17-4-0400 Bulk and density standards.

   17-4-0401 General. Bulk and density standards in the "D" districts vary according to the bulk and density designation of the district. Bulk and density designations are indicated by the numeral following the dash (–) in the district name, as in "DX-16" (DX dash 16).

   17-4-0402 Lot Area. There are no minimum lot area standards for the "D" districts.

   17-4-0403 Lot Frontage. There are no minimum lot frontage standards for the "D" districts.

   17-4-0404 Lot Area per Unit.

      17-4-0404-A Standards. All development in "D" districts is subject to the following minimum lot area per unit standards. These standards are not to be interpreted as a guarantee that allowed densities can be achieved on every lot. Other factors, such as off-street parking requirements, minimum dwelling unit standards and lot configuration issues may work to limit density more than these standards.

 

Dash Designation	Minimum Lot Area per Unit (square feet)
-3	Dwelling units: 400 Efficiency units: 300 SRO units: 200
-5	Dwelling units: 200 Efficiency units: 135 SRO units: 100
-7	Dwelling units: 145 Efficiency units: 90 SRO units: 75
-10	Dwelling units: 115 Efficiency units: 75 SRO units: 60
-12	Dwelling units: 115 Efficiency units: 75 SRO units: 60
-16	Dwelling units: 100 Efficiency units: 65 SRO units: 50

 

(See Sec. 17-17-0304 for rules governing the measurement of lot area per unit.)

      17-4-0404-B MLA Reduction for Downtown Floor Area Bonus. Projects that qualify for and are granted floor area bonuses under Sec. 17-4-1000 are eligible to use reduced lot-area-per-unit standards. For each one percent increase in floor area awarded through the floor area bonus provisions of Sec. 17-4-1000, the minimum lot area per unit standard is reduced by one percent. The minimum lot area per unit reduction may not exceed 30 percent, regardless of the floor area bonus granted, except in dash 16 bulk and density designations, where this cap shall not apply.

      17-4-0404-C MLA Reduction for Transit-Served Locations. Projects in D-3 districts located within 2,640 feet of a CTA or METRA rail station entrance or exit or within 1,320 feet of a CTA bus line corridor roadway segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B and which are in compliance with Section 17-4-0301 are eligible to use the reduced lot area per unit standards as established in the table below. These minimum lot area reductions are allowed only if the project is reviewed and approved in accordance with the Type I Zoning Map Amendment procedures of Section 17-13-0302, or the planned development procedures of Section 17-13-0600 (if the project qualifies as a mandatory or elective planned development under Sections 17-8-0500 or 17-8-0600).

 

District	Proportion of ARO requirement on-site per 2-44-085 (Must include a minimum of one affordable unit under 2-44-085)	Minimum Lot Area per Unit (square feet)
		Per Dwelling Unit	Per Efficiency Unit	Per SRO Unit
Dash 3	50%	350	250	180
	75%	325	225	160
	100%	300	200	135

 

   17-4-0405 Floor Area Ratio.

      17-4-0405-A Standards. All development in "D" districts is subject to the following maximum floor area ratio standards:

 

Dash Designation	Maximum Base Floor Area Ratio	FAR Bonuses Allowed?
-3	3.0	Yes
-5	5.0	Yes
-7	7.0	Yes
-10	10.0	Yes
-12	12.0	Yes
-16	16.0	Yes

 

(See Sec. 17-17-0305 for rules governing the measurement of floor area ratio.)

      17-4-0405-B Bonus Floor Area. Under the provisions of Sec. 17-4-1000, development in all "D" districts is eligible for floor area bonuses, over and above the stated maximum base floor area ratios of Sec. 17-4-0405-A.

      17-4-0405-C FAR Increase for Transit- Served Locations. All projects in D-3 districts located within 2,640 feet of a CTA or METRA rail station entrance or exit or within 1,320 feet of a CTA bus line corridor roadway segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B and which are in compliance with Section 17-4-0301 may increase the maximum floor area ratio standard as established in the table below. This floor area ratio increase is allowed only if the project is reviewed and approved in accordance with the Type I Zoning Map Amendment procedures of Section 17-13-0302, or the planned development procedures of Section 17-13-0600 (if the project qualifies as a mandatory or elective planned development under Sections 17-8-0500 or 17-8-0600). Projects that receive a floor area increase under this Section are not eligible for additional bonus floor area under Section 17-4-1000, nor shall a floor area increase under this Section be credited against bonus floor area under Section 17-4-1000.

