Re-Zoning Discussion

Letter of Support from Alderman Harry Osterman to East Andersonville Residents

Re-zoning Letter from EARC to Alderman Harry Osterman

Letter from Andersonville Chamber of Commerce and Neighborhood Development Committee

As a response to the surge in development in Andersonville, residents have been asking about how to preserve the charm of the neighborhood. On May 10, 2018, EARC and 48th Ward hosted an initial community meeting at the Swedish American Museum. This meeting was the first of several community meetings to discuss the possibility of re-zoning the residential area within EARC boundaries to RS-3 from the existing RT-4 designation.  Approximately 90 residents, neighbors and business representatives attended this discussion. 

This zoning change would include all parcels in the area bounded by:

The northside of Foster, from the eastside of Glenwood to the alley east of Clark
The alley east of Clark, from Foster to Gregory
The southside of Gregory, from Glenwood to the alley east of Clark
The westside of Glenwood, from Gregory to Bryn Mawr
The southside of Bryn Mawr, from the alley west of Glenwood to the alley east of Glenwood
The eastside of Glenwod, from Bryn Mawr to Foster

As a follow up to the May 10th community meeting at the Swedish American Museum, EARC arranged additional meetings to allow neighbors to meet and talk with each other, share their perspectives and questions, and indicate their preference about re-zoning. These meetings were open to all residents and owners within the boundaries of East Andersonville (Bryn Mawr-N, Glenwood-E, Foster-S, Clark-W). 

On June 19, 2018, the EARC Board was provided with presentations by the EA Preservation Task Force as well as two residents opposed to the rezoning. After the presentations the Board discussed the rezoning in depth, there was a motion to take a vote in support of the rezoning, this motion was seconded and a vote was held. The results were fourteen (14) in favor of rezoning and one (1) opposed. Over the next few days the Board and the Preservation Task Force drafted a letter to Alderman Osterman in support of the rezoning (the letter is attached). The Officers met to review and sign the letter and the letter has been sent to the Alderman.

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On Thursday, August 23rd at 6:30 PM, Alderman Osterman hosted a culminating meeting at Peirce Elementary School to discuss this important issue and take a vote to gauge the community support for rezoning from RT-4 to RS-3. At this meeting, neighbors living in East Andersonville, both owners and renters, voted in favor of this rezoning 98 to 26. Additionally, the East Andersonville Residents' Council collected over 225 signatures from neighbors in support of the rezoning. Many neighbors contacted the Aldermanic office by email, phone, or stopped by to share their views on the issue. The East Andersonville Residents' Council and the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce provided letters and the vote taken at the meeting and the large majority of feedback from residents represented a consistent, broad base of support for this rezoning.

Given the broad base of support from neighbors in East Andersonville, Ald Osterman will be supporting the rezoning and introducing an ordinance to change the zoning from RT-4 to RS-3 at the September 20th Chicago City Council meeting.

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Below are links to supplemental documents from Chicago Department of Planning and Development and East Andersonville Preservation Committee:

Zoning Map - This map is generated from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development online map

Re-Zoning Comparison - Descriptional comparison between RT-4 and RS-3 zoning by Chicago Department of Planning and Development

Diagrams of RS-3 and RT-4

Re-Zoning FAQ

Petition to Re-Zone