Item 3: Ordinance Concerning Jefferson/Far West Plan Amendments

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standard in effect at that time, a lot with 5,290 square feet could have only a single dwelling; whereas, today that same lot could have four units. I I The following table provides a chart for the number of allowable units for lot sizes found in Area 1512 as of the date the JIFW Refinement Plan was adopted. Lot size Allo'\vable Number of dwelling units lots in Area 15 Less thaIl 2~650 s.f. None (unless 7 already exists) 2,650 s.f. to 5,299 s.f. 1 67 5,300 s.f. to 7,949 s.f. 2 99 7,950 s.f. to 10,599 s.f. 3 74 10,600 s.f. to 13,249 4 4 13,250 s.f. or more 5+ 1 Total 252 The JIFW planning team certainly intended that a policy allowing limited upzonings to R"2 in Area 15 would not allow development on any of those up zoned properties to exceed the R"2 maximum at that time. Even at maximum R"2 development allowed in 1983 (and some years later), approximately 70 perc.ent of lots ill Area 15 would linlit development to no more than two units. This level of development would be consistent with the limited intensification the planning team envisioned for this single-family area and is a level of intensification thatman)'r residentsha\re supported from the era vvhen the refinetnent plan \vas develo,ped right through to th.e. present The "low- to medium-density" designation does not imply any minimum required density because the JIFW Refinement Plan explicitly uses aspirational, rather than proscriptive, language in the text: "explore methods to encourage an increase in residential density." The planning team clearly had no intention of requiring densification over the prevalent ~ingle-fanlily pattern. This was specifically confirnled b:y the 1998 letter froll1 tIle J AN and \\TNQP boards. As explained above, prior to 1983 and for some years afterwards, all density standards were applied without the current zoning code's "round up" provision. Consequently, you cannot simply consider the maximum density of 16.44 du/na allowed by the 1983-era R-2 zone as equivalellt to 16.44 du/l1a under toda)'r's R-2 zone calculatioIls. A conversion is l1ecessary to COlnpare "apples to apples." 11 The current code's "round up" provision has an enonnous impact on allowable density in current k-2 zones. Witbout the "round up" provision., the same 5,290 s.f. lot could be developed at 24.7 dulna under today's R-2 nlaxirnum density. But the Hround up" provision allovvs the lot to be developed at 32.9 du/na- a 25 percent increase in effective density. Note that because of the "round up" provision, almost aU R-2 lots in the Jefferson and Westside neighborhoods allow development density that actually falls in the high- density range, i.e., over 28.56 du/na. This despite the R,-2 zone's stated purpose to implenlent the Metro Plan ~'Mediunl Density" range. 12 Does not include the lots on which O'Hare School and the Lighthouse Temple are located. 7