The final public forum hosted by the Mayor's Zoning Reform Commission,
organized to gather input on the proposed revisions to Chicago's zoning
ordinance, was held Aug. 20, 2002 on the North Side at Loyola University's
Crown Center Auditorium. Many residents who participated voiced support
for an inclusionary zoning ordinance as a tool to create housing options for a
wider variety of income levels in their neighborhoods.
The session began with an overview presentation of the new zoning
recommendations. Alicia Berg, Commissioner, Department of Planning &
Development, represented the Mayor's Zoning Reform Commission and welcomed
comments from the audience.
Inclusionary zoning requires developers to include affordable units when
they undertake developments of market-rate homes above a certain size.
Supporters argue that an inclusionary zoning provision in Chicago's ordinance
rewrite would not only assure creation of affordable housing, but also that
such housing is built throughout a neighborhood or region.
Although this was the last meeting in a series of public forums held by the
Mayor's Zoning Reform Commission, Commissioner Berg commented that the City of
Chicago would conduct a visioning process with communities next year to kick-off
the zoning reform mapping process.