Streamlining zoning decisions in the 48th Ward

Today’s e-mail from 48th Ward Ald. Harry Osterman led me indirectly to the 48th Ward Community Process for Zoning and Land Use Approvals (PDF). The process, which is “intended to benefit the community and the incoming business by streamlining the decision making process …” requires, among other things, that an applicant for a zoning or land use change give notice by certified mail to residents within 1,000 feet of the affected property.

Written notice is not required by the Chicago Zoning Ordinance in all of the cases covered by the 48th Ward policy. When it is, notice is generally required only to property owners within 250 feet of the affected property and Certified Mail is not required, per section 17-13-0107-A of the Ordinance.

Depending on a property’s location in the 48th Ward (PDF), the ward policy could require that certified mail be sent to more than 10,000 individuals. According to the US Postal Service, the cost of Certified Mail varies between $3.29 and $5.59 per piece. That doesn’t include the cost of identifying all individuals to whom the notice must be given or the costs of assembling the mailings.

It doesn’t take much thought, given the frequency with which people come and go in the Edgewater neighborhood, to realize that it’s clearly impossible to comply with the policy as written.

Dan Luna, Ald. Osterman’s Chief of Staff, was in a meeting when I called to inquire about how this process streamlines zoning and land use approvals, and how rigorously it’s enforced.

A knowledgeable observer – an ex-con – once told me that “every aspect of government in this town is structured to maximize opportunities for corruption.” Is that the case here?

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