Record #: Or2019-310   
Type: Order Status: Failed to Pass
Intro date: 7/24/2019 Current Controlling Legislative Body: Committee on Housing and Real Estate
Final action: 5/24/2023
Title: Call for Commissioner of Department of Planning and Development to require applicants for City-owned land sales, land use agreements and land swaps within greater Englewood community to obtain letter of local aldermanic support before submitting applications
Sponsors: Lopez, Raymond A., Taylor, Jeanette B. , Coleman, Stephanie D. , Sawyer, Roderick T.
Topic: CITY DEPARTMENTS/AGENCIES - Planning & Development
Attachments: 1. Or2019-310.pdf

Committee on Housing & Real Estate Chicago City Council Meeting July 24,2019

 

 

 

 

ORDER

WHEREAS, The City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government under Section 6(a), Article VII of the 1970 Constitution of the State of Illinois and as such may legislate as to matters which pertain to its local government and affairs; and,

 

WHEREAS, It is the duty and responsibility of the City Council of Chicago, the municipal government's legislative body, to create laws and maintain oversight on all matters pertaining to the administering of city business; and,

 

WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the Members of the City Council of Chicago, collectively and locally, to protect and preserve the all assets within their collective jurisdiction; now, therefore,

 

WHEREAS, The greater Englewood community is comprised of both the Englewood and West Englewood neighborhoods bound by Garfield Boulevard to the north, Dan Ryan Expressway to the east, Western Avenue to the west, and 75th Street to the south; and,

 

WHEREAS, The Englewood community has 2,462 city-owned properties across six wards with the 3rd Ward having forty-two city-owned parcels of land, the 17th Ward having 222 city-owned parcels, the 15th Ward having 332 city-owned parcels of land, the 6th Ward having 384 city-owned parcels of land, the 20th Ward having 406 city-owned parcels of land, and the 16th Ward having 1076 city-owned parcels of land; and,

 

WHEREAS, The Department of Planning and Development has offered local opportunities for purchasing these lots such as Adjacent Neighbors Land Acquisition Program (ANLAP), Negotiated Sales and Sealed Bids as well as the Large Lot (formerly $1 Lot Program); and,

 

WHEREAS, Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed Executive Order No. 2019-2 with the stated purpose "to direct departments to cease each and every such practice" of having authority over select issues in their ward while allowing "the critical ability and responsibility of aldermen in their official representative capacity to provide meaningful input and information when relevant;" and,

 

WHEREAS, Under the authority of the Executive Order, the Department of Planning and Development no longer is required to obtain a letter of aldermanic support in order to move forward with applications of any of the aforementioned programs; and,

 

 

WHEREAS, Issues of land acquisition and purchase by individuals not from the community or with no interest in preserving the rich history of the greater Englewood community will now have nearly unfettered opportunity to purchase thousands of lots across the region; and,

 

WHEREAS, Fears about the impact of outside purchases by developers, investors and remote limited liability corporations working to gentrify the greater Englewood community continue to permeate; and,

 

BE IT ORDERED, That the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development will require applicants for all city-owned land sales,Iand use agreements and land swaps within the greater Englewood community to obtain a letter of local aldermanic support before submitting any application; and,

 

BE IT FURTHER ORDERED, That the Commissioner of the Department of Planning and Development shall not accept any application for any city-owned land sales, land use agreements and land swaps within the greater Englewood community as complete that does not have a letter of local aldermanic support.