Chicago's Zoning Use Table

Background, data, and reform context for the What's Banned on Your Block? tool.

What this tool shows

Chicago's zoning ordinance (Title 17 of the Municipal Code) assigns every parcel in the city to a zoning district. Each district has a use table: a list of activities and whether they are permitted by right (P), require special approval (S), require a planned development (PD), or prohibited (the code uses a dash to indicate this). Under §17-3-0204, uses that do not appear in the table are also prohibited by default. Chicago's full use table contains over 120 specific use types spread across more than 50 categories ( §17-3-0200 and §17-17-0100).

This tool reads that use table and shows, for any Chicago address, which neighborhood uses are restricted or banned under current zoning. It covers 21 categories: housing types, food and retail, personal services, childcare, community uses, and lodging.

Three numbers

What a special use permit requires

When a use is listed as "S" in the zoning code, a property owner or business must apply to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The process includes:

• A zoning denial letter from the city
• Certified mail with return receipt to every property owner within 250 feet of the site
• A plat of survey prepared by a licensed surveyor
• A public hearing before the five-member ZBA
• A city filing fee of $525

The ZBA hears cases on the third Friday of each month. The full process typically takes 3–4 months. Source: City of Chicago Special Use Checklist (PDF); G&G Law Offices

Daycares, salons, barbershops, and small food producers require this process in certain districts.

The cost falls unevenly across the city. According to MPC's 2025 Strong Business Corridors research, majority-white census tracts averaged 14.7 businesses per 1,000 residents in 2023, compared with 8.6 in majority-Black tracts. Commercial vacancy rates in majority-Black tracts were over three times greater than in majority-white tracts. Source: MPC, Improving Zoning Together: Strong Business Corridors Outcome (2025)

Where new housing has gone

A multi-phase zoning assessment by MPC and the Urban Institute (2023–2025) found that 60% of the 121,601 new homes permitted between 2006 and 2024 were concentrated in just five community areas: the Near North Side, Near West Side, the Loop, West Town, and the Near South Side. Source: MPC, Improving Zoning Together: Affordable Housing Outcome (Part 2 of 2)

In 2024, Chicago produced 4.5 new homes per 1,000 existing residential units, compared to a national average of 10.1, ranking last among the 10 largest U.S. metro areas. Source: Crain's Chicago Business, July 2024, citing Construction Coverage

Chicago's reform record

• Transit-Oriented Development Ordinance (2013). Reduced parking requirements for developments near CTA and Metra stations.
• ADU Ordinance (2020). Re-legalized accessory dwelling units in five pilot zones after a 63-year prohibition.
• Connected Communities Ordinance (2022). Expanded the geographic definition of transit-served locations and allowed deeper parking reductions near transit.
• Cut the Tape (2024). The Mayor's Office released 107 small-business permitting recommendations. The city reported 48 as complete by early 2025. Item 67 called for eliminating the ZBA hearing requirement for hair salons, barbershops, body art shops, and nail salons. A review of the recommendations described the requirement as "regressive, it wastes everyone's time, and the ZBA approves every single one of them." As of July 2025 that change had not been implemented.
• Parking minimums near transit eliminated (July 2025). City Council removed parking minimums for most new developments within half a mile of transit, covering roughly three-quarters of the city.

What other cities have done

Minneapolis adopted its Land Use Rezoning Study in May 2023 (effective July 2023), consolidating from 23 zoning districts to 15. The updated use table makes childcare centers permitted by right in all districts where they appear, with no special use hearing required. Source: City of Minneapolis, Land Use Rezoning Study

Raleigh's 2013 Unified Development Ordinance added a third tier between permitted by right (P) and special use (S). The Limited Use (L) designation (§6.1.3) allows a use by right once an applicant shows compliance with written, objective standards. No board hearing or public notice is required. Home daycare centers are Limited Use in all residential zones; daycare centers are Limited Use in all mixed-use zones. Source: Raleigh UDO §6.1.4, Allowed Principal Use Table

Buffalo replaced its 63-year-old zoning ordinance with a new Green Code in 2017, consolidating principal uses to roughly 83 types. The code added a similarity interpretation provision (§6.1.1(4)(a)): when a business type is not listed, the Zoning Administrator classifies it by similarity to a listed use, rather than treating it as prohibited. Source: Buffalo Green Code §6.1, Principal Uses

In 2023, a federal investigation found that Chicago's tradition of giving each alderperson de facto veto power over housing in their ward "fuels segregation." The case was closed by the incoming federal administration in August 2025 without a consent decree. Source: WTTW, November 2023

What's being proposed

• Strong Towns Chicago's Level Up campaign (with Abundant Housing Illinois) is pushing for two-to-four flat housing types by right in more districts.
• MPC and the Urban Institute are developing policy recommendations through their ongoing zoning assessment.
• The Mayor's Cut the Tape initiative identified "large, structural zoning issues" as a Year 2 priority.

About this tool

This tool was built by Strong Towns Chicago. Zoning data comes from the City of Chicago ArcGIS zoning boundaries and the Chicago Municipal Code (Title 17). Ward data comes from the Chicago Data Portal.

The use table data used in this tool reflects the zoning ordinance as-read. Use permissions can vary based on site-specific conditions, overlay districts, and planned development agreements. This tool is for general reference only. Consult the Chicago Department of Planning and Development for official zoning determinations.

Sources

1. Metropolitan Planning Council. "Improving Zoning Together: Affordable Housing Outcome (Part 2 of 2)." metroplanning.org/affordable-housing-outcome-part-2-of-2/
2. Crain's Chicago Business. "Chicago last among major U.S. metros on new home construction." July 2024. Citing Construction Coverage data. chicagobusiness.com
3. City of Chicago, Department of Planning and Development. Special Use Permit Checklist. chicago.gov (PDF)
4. City of Minneapolis. Land Use Rezoning Study (LURS). Adopted May 2023, effective July 2023. minneapolismn.gov
5. WTTW News. "Aldermanic Prerogative Fuels Segregation and Violates Black, Latino Chicagoans' Civil Rights: Federal Officials." November 28, 2023. news.wttw.com
6. Chicago Tribune. "HUD drops housing discrimination complaint related to aldermanic prerogative and Chicago zoning." August 2025. chicagotribune.com
7. City of Chicago. Municipal Code of Chicago, Title 17 — Zoning Ordinance. American Legal Publishing
8. G&G Law Offices. "Special Use Zoning for Businesses." 2023. gglawoffices.com (ZBA hearing schedule, process timeline, and fee)
9. Metropolitan Planning Council. "Improving Zoning Together: Strong Business Corridors Outcome." 2025. metroplanning.org (14.7 vs. 8.6 businesses per 1,000 residents; vacancy rate disparities)
10. City of Buffalo. Green Code, §6.1 Principal Uses (adopted 2017). bufgreencode.com (similarity interpretation provision §6.1.1(4)(a))
11. City of Raleigh. Unified Development Ordinance, §6.1.3–6.1.4 (adopted 2013, effective 2016). udo.raleighnc.gov (Limited Use tier; daycare designations)
12. Vance, Steven. "The Best Ideas from Mayor Johnson's 'Cut the Tape' Initiative." StevenCanPlan, April 2024. stevencanplan.com (Item 67: hair salon / barbershop ZBA reform)