Chicago Lot Reports — Zoning, Feasibility & Property Records

Definition

What a Lot Report is

A zoning report tells you what the code allows on one property. Working that out by hand means reading the district’s rules, measuring the lot, checking the neighbors, looking up overlays and pulling county and city records — easily a day per site, which is why most sites get a guess instead.

A Lot Report does that work for every parcel in the markets we cover and keeps going: it draws the buildable envelope, shows which adjustments and rezonings could add to it, and runs the development math. Each zoning figure is linked to the section of the Chicago Zoning Ordinance it comes from, like §17-2-0304 for floor area ratio in Chicago, the market live today.

Flagged at the top of every report

Transit-served location (train or bus)
Opportunity Zone
ADU-Allowed RS Area, with its limits
Chicago Landmark
TIF district
606 and Pilsen special districts
Lot assemblages

Inside a report

What’s in a Lot Report

One parcel, answered end to end. Everything below is in the app today.

Capacity

What can be built

Zoning Diagram: A 3D model of the buildable envelope — the largest volume the district allows on this lot’s actual shape, drawn to scale. Rotate it, switch layers (envelope, setbacks, rear yard open space, existing footprint) and export a PNG.
Zoning Analysis: Lot dimensions, FAR and floor area, dwelling units (with ADU eligibility), height, rear yard open space, parking and every setback, each linked to the ordinance section it comes from.
Setbacks from the real block: The front setback is estimated from the neighbors’ actual front yards on a to-scale block plan with a satellite view. Switch the lot to a through lot or reversed corner lot and pick the lot behind it.
Preview a zoning change: Model the same lot under another district and watch the envelope, units and pro forma update.

Upside

What relief and bonuses would add

Adjustments & bonuses: Transit-served parking reductions and by-right ADUs are applied automatically where the lot qualifies. Administrative adjustments are listed with what each would gain, and a counter tracks Chicago’s four-adjustment limit.
Block character: In residential districts, a survey of the block’s multi-unit share and median front setback, the test behind rules like RS-3’s two-flat allowance.
Rezoning precedent: LotGrade’s Zoning AI reads comparable rezonings in the ward: how many were approved, how long they took, and whether precedent supports a change. Marked as AI analysis, not legal advice.
Possible zoning lot: A warning when adjacent parcels share an owner, since they may already be one zoning lot.

Feasibility

Whether the numbers work

Construction: Pick a product type (single-family, 2–6 unit, mixed-use, townhouse, condo) and set stories, floor area, units and efficiency.
Comparable sales: Arm’s-length Assessor sales in the neighborhood from the last four years, with a new-construction filter. Click a sale to use its price per square foot.
Development pro forma: Hard and soft costs, contingency, financing (defaulting to the current prime rate plus a margin), sellout and acquisition — presented as sources and uses, with exit metrics and margins, and exportable to Excel.
Saved deals: Save a scenario to your account and come back to it. The scenario also lives in the page URL.

Sources & UsesSample

Sources

Developer equity $377K25.0%

Loan $1.13M75.0%

Total sources $1.51M

Uses

Land $260K17.2%

Hard costs $975K64.7%

Contingency $49K3.2%

Soft costs $146K9.7%

Interest reserve $78K5.2%

Total uses $1.51M

Sellout (ARV)$1,975,000

Net profit$467,000

Margin23.6%

Diligence

Who owns it and what it’s worth

Zoning & lot: District, property class, and whether the current use conforms to the district.
Ownership & title: Owner, owner type and mailing address, the taxpayer of record, and the chain of recorded transfers with a link to Cook County Clerk recordings.
Value & taxes: Assessed land and building values, estimated market value, commercial valuation inputs, assessment appeals, tax sale status, TIF and Special Service Areas.
Building, location & environment: The existing building’s characteristics, ward and schools, FEMA flood zone, flood factor and airport noise, plus red flags like a pending tax sale.

Context

What’s happened here, and next door

Zoning history: Past and pending rezonings from the City Clerk, with status, hearings, applicant and attorney, and a link to the official record.
Permits: Pending permit applications and issued building permits for the parcel.
Enforcement: Code enforcement cases, building inspections and alleged violations.
Nearby activity: New construction, demolitions and major renovations within a quarter mile, on a map.

