The new TOD ordinance in 2022 — summarized

The new TOD ordinance in 2022 — summarized

City Council adopted a new TOD ordinance, called “Connected Communities” on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. This is also the third and largest revision of the TOD density bonus and parking reduction rules originally adopted in 2013.

The ordinance took effect immediately, which means building permit and zoning change applications submitted after July 20, 2022, must comply with the new zoning code standards.

I’ve organized the new standards into 10 themes, starting with the new definition of a TOD area. Read our full plain language summary. The full summary has code sections ideal for our members who work in architecture and zoning law.

Themes are numbered in case you want to refer to them in a question or comment, or if you forward part of this to someone else.

1. TOD areas are bigger

A property is considered to be in a TOD area if any part of the property line is within either:

• 2,640 feet of a CTA or Metra rail station’s entrance or exit [previously only entrances could be measured and the distance was 1,320 feet unless the property was on a Pedestrian Street]
• 1,320 feet of select CTA bus route corridors (measured to the roadway centerline)

Chicago Cityscape has integrated these expanded TOD areas in Address Snapshot and Property Finder.

We’ve also kept the old areas so that the old and new code can be compared for a given property in Address Snapshot. The previous TOD Status section of an Address Snapshot has been renamed to TOD Status pre-2022 and requires a click to open it.

2. Bonus unit if ground floor unit is accessible

In order to incentivize the quantity of accessible or near-accessible housing, the ordinance exempts ground floor “Type A” dwelling units in buildings with two or more units from the minimum lot area (MLA) per unit and floor area ratio (FAR) calculations.

A “Type A” dwelling unit is a new defined term in the zoning code, and has the meaning of a dwelling unit that complies with 14B-11 in the Chicago Building Code. (Refer your building code questions to MAP Strategies.)

3. Minimum density housing and stopping deconversions

The ordinance greatly expands the anti-deconversion and minimum density rules that were put in place around the 606 and in most of Pilsen in 2020. The Connected Communities ordinance establishes that two-flats or three-flats are the minimum house size in TOD areas that are also at risk of deconversion and displacement.

Properties that are zoned RT, RM, B, or C, and that are (1) within an ARO Community Preservation Area and (2) within a TOD area (the two geographic standards) cannot have a detached house. This means an existing multi-flat house cannot be deconverted to a single-family house on thousands of properties across Chicago. There are exceptions and other rules, which are explained in our full summary.

4. New bike parking rules

The new ordinance requires residential developments — new construction and conversions— in a TOD area to provide one bicycle parking space for each dwelling unit. Previous rules for providing bicycle parking in non-residential projects remain. Bicycle parking caps still do not apply to developments in TOD areas.

5. Parking maximums & where parking reductions are allowed

This one is complicated, and thoroughly explained in our members-only summary. The gist is that there are now parking maximums for residential projects in B and C districts, whereas previously only D districts had parking maximums.

Additionally, projects in RM-5 and higher RM zoning districts are now eligible for parking reductions. Finally, there is now parking relief available for affordable housing developments in RS, RT, and RM-4.5 zoning districts.

6. Trading reduced parking area for more floor area and dwelling units

A new provision allows certain Planned Developments (PDs) to convert floor area that would have been used for required car parking if the development wasn’t in a TOD area to floor area for more dwelling units. This can be used for projects that meet the requirements for a mandatory PD, and maximize FAR and efficiency units, among other conditions.

Each additional unit that is proposed must be accompanied by an affordable unit.

7. Modified density bonus standards

The density bonus standards in the TOD ordinance have only ever applied in B, C, and D zoning districts with a “dash 3” density designation and that standard remains.

What’s changed is that the amount of bonus — to minimum lot area (MLA) per unit standards and to floor area ratio (FAR) standards — is related to the amount of ARO units that are provided on-site.

8. Approval timeline

This is a completely new provision, but is similar to an ordinance that was proposed to City Council in 2018. In order to provide project proposers a little more certainty, the City Council is required to vote on projects.

If a proposed project requires a zoning change and it is an “inclusionary application”, then the zoning committee must vote on it within 300 days or it can be automatically approved by the committee 60 days later upon receipt of a petition from the applicant. At least one community meeting must have been held for that project. Slightly different rules apply if the inclusionary application is for an amendment to a Planned Development.

If a proposed project requires a zoning change and it is not an “inclusionary application”, then the zoning committee must vote on it within 180 days. If they do not, then the project becomes automatically denied by the committee.

9. Pedestrian Street standards now apply more often

In the previous ordinance proposed developments in B, C, and D districts would have to comply with Pedestrian Street standards if the project was providing less than 50 percent of the required car parking or took advantage of the MLA reduction or FAR bonus provisions.

In the new ordinance, “any new construction” in B, C, and D districts within 2,640 feet of a CTA or Metra rail station entrance will have to comply with Pedestrian Street standards. The one standard they don’t have to comply with: permitted uses in the Pedestrian Street code applies only to developments actually on a Pedestrian Street.

Tip: Every Address Snapshot lookup for a Chicago address or property will measure the distance.

10. Other themes in the new ordinance

• All new construction in B, C, and D districts must conform to the Pedestrian Street standards, which is addressed in Theme 9. The projects must also comply with Travel Demand Study and Management Plan rules, but the Chicago Department of Transportation has yet to establish those rules.
• The rule allowing an additional unit in an older building has been changed to require the property owner to show proof that the additional unit has been in place for 20 years or more. The previous code required proof showing that the unit had been in place for 50 years or more.
• Accessible parking design standards and passenger loading zones have been modified.
• The definition of a single-room occupancy (SRO) unit has been expanded to recognize that older SRO units may not comply with the previous definition.
• Rules governing the height of photovoltaic solar panels have been added to the zoning code, and they apply in all zoning districts.
• There are new rules governing the bulk of stairway and elevator enclosures and elevator equipment penthouses in all zoning districts.

The new TOD ordinance in 2022 — summarized was originally published in Chicago Cityscape’s Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.