Through our 35th Ward Community-Driven Zoning and Development process, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation worked with Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, Logan Square community groups, city agencies, and other stakeholders to develop a proposal for a 100-unit, 100% affordable housing development with ground floor retail. Details on the proposal were announced on April 3, 2019, a CDZD public hearing was held on April 24, 2019, and the two week public input period following the meeting ended on May 8, 2019. Below is a summary of the public feedback collected through this process.
Public Meeting
On April 24, 2019, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa held a public meeting regarding the zoning map amendment (ZMA) application for the city-owned parking lot at 2602-2638 N. Emmett Street. Over 500 Logan Square residents attended. The applicant, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation - a non-profit affordable housing developer - and architects from Landon Bone Baker presented information to 35th Ward residents on their proposal for a tiered two to seven story building with 100 residential units and 4,600 square feet of commercial space. Twenty on-site parking spaces would be provided. All units would be affordable to residents earning at or below 60% of the area median income. Following the presentation the hearing was then opened up to the audience for questions and public comment. Approximately 75 individuals provided public comment, a majority of them in support of the proposal.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a tally of all 502 comment cards submitted at the meeting resulted in 350 in support, 35 in support with conditions, and 112 not in support. Of the comment cards that included an address in the 35th Ward, 103 were in support, 11 supported with conditions, 31 did not support, and a total of 5 cards did not express a clear position on the proposal. The tally, which took place immediately following the meeting, was observed by representatives from Logan Square Preservation, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, and Logan Square Neighbors for Responsible Development (a group formed to oppose the proposal).
Based on the overall positive feedback received, Alderman Ramirez-Rosa issued his support for the project. The zoning ordinance passed the City Council on November 20, 2019.
Public Input Period and Additional Public Comment
The public input period began on Wednesday, April 3, 2019 when the public input meeting was announced and details of the project were shared with the public. To provide additional avenues for community input, on Thursday, April 18, 2019 Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa launched a feedback form on our 35th Ward website. Per our 35th Ward Community-Driven Zoning and Development process, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa continued to receive input for a two week period following the April 24 community input meeting. During this time, the 35th Ward Office accepted additional community input via the online feedback form, comment cards submitted in person to the office, email, petitions, and any other form of written communication. During this time only two comment cards were submitted in person at the Ward Office, both were in support of the development. A total of 19 emails were received during this period, 13 in support, 2 supported with conditions, and 4 did not support the proposal. The Logan Square is Home Coalition, made up of Logan Square community members and organizations in support of the proposal submitted 717 signed petitions cards collected door-to-door, and an online petition containing 320 signatures in support of the development. The ward office online feedback form received 79 responses, of which 54 were in support, 4 were in support with conditions, and 17 opposed the development. Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa also met with Logan Square Neighbors for Responsible Development, an organization founded to oppose the development, during this public input period as well to answer their questions and receive additional community input from their members.
Summary of Community Input
In total, the 35th Ward Office received input from nearly 1,500 people, of which 1,248 provided home addresses. The vast majority of individuals that provided addresses resided in the 35th Ward and in Logan Square. As seen in the map at the bottom of this page, the vast majority of individuals - whether residing in the 35th Ward or in the broader Logan Square community - support Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation's proposal for the Emmett Street parking lot. Based upon the overwhelming community support for this development, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa will file a letter of support with the Chicago City Council’s Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, and work to ensure the zoning change, land transfer, and TIF funding necessary to make this development possible pass the Chicago City Council.
However, the 35th Ward Office did not simply review community input for total raw numbers of support vs. opposition, but for the substance of the comments and feedback as well. Based upon the substance of the community input, Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa has asked Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation to:
- Continue to work with Logan Square Preservation to refine the building’s architecture and design;
- Increase the number of fully accessible units;
- Create a plan for the 20 available parking spots that ensures some of the parking spots at the site are available to the public and local small businesses, and individuals in wheelchairs that are seeking to “park & ride” at the Logan Square Blue Line stop.
Documents outlining the hearing, as well as all of the comment cards submitted at the April 24 community meeting, and any written community input received by our office are (or will be) linked below.