Chicago’s zoning code requires an additional level of scrutiny for particular businesses and activities that the code names as “special uses” in certain zoning districts. To move forward with these uses, small businesses must notify surrounding property owners of their plan to apply for a special use permit and submit an application to the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), a five-member voting board appointed by the mayor.
Applicants need to prove that their proposal meets certain subjective standards, such as compatibility with “the general welfare of the neighborhood,” and “the character of the surrounding area.” The city’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) then makes a non-binding recommendation on the application. Finally, the ZBA holds a public hearing during its monthly meeting and votes on the application.
More than 92% of special use applications are approved, a rate that reflects DPD’s work with applicants to strengthen proposals prior to hearings.
Most special use applications are business-related. Four out of five special use proposals are located in either business (B) or commercial (C) zoning districts.
Designating a type of business as a special use does not block that business from opening. Instead, the vast majority of applications pass through a process that favors prospective businesses with more resources. The process is likely to impose significant costs on the applicant, since a land-use attorney is often required.
Beyond this financial hurdle, a special use approval often adds months to an opening timeline, which can threaten the viability of new small businesses. Anecdotally, 2-3 months can pass between an application’s submission and its first ZBA hearing. While 82% of all ZBA applications are decided in their first hearing, future hearings add an average of 70 days before a decision is reached on the remaining applications.
Meanwhile, based on their voting patterns, ZBA members rarely disagree on the outcome of an application: 96% of the ZBA’s votes are unanimous. This is due in part to the work that DPD does behind the scenes to support businesses in shaping their special use applications.
MPC’s research on special uses identifies a need to modernize this outdated system. Through careful reevaluation of special uses and implementation of objective standards to address common concerns, we can remove barriers for small businesses.
MPC and the SBAC have been collaborating since 2023 to update the special use process and support small and local businesses. Based on input from a wide array of business organizations across the city, we propose that Chicago transition four special uses to by-right status in select zoning districts–while instituting objective standards for those uses. Objective standards would provide a clear set of criteria for potential businesses to plan around, avoiding the uncertainty of public hearings and the need to hire a lawyer.
These uses would not be permitted by right everywhere in the city under this proposal. Instead, they would be permitted only in specific zoning districts, regulated through the zoning code, and subject to any business licensing requirements, like all other uses.
Due to the volume of applications, in-person ZBA meetings can last many hours—sometimes continuing from the morning into the late evening—meaning community input on ZBA decisions is theoretically possible but logistically difficult. The time of day when a specific hearing will occur is unclear, as is the extent to which public comments will influence the outcome of any given application.
By modernizing special uses, alderpersons and the Department of Planning and Development can redirect energy toward proactive community planning, and rezone as needed to align with community sentiment about the types of uses that benefit the neighborhood—an approach already used for all other land uses.
Learn more about MPC here.
Belmont-Central Chamber of Commerce
Edgewater Chamber of Commerce
Gladstone Park Chamber of Commerce
Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce
Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship
Jefferson Park Chamber of Commerce
Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce
Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce
Logan Square Chamber of Commerce
New Covenant Community Development Corporation
Northwest Side Community Development Corporation
Old Town Merchants & Residents Association
Quad Communities Development Corporation
Rogers Park Business Alliance
Rogers Park Chamber of Commerce
South East Chicago Commission
South Shore Chamber of Commerce
Uptown Chamber of Commerce
Woodlawn Chamber of Commerce