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

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   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

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   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.

17-4-0700 Driveways and vehicle access.

   17-4-0701 Purpose. The regulations of this section are intended to ensure safe and efficient (pedestrian and vehicular) traffic flows on downtown streets. The regulations are also intended to promote economic development by ensuring safe and efficient access to downtown's commercial and employment center.

   17-4-0702 Description and Criteria for Designation. Streets that are subject to the driveway and vehicle access standards of this section:

      17-4-0702-A accommodate very high volumes of pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic; and

      17-4-0702-B serve as important connections to downtown commercial, businesses and employment area.

   17-4-0703 Designation and Boundaries.

      17-4-0703-A Streets that are subject to the driveway and vehicle access standards of this section are identified in the text of this Zoning Ordinance and shown on the Official Zoning Atlas.

      17-4-0703-B The driveway and vehicle access standards of this section may be amended 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.

      17-4-0703-C Driveway and vehicle access standards apply along the following downtown street segments:

Street	Segment
	From	To
Class 1 North-South Streets
Canal	Jackson	Randolph
Orleans	Grand	Ontario
La Salle	Jackson	Wacker
State	Harrison	Wacker
Fairbanks	Illinois	Ontario
Michigan	Roosevelt	Oak
Columbus	Roosevelt	McFetridge
Class 2 North-South Streets
Des Plaines	Wayman	Kinzie
Clinton	Roosevelt	Lake
Canal	Roosevelt	Lake
Kingsbury	Illinois	Grand
Wacker	Van Buren	Columbus
Orleans	Kinzie	Grand
Wells	Harrison	Wacker
Field	Randolph	Wacker
McClurg	N. Water	Huron
Financial	Harrison	Jackson
La Salle	16th	Roosevelt
La Salle	Harrison	Jackson
La Salle	Wacker	Division
Clark	16th	Wacker
Dearborn	Harrison	Wacker
State	25th	Harrison
State	Wacker	Elm
Wabash	25th	Wacker
Wabash	N. Water	Delaware
Rush	N. Water	Delaware
Michigan	25th	Roosevelt
Stetson	Randolph	Lake
Stetson	S. Water	Wacker
St. Clair	Illinois	Superior
Columbus	Roosevelt	Illinois
Fairbanks	Illinois	Chicago
Class 1 East-West Streets
Walton	Michigan	Mies Van Der Rohe
Adams	Canal	La Salle
Roosevelt	Michigan	Lakeshore
Congress	Wells	Michigan
Class 2 East-West Streets
Division	LaSalle	Lakeshore
Oak	State	Lakeshore
Delaware	Rush	Lakeshore
Chestnut	Wabash	Mies Van Der Rohe
Pearson	Wabash	Mies Van Der Rohe
Chicago	Larrabee	Lakeshore
Superior	Rush	Fairbanks
Huron	Rush	Fairbanks
Erie	Rush	Fairbanks
Ontario	Orleans	Lakeshore
Ohio	Orleans	Lakeshore
Grand	Kingsbury	Streeter
Illinois	Kingsbury	Streeter
Water	State	Cityfront Plaza
Kinzie	Union	Larrabee
Kinzie	Canal	Franklin
Wacker	Van Buren	Columbus
Lake	Clinton	Stetson
Randolph	Kennedy Expy	Lakeshore
Washington	Kennedy Expy	Michigan
Madison	Kennedy Expy	Michigan
Des Plaines	Wayman	Kinzie
Monroe	Kennedy Expy	Lakeshore
Adams	Kennedy Expy	Canal
Quincy	Franklin	Wells
Jackson	Kennedy Expy	Lakeshore
Van Buren	Kennedy Expy	Michigan
Harrison	Kennedy Expy	Michigan
Balbo	Michigan	Lakeshore
Roosevelt	Kennedy Expy	Columbus
14th	Clark	State
16th	Clark	State
18th	State	Indiana
Cermak	State	Prairie

 

Figure 17-4-0703

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   17-4-0704 Standards.

      17-4-0704-A Class 1 Streets. Alleys are intended to serve as the sole means of vehicle access to buildings and uses located along Class 1 streets. New curb cuts and driveway access are prohibited on Class 1 streets. The Zoning Board of Appeals may grant variations only as expressly allowed in Sec. 17-13-1100.

      17-4-0704-B Class 2 Streets. Alleys are intended to serve as the primary means of vehicle access to buildings and uses located along Class 2 streets. New curb cuts and driveway access are permitted on Class 2 streets only when reviewed and approved as an administrative adjustment by the Zoning Administrator. (See Sec. 17-13-1003-S)

(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)