To: PerezEG@aol.com
Subject: AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE PASSES
Date: Mon, 14 May 2007 16:08:12 -0400
Dear Neighbor:
At a special City Council meeting this morning (Monday, May 14), the City Council voted overwhelmingly to amended the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO), with only two "No" votes cast by the alderman present. The now amended ordinance will require, among other things, the following:
1. Whenever a developer builds under certain conditions that include zoning changes allowing for higher density or in which a developer buys City land, the developer shall be required to establish ten percent (10%) of the units in the development as "affordable," this according to the definition provided in the ordinance.
2. Whenever a developer receives financial assistance in connection with a development, the developer shall be required to provide twenty percent (20%) of the units in the development as "affordable."
With Mayor Daley among the ordinance's supporters, the amended ARO was touted by some as a less "severe" alternative to the "Inclusionary Housing Ordinance" championed by Alderman Toni Preckwinkle. The "Inclusionary Housing Ordinance would have automatically required that 15% of all units in all new or rehabbed developments in the City of Chicago (with more than 10 units) be "affordable," regardless of whether any zoning changes or financial incentives were received by the developer. The "Inclusionary Housing Ordinance" has yet to be called for a vote by the Committee on Housing and Real Estate.
Some of the drama during the debate that preceded the vote on this ordinance involved two separately proposed amendments by two different alderman which attempted to lower the income threshold used in the ordinance. If they had passed, these proposed amendments would have used the median income of the City of Chicago as the threshold in calculating what is "affordable," instead of the median income of the surrounding metropolitan area as the ARO called for. It was mentioned by at least one alderman during the debate that since the median income of Chicago is lower, that the proposed amendments would have helped a broader range of people in lower income brackets find affordable housing.
The two motions for these amendments failed on a simple majority vote and the amendments were tabled.
Please see the attached text of the amendment to the Affordable Requirements Ordinance that passed the City Council this morning:
www.chicityclerk.com/citycouncil/agendas/housingzoning050107.pdf
Immediately after the Council meeting adjourned, a group of about 30 people staged a rally in the large hallway outside of Council Chambers. The group was pushing for even tougher affordable housing measures.
Enrique Perez
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