This week, Chicago's City Council approved three housing developments – including two where Abundant Housing Illinois members pushed back on NIMBYism - and two proactive rezonings.
The three housing developments approved will bring 489 new homes to three neighborhoods:
- After nearly five years since it was first proposed, the Old Town Canvas development (by Fern Hill) at 1601 N Wells St was approved. Many Abundant Housing Illinois members spoke up a handful of meetings starting with one rambunctious meeting attended by over 200 people in May 2024. Members wrote constituent letters to 2nd Ward Alderperson Hopkins and got op-eds published in the media, and the group sent nearly 600 emails in a letter-writing campaign. This building will bring 349 new homes to a high-resourced and transit-rich neighborhood including 20 percent on-site affordable apartments.
- A development at 3819 N Kedzie Ave in Avondale was approved much more quickly, in less than one year. The apartment building, to be developed by Base 3, will have 50 homes with 20 percent on-site affordable. Abundant Housing Illinois members attending the community meeting, and the group submitted a letter of support to 33rd Ward Alderperson Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez.
- Over in Edgewater, Bickerdike's 90-unit all-affordable and all-electric building at 5853 N Broadway was approved in the 48th Ward.
The city's planning department has also been shepherding targeted and proactive rezonings to increase the development capacity along specific corridors. Proactive rezonings can mean housing construction can start sooner and developments costs can be lower. Two of them advanced this week:
- Rezonings along Howard Street near Damen, Ridge, Greenview, and Ashland Avenues were approved. Multiple ordinances were passed to upzone from a hodgepodge of existing minimal-density zoning districts to B2-3 and B3-3. This will allow renovations and additions of existing buildings to happen without requiring a zoning change, and it will allow new housing to be developed without requiring a zoning change.
- Ordinances to enact proactive upzoning on Broadway in Uptown and Edgewater, from Montrose Avenue to Devon Avenue, were introduced. Three alderpersons – Angela Clay (46), Matt Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48) – each introduced a handful of ordinances that will change the zoning districts from a mix of low-density ones to mostly B3-5 and a small portion will be rezoned to B3-3. The next step is to be heard in the May zoning committee meeting for potential approval at the City Council meeting in May. Abundant Housing Illinois members have supported this work by attending every city-hosted meeting and meetings hosted by neighborhood associations, submitted a letter of support to the Chicago Plan Commission and each alderperson, and wrote multiple op-eds, letters to the editor, and blog posts.
Bonus: Last week, the American Planning Association's Illinois chapter endorsed HB1813, a proposed bill that would legalize Accessory Dwelling Units across Illinois. Abundant Housing Illinois is also endorsing this bill as part of our campaign to legalize more ADUs. AHIL is also a member of the Illinois Homes for All Coalition, which is supporting HB1813.
Take action
We have an active letter-writing campaign for AHIL members to ask their Illinois House representatives to co-sponsor HB1813.
We encourage members to write an op-ed or letter to the editor about any of our four priorities (listed on the homepage); fellow members and leads will assist you devising a pitch or outline, proofreading, and submitting it to a news outlet. Say, "Hi, I'd like help writing an op-ed about [topic]" in our Slack!