South Side Chicago Alderman Leslie Hairston says downzoning 71st will help 'take control of our corridor,' but some worry the move is a power grab that will ultimately stifle prospects for the neighborhood.
Leslie Hairston's move to downzone 71st street would give her yet more control of the businesses that go into the street. "That stretch of 71st Street in the South Shore neighborhood is in one of the city’s most mixed-income communities, with subsidized apartment buildings sitting just a block over from stately homes on sprawling lots," Natalie Moore reports for WBEZ. Downzoning or limiting the type of businesses that can go into a particular site has been used in Chicago in ways that stifle growth in neighborhoods and some worry such moves invite corruption.
Others on the street sympathize with the Alderman, saying that the out-of-town landlords who own property on the stretch are difficult to reach and work with, and that the Alderman may be able to stop nuisance businesses from popping up on the strip.
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