ADU Ordinance Ready for City Council Scrutiny in Chicago

Chicago residents will have the option of building coach houses or convection units if a new law passes as written through the Chicago City Council.

1 minute read

May 21, 2020, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Accessory Dwelling Unit

Brett VA / Flickr

"The ordinance to re-legalize coach houses and other types of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) was introduced to City Council on Wednesday, May 20, 2020," reports Steven Vance. 

"The new law would allow property owners to add one or more dwelling unit to their houses and vacant lots without needing an expensive and tentative zoning change," explains Vance of the proposed law in its current form. More specifically, the law allows two types of ADUs, coach houses and conversion units. 

If adopted as written now, the law would take effect in August 2020. A May 7 article for the same website, this one by Jay Koziarz, describes a few ways the new Chicago ADU ordinance could avoid some of the mistakes of ADU legislation in other cities. 

The ordinance has been revealed to the City Council two months after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot voiced support for the concept.


Tuesday, May 19, 2020 in Chicago Cityscape

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