Phase One Goal

Many communities in the First Suburbs do not have zoning codes that are set up to achieve desired development results as zoning codes were typically written in a different time when abundant undeveloped land could be subdivided into new lots easily and zoning was intended to disperse population. The goal of this phase was to take an in-depth look at First Suburb Communities’ zoning codes to identify where certain regulations could potentially be a barrier to infill and to help communities compare their regulations to other similar communities.

Project Process

The Single-Family Zoning Analysis was conducted from March to November of 2021. During this first phase, four important tasks were completed:

Task 1: Provided an overview of the state of single-family infill development in the First Suburbs including trends in demolitions, building permits, new construction

Task 2: Reviewed the 19 communities' single-family zoning districts and provided a streamlined format to directly compare regulations across communities

Task 3: Compared regulations — such as minimum lot width, lot size, lot coverage, building area, and front setbacks — to existing lots/structures

Task 4: Identified and mapped potential infill opportunities and listed available incentives among First Suburbs

Throughout this process, the 19 First Suburb communities were engaged through a survey, individual interviews, and presentations to gather the most accurate housing data and to better understand the experiences of these communities with single-family infill development.