Western and Ravenswood become Chicago's first TOD streets, banning new gas stations

The Council's 49-0 vote bans car-oriented businesses on two 47th Ward corridors and steers rezonings toward denser buildings near the Brown Line.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 20, 2026

Ald. Matthew J. Martin (47th Ward), shown in an inset, answers questions as members of the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards listen, Oct. 13, 2026City of Chicago video

Two North Side corridors are the first streets designated under Chicago's new transit-oriented development rules. On Oct. 14 the City Council voted 49 to 0 to designate Western Avenue from Addison Street to Ainslie Street, and Ravenswood Avenue from Irving Park Road to Lawrence Avenue, as TOD streets. Ald. Monique L. Scott (24th Ward) did not vote.

The ordinance, SO2026-0025391, creates a new section of the zoning code. It applies to lots along those blocks of Western and Ravenswood, in North Center and Lincoln Square in the 47th Ward.

On those lots, eight uses are now banned: strip centers, drive-throughs, gas stations, car washes, motor vehicle repair shops, vehicle sales and service with outdoor storage, residential storage warehouses and electronic data storage centers. Any property along the streets that is rezoned must go to a business or commercial district with a floor-area ratio of at least 3.

The change matters because Western Avenue still has stretches of car lots and empty land near the Western Brown Line station, according to Martin. The ordinance is written to push new projects toward housing and storefronts, and members said it could become a model for other wards.

"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."

Ald. Matthew J. Martin (47th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct. 13, 2026

No member spoke against it. The questions were about how the rules would work and whether they would spread.

What changes on my block?

If you own or rent a storefront on these blocks, the ordinance does not order existing businesses to close. It governs what can be newly built or opened, and Murphy said a use already in place would be treated as a nonconformity.

The streets must be within 2,640 feet, half a mile, of a CTA or Metra rail entrance, or within 1,320 feet of a listed CTA bus corridor. Martin pointed to the Western Brown Line station and the No. 49 Western and 49 Express buses.

The ordinance also lists encouraged uses: sidewalk cafes, outdoor display of produce and flowers, live-work units, artist space and patios on the ground or a roof.

Rezoning applications already filed and pending follow the old rules unless the applicant chooses the new ones. The ordinance took effect upon passage and approval.

Martin said a Department of Planning and Development corridor study of Western Avenue, done at the request of Ald. Debra L. Silverstein (50th Ward), ran from the 49th and 50th wards through the 40th and 47th. His office then raised the zoning on all of Western in his ward to a 3-3 district, he said, and some developers have since built without needing a zoning change.

"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"

Ald. Matthew J. Martin (47th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct. 13, 2026

Ald. Matthew J. Martin on the Western Avenue TOD street Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct 13, 2026 · 2:37:04–2:38:43

How did it get here?

The original ordinance was filed under Mayor Brandon Johnson's name and referred to the zoning committee on May 20, according to the City Clerk's record. Martin said the Department of Planning was already drafting a broader framework for TOD streets when his office asked about Western Avenue.

The version that passed is a substitute. Martin said it is not a citywide opt-in. Instead it names specific corridors in the 47th Ward.

He said his office hopes to bring two more corridors to the committee next month.

The committee recommended it on Oct. 13 by voice vote, and the full Council passed it the next day.

What supporters and opponents said

Ald. William Conway (34th Ward) asked whether encouraged has a legal definition. Patrick Murphy of the Department of Planning and Development said it is not a defined term but descriptive language used elsewhere in the zoning code, and it does not presume approval.

"I'm just sort of saying it's hard to see what encouraged really means."

Ald. William Conway (34th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct. 13, 2026

Conway also asked whether a banned use, such as a gas station near a train stop, could ever be allowed. Murphy said it works like the existing pedestrian street rules.

"So it would function just the same way that a pedestrian street designation, for instance, functions today."

Patrick Murphy, Department of Planning and Development, Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct. 13, 2026

The Council would first vote to remove the designation from that segment. The project would go ahead, and the Council could later restore the designation, leaving the business as a nonconformity.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) asked whether it would reach downtown. The answer given was that it applies only to business and commercial districts, and only to the streets listed in the 47th Ward.

Conway called the measure potential enabling legislation for the rest of the city.

"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."

Ald. William Conway (34th Ward), Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, Oct. 13, 2026

The record does not show how many lots on the two streets are affected, or how many currently hold uses the ordinance now bans.

What happens next?

The rules are in effect now on both streets. Any new gas station, drive-through or car wash proposed on those blocks would need the Council to remove the designation first.

Martin said two more 47th Ward corridors could come to the zoning committee next month, after property owners are notified. Other wards would have to pass their own ordinances to add streets.

Residents can ask the 47th Ward office which corridors are next, and testify when they reach the Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards.

How each ward voted

49 yea, 1 not voting · Oct 14, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

SO2026-0025391: the roll call, the timeline and the documents