 

District	Proportion of ARO requirement on-site per 2-44-085-G (Must include a minimum of one affordable unit under 2-44-085)	Maximum Floor Area Ratio
Dash 3	50%	3.5
	75%	3.75
	100%	4

 

   17-4-0406 Setbacks.

      17-4-0406-A Front Setbacks.

         1.   DC, DX and DS Districts. No front setback is required in DC, DX or DS districts.

         2.   DR Districts. Buildings and structures in DR districts are subject to the R district front setback standards of Sec. 17-2-0305.

      17-4-0406-B Other setbacks.

         1.   DC, DX and DS Districts. Side setbacks are not required in "DC", "DX", or "DS" districts. Rear setbacks are required only for floors containing dwelling units. The minimum rear setback standard is 30 feet for floors containing dwelling units, except that buildings in the DC-12, DX-12, DC-16 and DX-16 are exempt from this rear setback standard.

         2.   DR District. There is no minimum side setback requirement in the DR district. The minimum rear setback for detached houses is 28% of lot depth or 50 feet, whichever is less. (See Sec. 17-17-0307 for rules governing the measurement of rear setbacks.) The minimum rear setback for principal buildings other than detached houses is 30% of lot depth or 50 feet, whichever is less. The required rear setback for principal buildings other than detached houses applies only to those portions of a building that are 18 feet or more above grade.

      17-4-0406-C Pedestrian Streets. Maximum setbacks apply on certain designated pedestrian streets. (See Sec. 17-4-0500)

   17-4-0407 Maximum Building Height. There are no maximum building height limits in the "D" districts. Planned development (PD) review and approval is required for buildings that exceed the building height thresholds stated in Sec. 17-4-0900. (See Sec. 17-17-0311 for rules governing the measurement of building height.)

   17-4-0408 Average Dwelling Unit Size. The gross residential floor area developed on a lot divided by the total number of dwelling units on such lot must equal at least 500 square feet. No existing residential use may be converted to conflict with or further conflict with this standard.

   17-4-0409 Number of Efficiency Units.

      17-4-0409-A Standards. The total number of efficiency units may not exceed the following standards except as specified in Section 17-4-0409-B:

 

District	Maximum Number of Efficiency Units (% of total units)
-3	20
-5	30
-7	40
-10	50
-12	50
-16	50

 

      17-4-0409-B Allowed Exceptions. 

         1.   The limits on efficiency units do not apply to elderly housing developments, provided that the Zoning Administrator determines that such developments constitute bona fide elderly housing developments.

         2.   The limits on efficiency units do not apply to transit-served developments within 660 feet of a CTA or Metra rail station entrance or exit or a CTA bus line corridor roadway segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B.

   17-4-0410 On-Site Open Space.

      17-4-0410-A Amount and Dimensions. Except as expressly allowed under the townhouse development standards of Sec. 17-2-0500, all development containing dwelling units located in D districts must provide at least 36 square feet of useable on-site open space per dwelling unit. Required open space must have minimum dimension of at least 5 feet on any side if private or 15 feet on any side if provided as common open space.

      17-4-0410-B Additional Standards.

         1.   Required open space must be located on the same lot as the dwelling units it serves.

         2.   Required open space must be outdoors and designed for outdoor living, recreation or landscaping, including areas located on the ground and areas on decks, balconies, porches or roofs.

         3.   The required open space area is not required to be contiguous, but each open space area, whether common or private, must comply with minimum dimensional standards. Common open space areas must be accessible to all residents of the subject development.

         4.   When located at ground level, required open space area must be substantially covered with grass, ground cover, shrubs, plants, trees, or usable outdoor open space features, such as walkways or patios.

         5.   Off-street parking areas, loading facilities, driveways or required vehicular use landscape areas may not be used to satisfy open space requirements. Bollards, curbs, wheel stops or other similar features must be provided to ensure that required open space areas are not used for off-street parking or any other vehicular use.

