Politics
City Council Lifts Ban on Coach Houses and Granny Flats, But Gives Alderpeople Final Say
A row of coach houses on Meyer Avenue in Chicago. (Eric Allix Rogers / Flickr)
The Chicago City Council voted unanimously Thursday to allow Chicagoans to build basement, attic and coach house dwellings across the city — but still give alderpeople the final say over whether the tiny homes could be built in their wards.
The new ordinance requires homeowners to use contractors that participate in apprenticeship programs recognized by labor organizations. That requirement does not apply to the construction of any other type of housing in Chicago.
The measure reverses the city’s 68-year ban on tiny homes but creates a patchwork of regulations that could significantly differ from ward to ward in order to uphold the decades-old tradition known as aldermanic prerogative.
The vote comes after more than two years of behind-the-scenes negotiations about what the city officially calls accessory, or additional, dwelling units and resolves a deadlock that prevented a more expansive measure from getting a final vote in July.
By comparison, the version of the ordinance endorsed by the City Council’s Zoning Committee on a 13-7 vote in July would have allowed the granny flats to be built across the city without obtaining special permission from city officials.
Mayor Brandon Johnson endorsed the revised version of the ordinance, calling it a way to chip away at Chicago’s massive shortage of affordable housing despite the fact that the changes to the measure after it passed the Zoning Committee will make the units more expensive to build and allow alderpeople to block their construction.
Only once in recent years has the City Council approved a high-profile project over the objection of the local alderperson. That development, in the Far Northwest Side’s 41st Ward, was never built.
A majority of the City Council refused to buck the tradition that calls on them to mind their own business and defer to the colleague whose ward it impacts.
Although Ald. Bennett Lawson (44th Ward) touted the measure that won the approval of the Zoning Committee as a “compromise,” it was fiercely condemned by supporters of aldermanic prerogative, who say the practice is the best way to ensure that Chicago residents live in neighborhoods governed by one of their own: someone who lives near them, understands their issues and is not only accessible — but also accountable to them on Election Day.
A federal probe found that aldermanic prerogative fuels segregation in Chicago and violates the civil rights of Black and Latino residents by limiting the creation of affordable housing.
Lawson said he hoped “hundreds” of new homes would be built without disrupting the “fabric” of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward) blasted Lawson’s proposal as an “attack” on Chicago’s working class that would cause residents to leave his Southwest Side ward, which is made up of single-family bungalows and other homes in a ward that prides itself on its suburban-like vibe.
Quinn joined forces with Ald. Gregory Mitchell (7th Ward) to block a vote on the measure in July, punting the issue until after the City Council’s August recess.
Earlier this month, Quinn introduced a measure that would require the granny flats be built by workers who belong to a union. Voting to reject such a provision would have been politically perilous for City Council members, who rely on union support.
In 2021, the City Council approved the creation of coach houses and granny flats in five areas of the city, with the approval of those areas’ alderpeople.
City officials declared that the pilot program had been a roaring success, but efforts to allow tiny homes to be built citywide faced intense opposition from alderpeople who represent wards that have a majority of single-family homes.
City ordinance now permits the tiny homes to be built without restriction in wards with the alderperson’s approval, including in commercial areas, records show.
It would also give alderpeople who do not want to greenlight the tiny homes a menu of options to choose from to give them the ability to install “guardrails,” including the requirement that the property owner live in the main unit as well as limits on how many units could be built per block.
The alderperson could also require each granny flat to be approved by city zoning officials, which would add another layer of review to the construction of the units.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
