Quote:
Originally Posted by the urban politician
Is like to see the city move beyond simple TOD and have various levels of TOD. Example:
TOD-A: near major transit nodes, such as where multiple L and major bus routes intersect. Minimal parking and basically downtown-level density permitted
TOD-B: near L stops and major bus routes. Basically the same TOD zoning already in practice
TOD-C: near Divvy stations and along lesser bus routes. No boost in density, but decreased parking requirements.
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The mayor is proposing something similar. Each bus route will be studied and a corridor plan will be created that specifies bulk, density, and parking requirements. It will not be a set of uniform city-wide rules like the initial TOD ordinance, or like what you proposed above... sounds like it will be highly location-specific. This is interesting, because the Zoning Ordinance was always supposed to apply city-wide. I don't think it's ever had sections that were specific to certain areas of the city, with narrow exceptions like a few historic areas or around Wrigley Field... so while the current Zoning Ordinance is like a set of neutral/flexible rules for a board game, this bus-TOD thing is a step toward actual city planning in Chicago. Unfortunately a more intricate set of rules will only hand power to politicians, bureaucrats and zoning attorneys and add one more hurdle for developers, so ultimately we might end up with a better-planned city at the cost of a decreased housing supply. Also, the city has to back it up with well-educated, intelligent and pragmatic planning staff. I am not confident this will happen...
Presumably the bus-TOD plan will allow greater bulk and density, and lower parking requirements along some or all of the four initial corridors, with the highest intensity at major intersections where transit routes cross.
These four bus routes have been targeted for (some) improvements, so it makes sense to concentrate new development along them. On the other hand, I would hate to see new development erode the fine-grained urbanism that currently exists along Chicago Ave or similar streets. Lots of independent businesses, highly pedestrian corridor, already pretty dense with few obvious redevelopment sites. These kind of corridors are rare in Chicago, so I hope the plan for Chicago Ave at least is on the conservative side and focuses on areas west of California. I will also be interested to see how much the bus-TOD guidelines borrow from the existing P-street rules, which already offer a blueprint for highly urban streets but are agnostic about density.