Broadening The Range Of Housing Types

Coach houses, also known as 'granny-flats', "are ideal living spaces for the growing numbers of singles and seniors who live alone, now about 25 percent of the population." In 1957, city officials in Chicago "banned living in the buildings that once housed horses, carriages and drivers, fearing that too many people living on one lot would lower neighborhood property values. Housing advocates, however, are lobbying to change that, saying scores of old coach houses...are an untapped rental housing resource in Chicago's back yards....The council's proposal to the mayor's Zoning Reform Commission would allow current coach houses to become legal living spaces again and allow new coach houses to be built on larger-than-average lots." City officials, however, have raised concerns over firetruck access. "Officials also worry that new coach houses will add unwanted density and parking problems in some areas."

Thanks to Connie Chung