13-48-030 Maximum allowable building heights.

   Except as provided in Section 13-48-040, no building shall be hereafter erected to exceed the maximum allowable heights established in Table 13-48-030 of this Code. School height limitations are not applicable to Type III schools in buildings of mixed occupancies in construction Type III or better. Type III schools shall not be permitted in buildings of Type IV- A or Type IV-B construction. Intermediate care facilities for the developmentally disabled – 15 or less shall not be permitted in any building of Type IV-A or Type IV-B construction. (See Table 13-48-030.)

   Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the height limitation for a building in the Wrigley Field Adjacent Area in which a special club license is located shall be as provided in Chapter 4-388.

Table 13-48-030 Maximum Allowable Heights of Buildings
Occupancy Classification		Construction Type
			I-A	I-B	I-C	II	III-A	III-B	III-C	IV-A	IV-B
A.	Residential	Stories	NL	12	6	1	4(d)	4	2(a)(h)	2(a)(g)(h)	2(a)
		Feet	NL	150	80	20	55(d)	55	40f	40f	30
B.	Institutional	Stories	NL	10	4	1	1	1	NP	NP	NP
		Feet	NL	130	55	20	20	20	–	–	–
C-1.	Large	Stories	NL	8	2	NP	2(b)	2	NP	NP	NP
	Assembly	Feet	NL	105	50	–	50(b)	50	–	–	–
C-2.	Small	Stories	NL	10	4	1	2(b)	2	1	1	1
	Assembly	Feet	NL	130	55	30	50(b)	50	30	30	30
C-3.	Schools	Stories	NL	10	4	1	2	2	1	1	1
		Feet	NL	130	55	20	30	30	20	20	20
D.	Open Air Assembly		Maximum height established in Chapter 55
E.	Business	Stories	NL	12	6(b)	1	5(b)	4	3	1	1
		Feet	NL	150	80(b)	20	65(b)	55	45	20	20
F.	Mercantile	Stories	NL	8	4	1	5(b)	3	2	1	1
		Feet	NL	105	80	20	65(b)	45	30	20	20
G-1.	Industrial	Stories	NL	12	6(b)	2	5(b)	4	3	1	1
	Low	Feet	NL	150	80(b)	40	65(b)	55	45	30	30
G-2.	Industrial	Stories	8(c)	5(b)	4(b)	1	5(b)	4	2(b)	1	1
	Moderate	Feet	105(c)	65(b)	55(b)	40	65(b)	55	30(b)	30	30
	Hazard
H-1.	Storage	Stories	NL	12	6(b)	2	5(b)	4	3	1	1
	Low Hazard	Feet	NL	150	80(b)	40	65(b)	55	45	30	30
H-2.	Storage	Stories	8(c)	5(b)	4(b)	1	5(b)	3(b)	2(b)	1	1
	Moderate	Feet	105(c)	65(b)	55(b)	40	65(b)	45(b)	30(b)	30	30
	Hazard
H-3.	Garages	Stories	4(c)	3	3	1	2	2	1	NP	NP
		Feet	55(c)	40	40	20	30	30	20	–	–
I.	Hazardous Use		Maximum allowable heights established in Chapter 60
J.	Miscellaneous Buildings and Structures		Maximum allowable heights established in Chapter 61
K.	Intermediate care facilities for develop- mentally disabled – 15 or less(e)	Stories	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	NP	NP
		Feet	30	30	30	30	30	30	30	NP	NP
NOTES:
(a)   Attic floor exceeding 30 feet above grade allowed in addition when used for mechanical equipment only, but shall not exceed 20 percent of floor area below.
(b)   One additional story and 15 feet additional height allowed when the building is equipped throughout with approved automatic sprinkler system.
(c)   Height shall not be limited when building is equipped throughout with approved automatic sprinkler system.
(d)   In an existing heavy timber building the height may be increased to 120 feet, 80 feet for new buildings, regardless of the number of stories when the building is brought into full compliance with the following:
(1)   Chapter 13-76;
(2)   Smoke alarms, Sections 13-64-120 through 13-64-180;
(3)   “Controlled Materials”, Section 13-120-040;
(4)   In existing buildings over 80 feet in height, an automatic general alarm shall be installed and be audible throughout the corridors of the building and shall be activated by the sprinkler flow alarm and smoke detectors.
(e)   For purposes of defining a story in this occupancy, any level above or below the first floor used by the residents, for any purpose other than personal laundry, shall be deemed a story.
(f)   The finished floor level of the third floor shall not exceed 25 feet above grade.
(g)   Mechanical equipment areas shall be equipped with smoke detector connected to electrical system, when building exceeds 30 feet in height and mechanical equipment is located in area above 30 feet.
(h)   Other requirements notwithstanding, three floors shall be permitted in one-, two-, and three-family structures when exterior wood frame walls provide one hour protection from fire exposure inside and out, when the third floor area of any separate unit does not exceed 800 square feet and when the ground floor area does not exceed 1,600 square feet.
NP – Not permitted.
NL – Not limited.

