Mayor Emanuel will propose a modification to the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) next week that will require developers to create more affordable dwelling units in three gentrifying “pilot” zones.
I’m only going to discuss the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor zone. The press release from Friday, August 25, describes this as an area covering nine square miles and encompassing parts of Avondale, Logan Square, and West Town. No maps have been published.
The proposed changes to the ARO in the Milwaukee zones are different than in the Near North and Near West zones. The pilot would last for three years. Alders Joe Moreno (1st) and Walter Burnett (27th) are initial cosponsors.
In the Milwaukee zone, the number of units required to be “affordable” if a property receives a zoning change increases from 10 percent to 15 percent (if any units are built on-site), and to 20 percent (if any units are built off-site). If a project receives TIF assistance, the floor is already 20 percent.
More importantly, developers wouldn’t be able to pay the in-lieu or “buyout” fee, which is often what happens because it’s cheaper than subsidizing rents for apartments or lower condo prices. Moreno has a rule, though, banning the buyout.
The proposed ordinance also changes who’s eligible to live in the designated “affordable” units in a new development. The current standard is that “affordable” units are available to rent by people in households earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income. The new standard in the Milwaukee zone would be 80 percent.
