Committee on Housing and Real Estate

Chicago City Council

Housing

Politics

Tuesday, March 16, 2021
10:00 a.m. CDT

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Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team

Note-taking by Parker Valentine

Chicago Community Land Trust, 30-year renewable term for affordable home agreements, Just Cause for Eviction

View notes

Live reporting by nicolle neulist

Chicago Community Land Trust, 30-year renewable term for affordable home agreements, Just Cause for Eviction

nicolle neulist @rogueclown

Hi, I’ll be live-tweeting today’s Chicago City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate meeting for @ChiDocumenters. #ChiDocumenters

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10.00am Central.

09:54 AM Mar 16, 2021 CDT

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Here is the information for anyone curious to follow along with the meeting.

Agenda: chicago.legistar.com/DepartmentDeta…
Livestream link: livestream.com/accounts/28669…

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The livestream has begun: livestream.com/accounts/28669…

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A quorum is present, and they can proceed.

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There are 15 speakers signed up for public testimony.

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First speaker: Julio Pensamiento, staff at Center for Changing Lives in Logan Square. Support for reinstating a 30-year renewable term for ARO. Concerned about the rising cost of home ownership in Hermosa, and thinks this amendment will assist people with home ownership.

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Next speaker: Lissette Castañeda, also speaking in support of the 30-year renewable term for ARO. She is the executive director of LUCHA and also part of the Chicago Community Land Trust. Underscores the importance of the need for affordable housing, and notes how this will help.

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Emma Gonzalez Roberts: represents an affordable housing developer (could not parse which on the call). Supporting the 30-year renewable term for ARO. Cites the importance of affordable home ownership through community land trusts.

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Bob Palmer, policy director of Housing Action Illinois: supporting the 30-year renewable term for ARO. Notes that the land trust will help bring long-term affordability and how it will help combat racial inequities in housing.

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Sarah Brune, Director of Public Policy for Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago. Supporting the 30-year renewable term for ARO. Underscores the importance of the efforts of the land trust to lower barriers of entry to home ownership.

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Kevin Jackson: Supporting the 30-year renewable term for ARO. Underscores the difference between contract sales in redlined neighborhoods and land trust homes. People who buy land trust homes are informed of the resale value, and this isn't predatory like contract sales were.

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Marilyn May: Represents Black Heroes Matter Coalition. Underscoring the importance of remembering DuSable as a founder of Chicago. Supports a holiday, a monument, and the renaming of Lake Shore Drive for DuSable.

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Lincoln Stannard, resident of Logan Square, owner of Land Trust home since 1918. Works for LUCHA. Supporting the 30-year renewable term for ARO. Underscores how land trust helped him own a home, and how these resources should serve as many people as possible.

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Mary DiFino: 48th Ward resident and social worker. Concerned that thousands of people will be facing eviction once the moratorium lifts. Decrying the committee's indifference to keeping children of renters in their homes.

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She was still talking but got cut off quickly at the end of the two minutes.

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Matt Super: Speaking up in favour of just cause evictions, as the speaker before him was. Talking about how "no-fault" evictions uproot people for no reason and disproportionately affect Black communities.

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"This committee must hold a hearing on, and then enact, Just Cause evictions for all Chicagoans."

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Benjamin Kay: Could not parse his organisation due to poor reception. Is speaking to support Just Cause eviction. Mentions the people surviving and working through the pandemic: "How can we say we really care about them when we can evict them without just cause?"

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Kay supports a subject matter hearing on Just Cause evictions.

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Nick Ward: Member of 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice. Calling for a subject matter hearing on Just Cause evictions ordinance. He is a renter, noticing the sprawling of un-affordable, redeveloped housing in his area.

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Ward: "Displacements like this are evictions."

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Joel Thorson: Renter in the 48th Ward. Member of 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice. Asking for hearing on Just Cause evictions. Like Ward, notes that Ald. Osterman is his alderman.

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Thorson: Notes the disproportionate effect of no-fault evictions on senior citizens.

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Dino Mazze: 48th Ward resident, member of 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice. Asking for a subject matter hearing on Just Cause evictions. Notes that he has seen little from his government, decries Lightfoot using COVID relief money to pay police.

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Mazze: Notes that the mutual aid network in which he was involved was housing people in hotels during the Polar Vortex, and notes the importance of Just Cause to help people remain housed.

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Osterman: notes (in appropriately broad terms) that they will be using recently-passed COVID relief fund to help.

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Moving on to Item 1, the negotiated sale of city-owned vacant property at 5108 W. Lake and 5062 W. Lake.

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Nelson Cheung is discussing the land sales: https://t.co/csqSrL8mUR

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Applicant owns a warehouse and is planning to expand outdoor storage.

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Ald. La Spata: asking whether he's going to be paving the property, and if so, what the stormwater plans are.

Chueng: He is planning to pave the site. If the site is less than 15K square feet, that doesn't trigger storm water rules.