 

(Prior code § 51-1.2; Amend Coun. J. 12-21-84, p. 12140; Corrected. 4-20-88, p. 12481; Amend Coun. J. 3-30-88, p. 11381; Amend Coun. J. 11-29-89, p. 8272; Amend Coun. J. 10-2-95, p. 8040; Amend Coun. J. 1-11-06, p. 68371, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 55278, Art. VI, § 7)

13-48-040 Exceptions to height limitations.

   (a)   Towers, steeples and similar structures, not intended or used for human occupancy and not exceeding in area 25 percent of the ground area of the building on which they are erected, may be erected to a height not exceeding 60 feet above the height limitations established in Section 13-48-030, except that water tanks or towers for fire protection purposes, whether supported directly on buildings or on independent ground structures, may be erected to a height not exceeding 60 feet above the maximum height of the building or group of buildings which is served or protected by such water tanks; provided that the height limitation of such structures constructed on a building in the Wrigley Field Adjacent Area in which special club license is located shall be as provided in Chapter 4-388.

(Prior code § 51-1.3; Amend Coun. J. 1-11-06, p. 68371, § 3)

13-48-050 Area limitations.

   Every building or structure hereafter erected shall conform to the requirements of area limitations as provided in Sections 13-48-060 to 13-48-090, inclusive.

(Prior code § 51-2)

13-48-060 Application of area limitations.

   (a)   The maximum floor area of buildings shall be governed by the occupancy classification, the number of stories and the type of construction as required in this section.

   (b)   Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent the application of other area restrictions required by the Chicago Zoning Ordinance.

   (c)   In the application of area limitations, each part of a building separated from all other parts of the building by fire walls as defined in Section 15-8-020 shall be deemed to be a separate building.

   (d)   The area of a basement shall not exceed the maximum floor area permitted for the building; provided, however, that every basement exceeding 40,000 square feet in area shall be subdivided by fire walls complying with the requirements of Section 15-8-010 into areas not exceeding 40,000 square feet. The maximum undivided area of a basement may be increased to 80,000 square feet when the building is equipped throughout with an approved automatic sprinkler system in accordance with Chapter 15-16 of the municipal code.

(Prior code § 51-2.4; Amend Coun. J. 2-13-85, p. 13526)

13-48-070 Area limitations – One-story buildings.

   Except as provided in Section 13-48-090, the floor area of any one-story building shall not exceed the basic areas established in Table 13-48-070. (See Table 13-48-070.)

(Prior code § 51-2.2)

