By Ronnie Reese
Special to Inside
The City of Chicago passed a landmark realignment of its citywide zoning ordinance on March 26, 2004. A meeting was held March 10 at Truman College to address the new zoning remap and how it will affect residents and their neighborhoods. With Ald. Vi Daley (43rd) and Ald. Helen Schiller (46th) in attendance, as well as representatives from the Mayor's Office, the discussion focused on both priority zoning across all areas of the city, as well as ward-specific issues such as outdated zoning and transit areas.
Code changes will affect residential, business-commercial, manufacturing and special purpose districts, which include parks and open spaces, as well as transportation. The most significant change within residential districts is the introduction of four "half step" districts — RS3.5, RT4.5, RM5.5 and RM6.5 — which will provide smoother transitions between existing areas. There is also a new contextual front-yard setback to promote uniform streetscapes, making both residential and commercial streets more aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian-friendly. An RT4A Zoning District lets builders choose to build standard three-flats, or ones with dwelling units accessible to the elderly and disabled.
The number of business districts has been reduced from 12 to six, providing clearer distinctions among them. A new mixed-use neighborhood district will allow ground-floor residential use without special approval, while a "Pedestrian Street" designation will provide standards calling for new developments to be comparable to an area's pre-existing character. As a means of protecting the city's industrial and employment base, new manufacturing codes will reduce the number, size and type of non-manufacturing uses allowed in these districts. This is intended to prevent industrial displacement by commercial and residential use.
In the city's special purpose districts — parks-open space and transportation — new zoning designations call for greater predictability regarding use, protecting natural areas from development. A special classification has been introduced for road, rail and other transportation corridors, intended to ensure public review and hearings on proposals to convert these corridors to non-transportation use.
For more information, zoning text and maps are available online at developmentcode.com/ChicagoNew/. |
