Link to full article at Crain's Chicago Business
A final City Council vote on legalizing granny flats and coach houses citywide has been teed up after a key committee advanced the measure following a tense debate over the tradition of aldermanic prerogative.
The measure now headed for a City Council vote would allow for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to be built throughout the city without the need to obtain a costly and time-consuming zoning change from City Hall. But the measure now restricts the number of so-called "granny flats" allowed in neighborhoods dominated by single-family housing.
The Zoning Committee advanced the amended ordinance in a 13 to 7 vote, but approval in the full City Council is far from certain. A vote is likely to be delayed further if opponents use a parliamentary maneuver to block consideration of the measure when it comes up for a vote tomorrow.
Supporters argue the new housing, which would come in the form of coach houses and conversions of basements or attics, is needed to chip away at an estimated 120,000-unit shortage of affordable housing in the city.
Advocates argue ADUs produce so-called naturally occurring affordable housing without the need for government subsidies.
But opponents say the policy is a direct attack on the City Council’s long-standing tradition of deferring to local aldermen on zoning policy in their wards.
"I don't know what alderman in their right mind wants to give up that authority,” said Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th. Beale voted against the ordinance.
"Why do we get elected if we're not there to protect our community,” he said. “By doing this by-right, without automatic approval, doesn't help me control my community.”
Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, said he supports the policy to build more ADUs, but voted no because “this should be an aldermanic decision.”
"We are elected to make difficult decisions. We are elected to make controversial decisions. We are elected to use our own judgment and represent the often competing interests within our own ward,” he said.
The Johnson administration had delayed a vote for a year while weighing whether to include ADU legalization in a broader package of zoning reforms tied to a proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. The settlement would resolve a 2018 lawsuit from housing activists who argued that aldermanic control over zoning has contributed to racial segregation in Chicago.
But that agreement has been stalled with the Trump administration taking over HUD and not forcing the issue.
The committee approval came after Mayor Brandon Johnson and lead sponsor Ald. Bennett Lawson, 44th, made a concession to limit the number of ADUs built in single-family areas. Johnson had previously wanted to allow ADUs across the city without limitations, but was unlikely to win approval.
The city has three zoning designations for single-family homes, RS-1, RS-2 and RS-3, based on the size of the lot. Only one ADU would be allowed per block in RS-1 districts, two would be allowed in RS-2 and three in RS-3.
Members of the City Council would have the option of eliminating those restrictions on a block-by-block basis, potentially allowing for more ADUs in their wards.
Owners of single-family homes hoping to build an ADU would have to also live in the home.
“This ordinance is a compromise,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th. "Aldermanic prerogative oftentimes has gotten in the way of creating affordable housing. . . .the Council today has an opportunity to undo some of the harm of the past.”
In 2021, the City Council approved a test-run of legalizing ADUs, which have been illegal in Chicago since 1957. The return has been limited. Crain’s reported in May that just 373 ADUs had been built in four years, according to an estimate by Chicago Cityscape.
Ahead of the vote, a flood of housing advocates supported the ordinance during public comment.
“ADUs and coach houses are part of the very fabric that makes Chicago’s neighborhoods unique,” said Noah Ayoub, a member of Abundant Housing Illinois. “This proposal is a common-sense change required to tackle our severe housing shortage and build more homes to ensure renters like myself can still afford to call Chicago home.”