Chicago ADU Law Gives Alderpeople Veto Power

A unanimously approved Chicago city ordinance legalized accessory dwelling units in residential areas zoned for small apartment buildings and business districts, but gives alderpeople discretion to restrict them in single-family neighborhoods, the most common zoning designation in the city.

In an article for the Illinois Answers Project, Alex Nitkin notes that building new ADUs, or ‘coach houses,’ has been illegal in Chicago for almost 70 years. “While some housing advocates hailed the passage of the measure, they also noted it will create a regulatory patchwork across the city, with some neighborhoods allowing ADUs but others severely restricting them or outright banning them, depending on the local alderperson.”

The move will more than double the area where ADUs can be built, which currently only covers five pilot zones created by the city in 2020. “The ordinance allows ADU construction ‘by right’ in the original pilot zones and opens the door for the council to legalize ADUs in more neighborhoods that are zoned for single-family homes.” However, it could lead to a patchwork of regulations in adjacent neighborhoods or even blocks.

The ordinance also requires builders to commit to using union apprentice labor, a requirement not imposed on any other type of housing construction and that will drive up construction costs.