[remote or in person] Chicago Plan Commission
Chicago Plan Commission
Development
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. CST
121 N LaSalle St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)
City Hall, 2nd floor, Council Chambers
You have the option to document this meeting remotely or in person.
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Meeting details and other relevant documents will be posted at the corresponding agenda link: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dcd/supp_info/chicago_plan_commission.html
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Kaelyn Robinson
The City of Chicago is developing guidelines for property owners in commercial corridors to convert ground floor commercial space to residential space.
Happening Now - The December Meeting of The Chicago Plan Commission. Hey everyone! I will be live-tweeting for @CHIdocumenters Follow along and find out about public land sales, planned developments, and some best practices for redevelopping retail into housing #CHIdocumenters
10:03 AM Dec 21, 2023 CST
The agenda and some detailed supporting documentation can be found here chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
chicago.gov/city/en/depts/…
The Chicago Plan Commission comes to us courtesy of the great fire and the effort to rebuild and expand the city. It has undergone many changes and undertaken many tasks since then.
The Commission, now part of the Dept of Planning and Development, has had a more modest recent past. It has overseen planned developments and TIF spending, it focuses on the zoning ordinance and the lakefront protection ordinance, as well as approves sales of city owned land.
The Commission hasn't orchestrated grand changes over recent decades, despite many planners wishes.
The Chicago Plan Commission is composed of 23 members. 10 members of the public - all appointed by the Mayor. These positions are usually filled with industry folks like developers and architects. And 13 members composed of officials within the government.
The city officials are the Mayor and the heads of: Parks, the CTA board, Planning, Housing, and Transportation Departments. The Zoning Administrator. It also includes the Alderpeople who chair related committees in city council.
So that is the chairs of Finance, Transportation and Pedestrian Safety, Cultural Affairs, Housing, Economic Development, and Zoning.
The Chairperson of the Chicago Plan Commission is Laura Flores, a planner and architect appointed by Rahm Emanuel in 2015.
The Johnson Administration hasn't filled all the open spots here. There are three vacancies on the appointed side. There are also folks in acting roles on the city side: Planning Commissioner Ciere Boatwright is acting until confirmed by council.
Housing and Transportation Heads are also acting, both having been promoted from deputy positions. And the Council Committee on Zoning is also without a chair after another resignation.
Atty Ed Kuss is presenting on the first item, at 354 N Union. The proposed change for this existing building, is a map amendment for the zoning to allow for some of the units to be used as hotel lodging.
Apologies that is Ed Kus, not Kuss. Now a staffer for the Dept of Planning is saying that he reviewed the plans and the Dept has agreed that this is an appropriate use.
There was a question about how this may impact affordable housing in the building. Answer: the affordable units won't be touched. Parks CEO asks about recreational spaces next to the parkland. Will they be open to the public? Answer: Yes, during park hours, but it is private land
Ald La Spata is asking what residents think of this transition? Answer: This use is in their lease agreement. La Spata continues with a question about how the public would see the recreational area and how they would access it.
The answer is that it's complicated and they would need to come to an agreement with the city. Cmr Carlos Pineiro is commenting that the commission is very focused on public space.
Cmr Pat Dowell is asking how many jobs will be created by the hotel use. Answer: 5.
This development is in Ald Conway's ward. His head of land use is in attendance and says that the Alderman is in support.
Our next item is a courtesy presentation on a planned development in the 22nd ward.
Nolan Zaroff (sp?) is presenting for the Dept of Planning. This application is being made by the Chicago Housing Authority. The development is known as LeClaire Courts.
CHA is presenting now and discussing open space and a pedestrian corridor, as well as storm water management and other traffic infrastructure
This is CHA land and so, the presenter says that, "the vast majority of the units will be affordable units." She does not say whether any of the units would be made available to CHA residents, or those on decade long waiting lists to obtain public housing.
