Chicago Guides
Transit-served development
Near a station, Chicago lets you park less and, in some districts, build more. The parking relief is automatic; the density and height are not — they are bought with affordable units and a trip through City Hall.
What makes a lot transit-served
2,640 ft1,320 ft
measured from a station entrance or exit · §17-10-0102-B
Every rule below is cited to Title 17 and links to the section in our hosted zoning code. The Affordable Requirements Ordinance the bonuses lean on lives outside Title 17, in §2-44 of the Municipal Code.
Eligibility
Which lots qualify
Distance is measured from a station entrance or exit, not the platform or the stop’s center — a block either way can decide it.
- 2,640 ft — rail
- 1,320 ft — listed bus corridor
- 660 ft — efficiency units
- Rail: within 2,640 ft (half a mile) of a CTA or Metra station entrance or exit §17-10-0102-B.
- Bus: within 1,320 ft (a quarter mile) of a CTA bus corridor segment listed in Table 17-17-0400-B — specific street segments, not every bus route.
- Efficiency units: a tighter 660 ft ring lifts the cap on how many efficiency units a building may contain §17-3-0400.
Parking
Park less, by right
This is the part that needs no hearing. Minimum automobile parking ratios §17-10-0102-B:
| Where | Near CTA rail or a listed bus corridor | Near Metra rail |
|---|---|---|
| Outside downtown | Up to 100% | Up to 50% |
| Downtown (D districts) | Up to 50% | Up to 50% |
Reductions from the otherwise applicable minimum. Larger reductions need an administrative adjustment §17-13-1003-EE and 10 days’ notice to the alderman.
Bicycle parking goes up. Residential buildings in the same rings must provide at least one bicycle space per dwelling unit §17-10-0102-B.
And there is a ceiling. New residential construction in B and C districts within half a mile of rail may not build more than 50% of the district’s minimum ratio, rounded up, without an adjustment §17-3-0308. Near transit, parking is capped as well as excused. See parking minimums for how the base ratios work.
Density, FAR, height
More building — at a price
In B-3 and C-3 districts, a transit-served project that meets §17-3-0308 can use lower lot area per unit, a higher floor area ratio and more height. None of it is by right: it comes through a Type 1 rezoning, a planned development, or an entitlement that triggers the Affordable Requirements Ordinance — and the size of the bonus depends on the share of required affordable units built on site.
| Affordable units on site | Per dwelling unit | Per efficiency unit | Per SRO unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base B-3 / C-3 | 400 | 300 | 200 |
| 50% of ARO units on site | 350 | 250 | 180 |
| 75% on site | 325 | 225 | 160 |
| 100% on site | 300 | 200 | 135 |
Minimum lot area per unit, square feet, in B-3 and C-3 §17-3-0402-B. Lower is denser: at 100% on site, a 7,500 sq ft lot goes from 18 units to 25.
| Affordable units on site | Max FAR |
|---|---|
| Base dash-3 | 3.0 |
| 50% on site | 3.5 |
| 75% on site | 3.75 |
| 100% on site | 4.0 |
Maximum floor area ratio in dash-3 §17-3-0403, and maximum height in feet by lot frontage, for buildings with qualifying ground-floor commercial space §17-3-0408-B.
| Height, dash-3 | ≤ 25 ft | 25–50 ft | 50–99.9 ft | 100 ft + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base, with ground-floor commercial | 50 | 55 | 65 | 65 |
| Transit-served | 50 | 55 | 70 | 75 |
Projects subject to §2-45-115 that provide at least half their required affordable units on site can earn a further height increase on top of that §17-3-0408-B.
Strings attached
What a transit-served project must do
New construction in B and C districts within half a mile of rail has to satisfy §17-3-0308 in full:
- meet the parking rules of §17-10-0102-B;
- meet the pedestrian-street standards of §17-3-0504 — even off a designated pedestrian street — with narrow exceptions;
- follow the goals of the city’s Transit Friendly Development Guide and any adopted station-area plan;
- keep residential parking at or under half the district minimum.
The pedestrian-street standards are the part people miss: they govern where the building meets the sidewalk — frontage, entrances, glazing, and where parking may be seen from the street.
Questions
Common questions
What counts as a transit-served location in Chicago?
A site within 2,640 feet (half a mile) of a CTA or Metra rail station entrance or exit, or within 1,320 feet (a quarter mile) of one of the CTA bus corridor segments listed in Table 17-17-0400-B (§17-10-0102-B). A tighter 660-foot ring lifts the cap on efficiency units (§17-3-0400).
Can I really build with no parking near transit?
Outside downtown, the minimum automobile parking ratio may be reduced by up to 100% near CTA rail or a listed bus corridor. Downtown, and anywhere near Metra rail, the by-right reduction is 50%; going further needs an administrative adjustment and 10 days’ notice to the alderman (§17-10-0102-B, §17-13-1003-EE). Bike parking goes the other way: at least one space per dwelling unit.
Do I get more density automatically?
No. The parking reduction is by right, but the density, floor area and height increases in B-3 and C-3 are only available through a Type 1 rezoning, a planned development, or an entitlement that triggers the Affordable Requirements Ordinance — and they scale with how many of the required affordable units you build on site (§17-3-0402-B, §17-3-0408-B).
What is the Connected Communities ordinance?
The 2022 ordinance that expanded Chicago’s transit-oriented development rules: it widened the qualifying areas to listed bus corridors, made parking reductions by right in more cases, capped parking on transit-served residential projects, and tied the density and height bonuses to affordable units. Its provisions live in the sections cited on this page.
Is there a cap on how much parking I can build near transit?
Yes, for new residential construction in B and C districts within half a mile of rail: no more than 50% of the district’s minimum ratio, rounded up, unless an administrative adjustment or a downtown exception applies (§17-3-0308).
Which projects have to meet the extra design criteria?
New construction in B and C districts within 2,640 feet of a rail station must meet §17-3-0308: the parking rules above, the pedestrian-street standards of §17-3-0504 (with two exceptions), and the goals of the city’s Transit Friendly Development Guide.
Keep reading
Related guides
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Coach houses & conversion units (ADUs)
Chicago’s two kinds of additional dwelling unit, where they are allowed, and the rules each must meet.
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Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO)
What triggers Chicago’s inclusionary rules, how many affordable units they ask for, and what buying out costs.
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The 606 & Pilsen block rules
Two anti-displacement overlays where the block face decides what you may build — plus the demolition surcharge.
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Variations, special uses & planned developments
The routes to relief in Chicago — administrative adjustment, variation, special use, rezoning, PD — and when each applies.
For a real address
Is this lot transit-served?
LotGrade checks every Chicago parcel against the city’s transit-served layer, applies the parking reduction automatically, and lets you preview a rezoning to see what the density and height bonuses would be worth here.
The analyzer requires an account — you’ll be asked to sign in. The Zoning Field Guide, the zoning code and these guides are free and need no login.