 47th
ward as patrick murphy i believe uh shared a little bit earlier and can elaborate believe
this just applies to BNC districts as currently constructed. BNC. BNC and only in the 47th Ward.
Great. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Alderman Riley. Any other questions from members
of the committee? Alderman Martin, did you want to close? Just to say thank you to Patrick and
the team, as well as to Joshua and IGA and to you and your team. I know that this has
undergone a lot of changes and we appreciate your support for...
a lot of changes and we appreciate um your support for our community around this thank you
alderman martin alderman conway has made a motion to do pass as substituted all in favor please say
aye aye all opposed say nay and pin the chair of the ayes have it the item is passed as substituted
that's it right all right seeing no further business before the zoning committee may have
a motion to adjourn alderman righty makes a motion to adjourn all in favor please say aye
a poll say nay to pin the chair of the ice habit