Chicago City Council approves changes to TOD

The City of Chicago City Council voted on Thursday, Sept. 25 to approve a revised Transit Oriented Development (TOD) ordinance. The revised TOD ordinance expands the boundaries of eligible properties and allows the elimination of required parking entirely in certain circumstances. It also provides several incentives for developments near rail transit stations (CTA and Metra), including increased building height, increased floor area ratio  and increased density. Additional height and floor area ratio is available for developers that construct affordable housing units on-site. Other highlights of the amended ordinance include:

1. An increase in radial distance from rail transit stations;
2. The elimination of maximum efficiency unit count for projects within 660 feet of transit stations;
3. Increased heights in B-3 and C-3 districts; and,
4. A change in approval methods for reductions in parking or in bulk-related bonuses.

The ordinance will take effect Nov. 1, 2015.