Mayor Richard M Daley oversaw many demolitions of public housing as part of his so-called "Plan for Transformation" in 1999. Many of these sites, including Le Claire Court have yet to be redevelopped, those some as we see are in progress.
The idea of the "plan" is to redevelop with mixed use and mixed income, so that public housing residents aren't siloed in giant towers.
See David Roeder for the Sun-Times chicago.suntimes.com/business/2023/…
chicago.suntimes.com/business/2023/…
Mr George Blakemore is speaking on this item, saying that government officials are exploiting black people. Mr. Blakemore is asking who is the developper and how many black people will work on this project?
Cmr Dowell is asking about the public housing. Ann McKenzie is saying that 80% of units will be affordable and that half of those will be eligible for housing vouchers.
Ann McKenzie is also being asked whether residents and community members will be employed. She says that these things will be "monitored" through each phase of development.
Cmr Brumfield is asking what is driving the large percentage of one bedroom units. McKenzie replies that the largest segment of the wait list is for one bedroom units.
She is also commenting that the CHA is "co-developing" with Cabrera Capital.
Cmr La Spata asks about transit options. Another Cmr, the head of CDOT, Tom Carney, is discussing the added pedestrian and car infrastructure.
Cmr Escareño, Parks Head, is asking about the courtyards and green open space.
One presenter is speaking to the design that she asserts "draws in" pedestrians, even though the pedestrian corridor is cut through with "vehicular access." Escareño mentioned that it looks like a parking lot. Bike parking is discussed as well.
There is a question about the timeline. The developmer is answering that there are pieces to be negotiated with infrastructure and financing before they ngs can begin. He says on site work will begin "aspirationally" at the end of March.
The developper immediately walked that back, saying it may take until early fall.
Cmr. Guacolda Reyes is asking about the demographics of people that may benefit from the subsidy. How many Latine families will benefit?
McKenzie from the CHA is back. She comments that there will be a separate wait list for this project which is open and she says people should sign up. She then says that they have let people know and they should have already signed up.
Here's one more resource on Le Claire Courts and the supposed right of return for former residents of the demolished housing chicagoreader.com/news-politics/…
chicagoreader.com/news-politics/…
There is no vote here, it was a presentation on the progress made on already approved phases of development.
The next item is DPD staffer, Kathryn Hurd. She is discussing new guidelines for ground floor housing on commercial corridors. This guide will be presented later on, as a toolkit not an ordinance or policy.
Hurd mentions that there may be some conflicting needs between what housing needs (ventilation, natural light, heating, etc) and also be in a bustling corridor that is also catering to neighbors in the commercial uses of the neighborhood.
Hurd continues that the two factors to consider is Site Design and Façade Design. She said that often when these conversions happen, it can often feel like the former storefront is "turning its back" on the street. She says that creativity will be needed to ensure best practices.
Here is a slide showing a decision tree DPD made to help owners decide if a residential conversion is right for their commercial space.
Here is another slide Hurd is presenting about changes to windows that can provide better accommodation for residential use.
This slide is of an example where the accessibility of these units is highlighted. Ms. Hurd is commenting that the city needs as many accessible units as we can get.
Cmr Sarah E Lyons is asking about egress and other needs at the back of the units. Hurd replies that there are balances to strike. She mentions using "borrowed" light from an open hallway for a bedroom (any bedroom must have a window or door to the outside, per building codes)
Another Cmr is asking about zoning considerations. Hurd is speaking to the process for zoning changes. She says many of these units are being converted illegally and that the department wants to give guidelines to help smooth the way for legal redevelopment.
Attachments
13 attachments
Agency Information
Chicago Plan Commission
The Chicago Plan Commission is responsible for the review of proposals that involve Planned Developments (PDs), the Lakefront Protection Ordinance, Planned Manufacturing Districts (PMDs), Industrial Corridors and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. It also reviews proposed sales and acquisitions of public land as well as certain long-range community plans.