Hundreds of future owners of city-owned vacant lots attended a Q&A last week in North Lawndale
This content of this post is adapted from the panel presentation and following Q&A at a public event on May 18, 2017, at Collins Academy hosted by Wintrust Bank, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and 24th Ward Alder Michael Scott, Jr. There is a duplicate event on May 25 at the Ray Kroc Center at 6 PM.
Speakers were Tiffany Williams (architect at Christy Webber Landscaping), Roland Lara (attorney at the Cook County Board of Review), Mark Olson (architect and contractor), Damon Perry (attorney for ARC Law Group), and Kathy Dickhut (deputy commissioner at the Chicago Department of Planning & Development).
How soon after I acquire the lot do I have to start paying the taxes?
If you own the property as of Jan 1, you’re responsible for taxes for that whole year. They will start accruing the first of the year. The city will start closing on lots on October 1. The city owned the property for most of 2017, so you won’t have to pay taxes for 2017 in 2018.
Make sure you receive a tax bill. If not, contact the assessor, or they might come after you for an omitted assessment.
Who’s responsible for removing trees, debris, and anything else on the lot?
The city is selling the lots as-is so the owner is responsible for clearing anything that they don’t want to remain. If there is a tree on a vacant lot that is disturbing or damaging your property, then you can pay to have it removed, or you can sue the city to remove it; currently there is no resource or priority at the city to remove trees in this situation.
You cannot bury the debris. If it’s garbage, you can throw away it in your garbage bin; if it’s something else (like construction debris) you will need to pay “tipping” fees to have it disposed of properly.
Note: The representative from DPD said that the Department of Streets & Sanitation is going to clear debris from lots this summer, and possibly cut the weeds and grass.
How does the assessment process work, and how can I lower my assessment?
The assessor looks at every piece of property in the county, and assigns an assessment value. And based on that you get a tax bill. Of course you want it as low as possible and you can appeal your assessment twice (once at the assessor’s office, and once with the Board of Review). You don’t need an attorney to appeal an assessment if you own the piece of property in your own name. If it’s owned by a corporation, then you need an attorney. There’s no filing fee. Your taxes cannot go up if you appeal your assessment. We will not increase your assessment if you appeal to us.
The assessor appeal period opens at varying times depending on your township. The Board of Review appeal period opens August 1, and they cannot accept late files.
Is there any funding that’s available to build some type of housing on a lot?
The housing bureau in the Chicago Department of Planning & Development (DPD) has programs to help develop housing. Wintrust, a sponsor for the event, offers construction loans.
The lot I applied for is currently a community garden, and I would like to continue that. Is there an issue with that?
I think there will be more of a neighborhood issue than a legal one. You might want to start letting people know that you bid on it, to be a good neighbor, and start letting them know it’s a possibility that you’ll soon own it.
There were a lot of lots in (neighborhood) that weren’t on the Large Lots list this round. When will those come up for sale?
In order to roll out this program, the city’s DPD verified that it owned the 4,000 that were up for sale. The city is currently going through another set of 4,000 to verify that it owns those, after which those will be put up for sale. You might want to contact the Cook County Land Bank Authority to see if they can acquire a property.
I’ve been cleaning up a lot for 20 years, and I’ve been trying to acquire it for three years. Can I fence it in, even though I don’t own it?
It’s doubtful that the city would issue a citation for this, but you might not own the fence after you install it.
I bid on two lots. I got one, but the other lot is on hold, because the people next door are encroaching on city property.
You’ll have to wait until the city finishes dealing with that encroachment.
There was once a building on my empty lot, it was knocked down, and it was backfilled. Can I dig it out and build a garden out of it?
Do you know what condition that foundation is in? Will it be stable? It’s a structure, and once you dig it out, and you gotta make sure that it is safe, and that the walls aren’t going to collapse. I would consider getting a building permit for.
You should call 811 DIGGER before you dig. It’s a free service. Many of these lots might have active gas lines that you don’t want to hit.
If you see rubble or remnants of prior structures on these lots that’s a good indication that there are pipes down below. You can tell where the rubble might be hidden because any plants or sod atop it dies. Remove debris on the land before you develop it. You might not always know! It’s illegal to bury construction debris.
If you are growing edible food, there can be contaminants, including heavy metals like lead. You can get your soil tested, and it doesn’t cost a lot. You can still grow it in a raised bed.
I own three vacant lots, adjacent to my house. I received a bill for the vacant lot I purchased under the Large Lots program. This bill is much higher than the other lots. Why?
A tax bill cannot be changed after it’s been generated and mailed, but you can appeal the assessment for each of your lots.
Does the city put a lien on the Large Lot property when they sell it to you?
The city doesn’t place any liens, but it does place a deed restriction that allows the city to take back the property if the owner doesn’t maintain the property according to the three ordinances (garbage or debris on the land, proper fencing, weed and lawn maintenance) during the first five years.
Am I responsible for clearing snow from the sidewalks around the Large Lot?
Yes, you are responsible for clearing the snow from every property you own according to the snow clearing ordinance, including both sidewalks that abut a corner lot.
Why didn’t my application get accepted?
Some people uploaded a mortgage instead of a deed, and we have attempted to contact those people to give them a chance to show proof of nearby property ownership (a mortgage is not proof of property ownership).
If I’m notified that I’ve won the lottery (in cases where more than one person applies for the same lot), can I start acting as the owner and start cleaning it up?
No one’s going to tell you to not do that.
I have maintained a corner lot for 15 years. Someone said they couldn’t find the owner. I found the owner, it’s a non-profit. I have paid to have this lot maintained. The owner broke grounds to put up a daycare, but they never completed.
If you have taken care of property and the owner has ignored your taking care of it, you can petition to acquire the property through “adverse possession”. You cannot use this process to acquire city-owned land. If you have a “color of title” (a document that appears to be the deed, but may be legally defective), you can petition to acquire the land after seven years. If you don’t have this, then you can petition to acquire the land after 20 years. You would have to prove that you’ve openly and notoriously exercised domain and maintenance of that property, as if it was yours, and that the owner hasn’t tried to stop you, for the seven or 20 years period.
Other properties may be available if their owner hasn’t paid taxes and they can be acquired by purchasing the tax delinquency lien (this is how the Cook County Land Bank Authority acquires properties en masse).
If a current Large Lot owner isn’t taking care of their property according to the three ordinances, can I acquire it from them?
The fastest way to do this would be to ask the owner if you can buy it from them. For the city process, it would take a very long time: The city would have to take it back from the owner, and then re-sell the property either through a future round or Large Lots, or another means.
How do I know what I can build?
The zoning ordinance drives everything from the beginning. There’s many levels of residential zoning. One can do things outside of the ordinance, but you need to seek permission for an administrative adjustment (AA) or a variance. For an AA, there’s a zoning administrator at the city DPD who can give you approval. The variance process opens you up to your neighbor’s approval, and they will be notified and will be able to weigh-in. A big driver of that is FAR, which is a math formula that’s a ratio of your floor area per lot area.