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La Spata is concerned about runoff, especially into the bike lane.

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Negotiated sale of the Lake Street property passes in pro forma fashion.

Moving on to item 2, negotiated sale of 1910 S. Prairie Ave.

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Cheung is discussing the sale of the property on Prairie. It is a strip of land next to a park, and Cement 3 LLC plans to improve it as a driveway for a coach house. It's currently city-owned, but already looks like a driveway or alley. https://t.co/fz4w9TGiCl

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Recommendation of sale of the Prairie property was approved pro forma, without questions or discussion.

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On to Item 3, the Princeton property. Cheung returns to discuss it; it's a side yard. Selling the parcel as a side yard. Proposal is to replace the fence and landscape the yard with a garden. Buyer has lived next door for 35 years. https://t.co/F10b1mxPpK

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Recommendation of that sale has passed.

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Moving on to Item 4. Nelson Chueng: Karlov property is intended as a side yard for a rental property at 1251 S. Karlov. Intended improvements include a landscaped, fenced yard. https://t.co/yTJsMp1EDZ

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Item 4 has been approved without objection.

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Item 5, land sale at 2152 W. Adams. Owner is looking to acquire property at market value as a side yard for rental property near the corner of Adams and Leavitt. Planning on a landscaped, fenced yard. Lot isn't big enough for another building. https://t.co/LHqRa94Hpw

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Item 5 has been approved without objection.

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Moving on to item 6. Wants to clarify that the property is at 2943 W. Fulton, not 2934 W. Fulton, and this has been amended by motion and voice vote.

Buyer owns the building next door since 2000; plans to landscape and fence in the next-door property as a side yard. https://t.co/DQqXVYH0w2

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Item 6 has been approved without objection.

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Moving on to Item 7, the Second Amendment to Ground Lease Agreement with Music and Dance Theater Chicago (the Harris Theater), to acquire additional use rights.

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Ann Hickey: providing an overview of this amendment.

Starting with a discussion of Millennium Park and how DCASE manages it.

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The city owns the real estate where the Harris is. The theatre built the facility and manages day-to-day operations. The city uses the backstage facilities at the Harris to support Jay Pritzker Pavilion programming.

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Information about the first amendment to this ground lease, from back in 2011: https://t.co/JwnWFCvvlD

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Here is an overview of the amendment being proposed today: https://t.co/r9WETB4ku0

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For the second time, Chairman Osterman missed La Spata raising his hand. La Spata is asking about 4 usage dates for commercial organisations. Hickey: originally usage was restricted to nonprofits, but often corporate sponsors want to do events in conjunction with theater events.

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This is being allowed, but corporate events aren't permitted unless they're in conjunction with theater events.

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Item 7, recommendation of the amendments, passed without objection.

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Moving on to Item 8, the amendment of Municipal Code Section 2-44-080 regarding 30-year renewable term supporting Chicago Community Land Trust properties under ARO (Affordable Requirements Ordinance).

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Jennie Fronczak of Chicago Community Land Trust: currently the CCLT has a 30-year term, but the home is then removed from the CCLT portfolio. It isn't renewable, and that fails to close the housing gap.

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Under the proposed rule, the 30 years would renew when the family sells the home, allowing new buyers to take advantage of the benefits of CCLT.

This would affect about 40 homes this year, and take effect before the ARO re-write that isn't anticipated until mid-late October.

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Joy Aruguete: CEO, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. Speaking in favor of the 30-year renewable term. Discussing the history of the CCLT, and how this can help affordable housing remain affordable, in a city with a gaping affordability gap.

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Aruguete: "There is no silver bullet", but a range of public and private tools including this renewable term can help.

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William Towns: Speaking in favor of the renewable term amendment. He works with CCLT. Discussing his history growing up, and what a game-changer it was when his mother was able to buy property closer to her work.

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Towns: noticing the inequality helped him choose what classes to take, and helped him get into his career in affordable housing.

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Ald. Maldonado: Notes that the CCLT is a voluntary program. No future or existing homeowner is being forced to participate in CCLT. But, those who participate have an advantage, to be able to move into and stay in gentrifying communities with 50% property tax relief.

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Ald. Maldonado: Home ownership can help future generations of families stay in the neighborhoods where they have roots. Gentrification prevents that, but this renewable term can help prevent displacement.

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Ald. Maldonado: Breaking ground on six land trust homes in his ward.

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Ald. La Spata: thanks the people who spoke today. States that 30 years can feel like forever, but also shudders to think of the switch of housing affordability being turned off in 30 years. Wants to leave a legacy of affordability in his ward.

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La Spata: This won't close a 116,000 unit affordability gap, but this is one tool in an expanding toolbox for affordable housing in Chicago.

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Ald. Ray Lopez votes no on the 30-year renewable term, but all others vote yes. It passes.

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And, with that, the meeting of the Housing and Real Estate committee has been adjourned at 11.17am. Their next meeting date has not yet been posted on LegiStar.

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@ChiCouncil

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