Table 13-48-070 Basic Maximum Areas – One Story Buildings (Square Feet)
Occupancy Classification		Construction Type
		I-A	I-B	I-C	II	III-A	III-B	III-C	IV-A	IV-B
A.	Residential	NL	NL	24,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	8,000	5,000	3,000
B.	Institutional	NL	NL	16,000	6,000	6,000	6,000	NP	NP	NP
C-1.	Large	NL	NL	NL(a)	20,000(a)	25,000(a)	20,000(a)	NP	NP	NP
	Assembly			24,000	8,000	10,000	8,000
C-2.	Small Assembly	NL	NL	NL(a)	20,000(a)	20,000(a)	20,000(a)	NP(b)	NP(b)	NP(b)
				24,000	8,000	10,000	8,000	5,000(c)	3,000(c)	1,500(c)
C-3.	Schools	NL	NL	NL(a)	20,000(a)	25,000(a)	20,000(a)
				24,000	8,000	10,000	8,000	6,000	4,000	2,000
D.	Open Air Assembly	Maximum areas established in Chapter 13-88
E.	Business	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	10,000	6,000	4,000
					12,000	15,000	12,000
F.	Mercantile	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	8,000	5,000	3,000
					10,000	12,000	10,000
G-1.	Industrial	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)	NL(a)	NL(a)	10,000	6,000	4,000
	Low Hazard				12,000	15,000	12,000
G-2.	Industrial	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	8,000	5,000	3,000
	Moderate Hazard				10,000	12,000	10,000
H-1.	Storage	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)	NL(a)	NL(a)	10,000	6,000	4,000
	Low Hazard				12,000	15,000	12,000
H-2.	Storage	NL	NL	NL	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	NL(a)(d)	8,000	5,000	3,000
	Moderate Hazard				10,000	12,000	10,000
H-3.	Garages	40,000	35,000	30,000	15,000	20,000	15,000	10,000	NP	NP
I.	Hazardous Use		Maximum areas established in Chapter 13-112
J.	Miscellaneous Buildings and Structures			Maximum areas established in Chapter 13-96
NOTES:
NL – Not Limited. In buildings of unlimited area, no portion of such buildings shall be more than 300 feet from an exterior wall facing an open, accessible space not less than 30 feet wide consisting of a public way, railroad right-of-way, waterway, park or a court, accessible from a public way; except that such maximum distance from an exterior wall may not be more than 500 feet in buildings of low hazard industrial or low hazard storage units.
NP – Not Permitted.
(a)   These areas permitted only when the first floor construction and all construction below the first floor level is of Type I-A construction.
(b)   Theaters.
(c)   Assembly units other than theaters.
See Section 13-48-090 for allowable increase in areas for frontage and automatic sprinkler equipment.
(d)   All buildings of Type II and III-A and III-B construction having unlimited areas shall be provided with an automatic sprinkler system.

 

13-48-080 Area limitations – Multi-story buildings.

   Except as provided in Section 13-48-090, the area of any floor of a building exceeding one story in height shall not exceed the basic areas established in Table 13-48-080, multiplied by the following factors:

Number of Stories   Factor

2   1.00

3   0.90

4   0.85

5   0.80

6   0.75

7   0.70

8 or more   0.65

(See Table 13-48-080.)

(Prior code § 51-2.3)

Table 13-48-080 Basic Maximum Areas – Multi-story Buildings (Square Feet)
Occupancy Classification		Construction Type
		I-A	I-B	I-C	II	III-A	III-B	III-C	IV-A	IV-B
A.	Residential	NL	NL	20,000	NP	8,000	8,000	6,000	4,000	2,000
B.	Institutional	30,000	16,000	12,000	NP	NP	NP	NP	NP	NP
C-1.	Assembly	NL	NL	16,000	NP	6,000	6,000	NP	NP	NP
C-2.	Small Assembly	NL	NL	16,000	NP	6,000	6,000	NP	NP	NP
C-3.	Schools	NL	NL	16,000	NP	6,000	6,000	NP	NP	NP
D.	Open Air Assembly		Maximum areas established in Chapter 55
E.	Business	NL	NL	20,000	NP	10,000	10,000	8,000	NP	NP
F.	Mercantile	30,000	20,000	16,000	NP	8,000	8,000	6,000	NP	NP
G-1.	Industrial Low-Hazard	NL	30,000	20,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	8,000	NP	NP
G-2.	Industrial Moderate- Hazard	30,000	20,000	16,000	NP	8,000	8,000	6,000	NP	NP
H-1.	Storage Low-Hazard	NL	30,000	20,000	10,000	10,000	10,000	8,000	NP	NP
H-2.	Storage Moderate- Hazard	30,000	20,000	16,000	NP	8,000	8,000	6,000	NP	NP
H-3.	Garages	25,000	15,000	10,000	NP	6,000	6,000	NP	NP	NP
I.	Hazardous-Use		Maximum areas established in Chapter 60
J.	Miscellaneous Buildings & Structures		Maximum areas established in Chapter 61
NOTES:
NL – Not Limited. In buildings of unlimited area, no portion of such buildings shall be more than 300 feet from an exterior wall facing an open, accessible space not less than 30 feet wide consisting of a public way, railroad right-of-way, waterway, park or a court, accessible from a public way; except that such maximum distance from an exterior wall may not be more than 500 feet in buildings of low hazard industrial or low hazard storage units.
NP – Not Permitted.
See Section 13-48-090 for allowable increase in areas for frontage and automatic sprinkler equipment.