         6.   Required open space areas may not be occupied by mechanical equipment, dumpsters or service areas.

         7.   All required open space areas must be located and designed to take advantage of sunlight and other climatic advantages of the site.

   17-4-0411 Floor-to-Floor Heights and Floor Area of Ground-floor Space. In all DR, DX and DC districts, any commercial space that is provided on the ground floor of a building must have a minimum floor- to-floor height of 13 feet.

(Added Coun. J. 5-26-04, p. 25275; Amend Coun. J. 3-9-05, p. 44391; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-06, p. 84870, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-11-13, p. 60173, §§ 4, 5; Amend Coun. J. 3-18-15, p. 105476, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 9-24-15, p. 7499, §§ 5, 6; Amend Coun. J. 5-18-16, p. 24993, §§ 5, 6; Amend Coun. J. 12-14-16, p. 40360, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 1-23-19, p. 94981, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 4-21-21, p. 29627, § 7; Amend Coun. J. 7-20-22, p. 50878, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 1-18-23, p. 59796, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 5-22-24, p. 12076, § 1)

17-4-0500 Pedestrian streets.

   17-4-0501 Purpose. The regulations of this section are intended to preserve and enhance the character of pedestrian streets that are widely recognized as Chicago's best examples of pedestrian-oriented shopping districts. The regulations are intended to ensure pedestrian safety and comfort, promote economic vitality and preserve the positive character of downtown's most pedestrian-oriented streets.

   17-4-0502 Description and Criteria for Designation. Pedestrian streets exhibit most or all of the following characteristics:

      17-4-0502-A have a high concentration of existing stores and restaurants;

      17-4-0502-B have a continuous or mostly continuous pattern of buildings that are built abutting or very close to the sidewalk;

      17-4-0502-C have doors and entrances abutting the sidewalk; and

      17-4-0502-D have many storefront windows abutting the sidewalk.

   17-4-0503 Designation and Boundaries.

      17-4-0503-A Pedestrian streets are identified in the text of this Zoning Ordinance and shown on the Official Zoning Atlas.

      17-4-0503-B The "pedestrian street" designation may be established or removed only in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance Text and Zoning Map Amendment procedures of Sec. 17-13-0200 and Sec. 17-13-0300. Both a text and map amendment is required.

      17-4-0503-C The "pedestrian street" designation applies to all zoning lots that abut the right- of-way of a pedestrian street.

      17-4-0503-D The following downtown street segments are classified as pedestrian streets:

Street	Segment
	From	To
North-South Streets
Clinton	Washington	Jackson
Halsted	Washington	Van Buren
LaSalle	Washington	Jackson
Michigan	Cermak	24th Place
Michigan	Oak	Roosevelt
Rush	Division	Pearson
State	Lake	Congress
Wabash	Lake	Congress
East-West Streets
Chicago	State	Michigan
Division	Dearborn	State
Erie	Rush	St. Clair
Fulton Market	Elizabeth	Halsted
Fulton Street	Ogden	Elizabeth
Grand	Wabash	St. Clair
Huron	Wabash	St. Clair
Madison	Throop	Halsted
Oak	State	Michigan
Ohio	Wabash	St. Clair
Ontario	Dearborn	St. Clair
Randolph	Ada	Halsted
Superior	Wabash	St. Clair

 

Figure 17-4-0503

For a printer-friendly PDF version of Figure 17-4-0503, please click here.

 

   17-4-0504 Standards.

      17-4-0504-A Applicability. The standards of this section apply to all development on lots that abut the right-of-way of designated pedestrian streets unless otherwise expressly stated.

      17-4-0504-B Building Location.

         1.   The entire building façade that faces a designated pedestrian street must abut the sidewalk or be located within 5 feet of the sidewalk.

         2.   These building location standards do not apply to permitted arcades, public plazas or parks, entries to through-block connections, or recessed building entries.

Figure 17-4-0504-B

      17-4-0504-C Transparency.

         1.   A minimum of 60% of the street- facing building façade between 4 feet and 10 feet in height must be comprised of clear, non-reflective windows that allow views of indoor commercial space or product display areas. This standard applies to building façades that face pedestrian streets.

         2.   The bottom of any window or product display window used to satisfy this requirement may not be more than 4.5 feet above the adjacent sidewalk.

