MPC Helps Chicago Neighborhoods Remap With New Zoning Code
Now
that Mayor Daley’s Zoning Reform Commission has put its stamp on revisions to
the city’s long-outdated zoning ordinance, aldermen and community groups are
gearing up to remap their wards.
To
prepare neighborhoods for remapping, MPC designed a Zoning Change Strategy to
help aldermen and their constituents identify local assets and challenges. The
strategy is simple, but effective: Community leaders organize and recruit
volunteers who learn about basic zoning concepts from MPC experts, then pound
the pavement, observing and recording the good, the bad and the ugly in their
neighborhoods. MPC analyzes the information and provides recommendations that
aldermen and community organizations can use during the remapping phase.
“The
process is meant to empower and educate as much as it’s meant to encourage
optimum application of the new zoning code,” says Peter Skosey, MPC vice
president of external relations. “Targeting the right zoning category is
critical to attracting market interest in a transitioning area, for instance,
where a retail corridor could be reborn as a vibrant mixed-use and residential
cluster.”
So
far, MPC has worked with several neighborhoods, including Lawndale, Rogers Park,
East Village and an industrial group near Grand Avenue. Several other aldermen
also have invited MPC’s assistance. Remapping efforts are expected to heat up as
the City Council is considering bumping up the code’s effective date from Nov. 1
to Aug. 1.
MPC
Contact: Peter Skosey, Vice President of External
Relations
312.863.6004
or
pskosey@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Joyce Shanahan, Executive Director, Industrial Council of Nearwest
Chicago
312.421.3941
or
joyce@industrialcouncil.com
MPC Publishes Progress Report on the CHA’s Plan for Transformation
The
Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Plan for Tranformation is expected to create a
range of new opportunities, from newly developed or rehabbed apartment units and
homes to expanded business opportunities in newly created communities. Indeed,
since launching the ten-year Plan in 2000, the CHA and its partner organizations
have made steady progress.
However,
as the Plan nears its halfway point, much work remains. MPC’s recently released
“Plan for Transformation Progress Report” analyzes the CHA’s accomplishments
to-date and predicts upcoming challenges and opportunities. For instance, the
report indicates that most of the new mixed-income communities are behind
schedule, but it’s noted that such delays are no surprise given the scale of
construction, and the complexity of fostering communication, understanding and
coexistence among residents in these neighborhoods.
To read
the full report, visit
www.metroplanning.org/uploads/cms/documents/CHA_progress_july04.pdf
.
MPC also has continued to build public support for the
CHA’s work by providing stakeholders with information and resources to stay
informed and engaged in issues surrounding the Plan for Transformation and its
impact on the region. Check MPC’s calendar of events,
www.metroplanning.org
, for news on upcoming
public and private stakeholder forums.
MPC
Contact: Robin Snyderman, MPC’s housing director
312.863.6007
or
rsnyderman@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Mike Truppa, CHA communications
312.742.9934
or
mtruppa@thecha.org
EPA: Three-Quarters of Illinois Residents Breathing Dirty Air
The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently reaffirmed what most Chicago-area
residents already know: The air we breathe isn’t as clean as it should be.
In a
June 29 report, EPA identified the entire six-county region, as well as portions
of Kendall and Grundy counties and three downstate counties, as potential
“nonattainment” areas. This means that the level of particulate matter – dust,
pollen, molds, ashes and soot –
in
the air exceeds government standards. The human impact of these findings is
substantial: Some 71 percent of Illinois residents live in these “nonattainment”
areas, and daily breathe air that contributes to asthma, emphysema, heart
disease and other serious health problems.
Once
“nonattainment” designations take effect in November, local governments have
three years to develop implementation plans to reduce fine-particle
pollution.
Because vehicle exhaust
is a major clean-air offender, anti-pollution efforts should include expanding
and promoting public transportation, and encouraging new development near
transit corridors to reduce solo commuting, according to Ellen Shubart, campaign
manager of the Campaign for Sensible Growth.
“Car
exhaust isn’t the only factor contributing to fine-particle pollution,” says
Shubart. “But we can all improve air quality by cutting back on the amount of
driving we do – provided there are alternatives, such as pedestrian routes that
connect destinations like subdivisions and shopping or a reliable rail line or
bus route.”
To
learn more about the EPA’s findings, visit
www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/
. To learn more about the
Campaign’s work to improve regional public transportation, visit
www.growingsensibly.org
.
MPC Contact: Ellen Shubart, Campaign for Sensible Growth
312.863.6009 or
eshubart@metroplanning.org
Contact:
Brian Urbaszewski, American Lung Association of Metropolitan
Chicago
312.628.0245 or
burbaszewski@alamc.org