Flickr user Justin Kern (CC)
The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), along with a range of other organizations, has been advocating for changes to strengthen Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, the requirement that developers include affordable apartments in their market-rate buildings or pay a fee-in-lieu to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Today, after a deferred vote in January, City Council voted to strengthen the ordinance. These changes will be phased in over the next 18 months and will require that a greater amount of affordable housing be produced in strong-market, opportunity areas. The fee-in-lieu payment to avoid building the affordable units will increase as well.
We'll have more on this topic soon, but for now you can read our series on the Affordable Requirements Ordinance for more info.