Ordinance explainer · Equitable Transit-Oriented Development
Chicago's Connected Communities ordinance: what transit does to your zoning
Adopted July 20, 2022, the Connected Communities (ETOD) ordinance rewired Chicago zoning around transit. On a transit-served lot — within 2,640 ft of a CTA or Metra rail station, or 1,320 ft of a designated bus corridor — residential parking minimums drop by up to 100% by right (§17-10-0102-B), and in the six -3 suffix B and C districts a project that puts its Affordable Requirements Ordinance units on-site can push FAR from 3.0 to 4.0, cut lot area per unit from 400 to 300 sq ft, and reach 75–80 ft of height (§17-3-0402-B, -0403-B, -0408-B). The bonuses are contingent on an approval vehicle; the parking relief is not.
Ordinance text quoted from Municipal Code edition 2026-S-73 (current through 2026-02-18). Data snapshot generated 2026-08-24. How this data is produced and checked →
1 · What counts as transit-served
Two radii, measured to the parcel:
- 2,640 ft (½ mile) of a CTA or Metra rail station entrance or exit.
- 1,320 ft (¼ mile) of a CTA bus-line corridor roadway segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B — an enumerated list of specific street segments, not a blanket rule for anywhere a bus runs.
The rail and bus tests are equivalent in force where they apply, with one carve-out: Metra-served lots get a smaller by-right parking cut than CTA-served lots (next section).
2 · Parking: the by-right relief
| Service tier | Outside D (downtown) districts | In D districts |
|---|---|---|
| CTA rail station, ½ mile | Residential minimum may be reduced up to 100% by right | Up to 50%; beyond only via administrative adjustment |
| Designated bus corridor, ¼ mile | Up to 100% by right | Up to 50%; beyond only via administrative adjustment |
| Metra rail station, ½ mile | Up to 50% by right in all districts; beyond only via administrative adjustment | |
§17-10-0102-B.1(a)–(c). The administrative adjustment route is §17-13-1003-EE and carries aldermanic notice. Verify eligibility with the Zoning Administrator — the bus-corridor table is specific to the segment, not the route.
3 · The bulk bonuses: -3 districts only, ARO-tiered
The density, FAR and height bonuses apply in exactly six districts — B1-3, B2-3, B3-3, C1-3, C2-3, C3-3 — on transit-served lots, and they scale with the share of the project's ARO obligation provided on-site (minimum one affordable unit):
| ARO requirement on-site | Max FAR §17-3-0403-B (base 3.0) | Lot area / unit §17-3-0402-B (base 400 sf) | Lot area / efficiency (base —) | Lot area / SRO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50% | 3.5 | 350 sf | 250 sf | 180 sf |
| 75% | 3.75 | 325 sf | 225 sf | 160 sf |
| 100% | 4.0 | 300 sf | 200 sf | 135 sf |
Height (§17-3-0408-B) — by lot frontage
Base -3 height tops out at 65 ft (with compliant ground-floor commercial, on 100 ft+ frontage). The transit-served tables raise that by frontage band; putting at least 50% of required affordable units on-site adds another 5 ft at every band:
| Frontage | ≤25 ft | 25–50 ft | 50–99.9 ft | ≥100 ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| With compliant ground-floor commercial (§17-3-0305) | 50 | 55 | 70 | 75 ft |
| … and ≥50% affordable units on-site | 55 | 60 | 75 | 80 ft |
| Without compliant ground-floor commercial | 50 | 50 | 65 | 70 ft |
| … and ≥50% affordable units on-site | 55 | 55 | 70 | 75 ft |
On 100 ft+ lots, exceeding the tabled maximum is possible only through planned-development review (§17-13-0600), with no minimum land-area standard applying to that PD.
The catch
None of the bulk bonuses are by right. Each requires a Type 1 zoning map amendment (§17-13-0302), a planned development (§17-13-0600), or ARO coverage through an entitlement as defined in §2-44-085 — plus at least one affordable unit on-site. Model the bonus; budget the entitlement.
Downtown, the D-3 districts get the same FAR and lot-area tier tables through §17-4-0404-C and §17-4-0405-C — with one wrinkle: floor area gained this way can't stack with the §17-4-1000 downtown floor-area bonus system.
4 · The lesser-known clauses
- Parking-for-affordability swap (§17-10-0102-B.4). Qualifying transit-served residential buildings that cut parking beyond 50% can convert the freed square footage, 1:1, into on-site affordable floor area as defined by §2-44-085.
- Downzoning-by-typology guardrails. In community preservation areas that are also transit-served, new detached houses are prohibited in RT and RM districts (§17-2-0303-B.3), new two-flats are prohibited in RM districts (§17-2-0303-B.4), and both are prohibited in B and C districts (§17-3-0307.2) — each with cascading escape clauses where the denser typology can't physically fit.
Connected Communities — common questions
- What distance from transit qualifies a lot?
- Within 2,640 feet (half a mile) of a CTA or Metra rail station entrance or exit, or within 1,320 feet (a quarter mile) of a CTA bus-line corridor roadway segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B (§17-3-0402-B, §17-10-0102-B). Distance is measured to the parcel, and the bus-corridor list is a specific enumerated table — not every bus route qualifies.
- Is the TOD parking reduction automatic?
- The reduction is by right up to its cap — up to 100% near CTA rail and designated bus corridors outside downtown D districts, and up to 50% near Metra or inside D districts (§17-10-0102-B.1). Going beyond the by-right cap requires an administrative adjustment under §17-13-1003-EE with notice to the alderman. By right does not mean by default: you still elect it in your permit drawings, and the Zoning Administrator confirms eligibility.
- Which districts get the density, FAR and height bonuses?
- Only the -3 suffix business and commercial districts — B1-3, B2-3, B3-3, C1-3, C2-3 and C3-3 (§17-3-0402-B through §17-3-0408-B) — plus the downtown D-3 equivalents (§17-4-0404-C, §17-4-0405-C). RS, RT, RM and other-suffix B/C districts get the parking relief but keep their base bulk standards.
- Are the Connected Communities bonuses by right?
- No. The bulk bonuses require an approval vehicle: a Type 1 zoning map amendment (§17-13-0302), a planned development (§17-13-0600), or a project already covered by the ARO through an entitlement as defined in §2-44-085 — and the project must include at least one affordable unit on-site. Only the parking reductions operate by right.
- How much extra FAR can I get?
- In a -3 district on a transit-served lot, base FAR 3.0 rises to 3.5 with 50% of the ARO requirement on-site, 3.75 with 75%, and 4.0 with 100% (§17-3-0403-B). Lot area per unit falls in step: 400 sq ft base → 350 / 325 / 300 (§17-3-0402-B).