The Chicago Plan Commission is finishing off the year with a slate of highly contentious zoning projects, including a huge residential development in Old Town that has gone through at least three revisions since it was first introduced in January.
Lathrop Protest
An hour before the meeting, a coalition of community, housing and social service organizations will hold a press conference outside the Council Chambers to protest the redevelopment plan for the Julia C. Lathrop Homes–a project the Plan Commission approved in February.
The 525 Task Force, named after the 525 public housing units that’ll be eliminated from the northwest side public housing complex as part of a massive redevelopment initiative, is requesting the city replace all lost public housing units. Of the 1,208 units planned by Related Midwest for the 30 acre site, only 400 will be public housing. Former Plan Commissioner Juan Linares, the Executive Director of LUCHA, is part of the task force, even though he voted in favor of the planned development application during his short nine-month stint on the board. One of the most vocal proponents of affordable housing on the Plan Commission, he resigned April.