City Council Housing Committee Pauses ARO Discussion at REALTORS® Urging

On Tuesday, February 16, a meeting was held by the Housing Committee for public comments on the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO). The City of Chicago’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance requires residential developments that receive city financial assistance including upzoning or involve city-owned land to provide a percentage of units at affordable prices. The city and industry agree that the unit is considered affordable for 30 years. A new proposal to this ordinance was introduced on January 27. This proposal would change the affordability period so that if the unit was sold, the 30 year period starts over. During the public comment period on Tuesday, our Director of Government Affairs Kris Anderson said this automatic renewal “will make some people cheer, but the families who buy the unit 25 years from now thinking they only have five years left on an affordability covenant would never see a true appreciation on their investment.” The Housing Committee Chair chose to hold the vote, which was scheduled for Tuesday, so the committee could hold further discussions. “Today was a small victory for the industry. Today we were heard, common sense prevailed and the measure will have a proper review,” Anderson said after the meeting. View the full meeting, including Anderson’s comments, here.