         3.   Product display windows used to satisfy these requirements must have a minimum height of 4 feet and be internally lighted.

Figure 17-4-0504-C

      17-4-0504-D Doors and Entrances.

         1.   On lots abutting pedestrian streets, buildings must have a primary entrance door facing the pedestrian street. Entrances at building corners facing a pedestrian street may be used to satisfy this requirement.

         2.   Building entrances may include doors to individual shops or businesses, lobby entrances, entrances to pedestrian-oriented plazas or courtyard entrances to a cluster of shops or businesses.

Figure 17-4-0504-D

      17-4-0504-E Prohibited Uses. The following uses are expressly prohibited on lots abutting pedestrian streets:

         1.   drive-through facilities;

         2.   vehicle sales and service uses involving any outdoor storage of vehicles or goods;

         3.   gas stations;

         4.   car washes;

         5.   residential storage warehouses; and

         6.   strip centers.

      17-4-0504-F Parking Location. Any off- street parking spaces must be enclosed or located to the rear of the principal building and not be visible from the right-of-way of a pedestrian street.

      17-4-0504-G Driveways and Vehicle Access. Vehicle access to lots located along pedestrian streets must come from an alley. No curb cuts or driveways are allowed from a pedestrian street.

(Added Coun. J. 5-26-04, p. 25275; Amend Coun. J. 3-9-05, p. 44391; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-06, p. 84870, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-8-11, p. 7559, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-21, p. 42684, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 3-15-23, p. 61265, § 1)

17-4-0600 Mobility streets.

   17-4-0601 Purpose. The regulations of this section are intended to preserve and enhance the function of certain streets that serve as primary pedestrian routes linking commuter rail stations with the downtown employment core. The regulations are intended to ensure pedestrian safety and comfort, support transit use and promote economic development by ensuring safe and efficient access to downtown's commercial and employment center.

   17-4-0602 Description and Criteria for Designation. Mobility streets exhibit most or all of the following characteristics:

      17-4-0602-A accommodate very high volumes of pedestrians (averaging 10,000 or more persons per work day); and

      17-4-0602-B serve as important connections from commuter rail stations to downtown businesses and employment.

   17-4-0603 Designation and Boundaries.

      17-4-0603-A Mobility streets are identified in the text of this Zoning Ordinance and shown on the Official Zoning Atlas.

      17-4-0603-B The "mobility street" designation may be established or removed only in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance Text and Zoning Map Amendment procedures of Sec. 17-13-0200 and Sec. 17-13-0300. Both a text and map amendment is required.

      17-4-0603-C The "mobility street" designation applies to all zoning lots that abut the right- of-way of a pedestrian street.

      17-4-0603-D The following downtown street segments are classified as mobility streets:

Street	Segment
	From	To
North-South Streets
Wacker	Franklin	Van Buren
Canal	Lake	Van Buren
East-West Streets
Wacker	Michigan	Franklin
Lake	Michigan	Canal
Randolph	Michigan	La Salle
Randolph	Wells	Clinton
Washington	Michigan	Clinton
Madison	Michigan	Clinton
Monroe	Michigan	Clinton
Adams	Michigan	Clinton
Jackson	Michigan	Clinton
Van Buren	Michigan	Canal

 

Figure 17-4-0603

For a printer-friendly PDF version of Figure 17-4-0603, please click here.

   17-4-0604 Standards. Minimum sidewalk widths of at least 14 feet are necessary to promote safe and efficient pedestrian flows along designated mobility streets. Whenever development occurs on lots abutting a mobility street and the width of the abutting sidewalk is less than 14 feet, the building must be set back to accommodate a sidewalk with a width of at least 14 feet.

(Added Coun. J. 5-26-04, p. 25275; Amend Coun. J. 3-9-05, p. 44391; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-06, p. 84870, § 2*; Amend Coun. J. 7-29-09, p. 68784, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 5-18-16, p. 24993, § 7)

* Editor's note – The text of the 9-13-06 amendment to the 17-4-603-D table shows changed street names, but without indicating an intent to amend those names through stikethroughs and underlining. Accordingly, those street name changes are being treated as inadvertent and are not shown here.