Mockups show each section’s structure with sample values — not a real property, owner or deal. Exports: print, diagram PNG, and the pro forma in Excel.

Compared

How it compares

These aren’t interchangeable. A Lot Report is for deciding which sites to pursue and how to underwrite them; a letter from the city is for the one you close on.

	LotGrade Lot Report	Typical desk zoning report	Zoning verification letter
Produced by	LotGrade, from public data and the ordinance	A report vendor or consultant	The municipality
Turnaround	Instant	Hours to weeks, depending on vendor	Weeks, depending on the city
Zoning rules with citations	Yes, linked to the ordinance	Usually	States the district; scope varies
3D buildable envelope	Yes	Sometimes	No
Adjustments, bonuses & rezoning scenarios	Yes, interactive	Rarely	No
Pro forma & comparable sales	Yes, with Excel export	Rarely	No
Ownership, title, taxes, permits & violations	Yes	Often	No
Official reliance at closing	No	Rarely	Yes

General comparison. Desk-report scope varies widely by vendor; verification letters vary by city.

Limits

What a Lot Report isn’t

It is not

A zoning determination or verification letter. Only the city issues those.
Legal advice. The rezoning precedent read uses AI and says so.
A survey or an appraisal. Lot lines, front setbacks and comparable sales are estimates from public data.

It can’t see

Recorded easements, covenants and private agreements.
Prior variations and adjustments that aren’t in the public datasets, or planned development terms beyond the district.
Legislation introduced after the latest data refresh.

Before you close, confirm the zoning with the city, order a survey, check title for easements, and talk to a zoning attorney about any relief you plan to seek. See Chicago Guides for how variations and rezonings work.

Who it’s for

Built for people sizing up land

Builders & DevelopersScreen many sites fast, then underwrite the ones worth pursuing.
ArchitectsStart massing from the real envelope and setbacks.
BrokersPrice land on what it can become, not what’s on it.
AttorneysSee the constraint to relieve and the ward’s precedent.
LendersCheck a sponsor’s assumptions against the code.
OwnersFind out what the lot you already hold could support.

Just curious about a district? The Zoning Field Guide and Zoning Resources are free, and need no account.

Data

Where the data comes from

Data	Source
Zoning districts	City of Chicago Data Portal
Zoning regulations	Chicago Municipal Code, Title 17
Parcel geometry & PINs	Cook County GIS
Property & assessment records	Cook County Assessor
Zoning history (rezonings)	Chicago City Clerk
Issued permits; inspections, cases & violations	City of Chicago Data Portal
Pending permit applications	Chicago Building Permit Portal
Transit-served areas	City of Chicago
Opportunity Zones	U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund / HUD

The sources behind a Chicago report; each market draws on its own city and county records, and every report lists them.

Questions

Common questions

What is a zoning report?

A document that sets out what the zoning code allows on one specific property: its district, the bulk and density limits, overlays, and the records that bear on it. A LotGrade Lot Report covers all of that for a Chicago parcel and adds a 3D buildable envelope, adjustment and rezoning scenarios, and a pro forma.

What is in a LotGrade Lot Report?

Four views of one parcel. Develop: the zoning diagram, zoning analysis with ordinance citations, adjustments and bonuses, rezoning precedent, construction inputs, comparable sales and a pro forma. Info: zoning use, ownership, title, assessment, taxes, the existing building, location and flood risk. History: rezonings, permits, inspections and violations. Nearby: construction activity within a quarter mile.

Is a Lot Report the same as a zoning verification letter?

No. A verification or certification letter comes from the city and is what lenders and title companies rely on at closing. A Lot Report is a screening and underwriting tool: use it to decide which sites are worth pursuing, then get official confirmation for the one you buy.

Which markets are covered?

Every parcel in the City of Chicago today, and more markets are in progress — tell us where you work. Within Chicago, parcels in planned development, planned manufacturing, parks and transportation districts get a plain-language district explanation and as-built density instead of the full envelope analysis.

How accurate is it?

Zoning rules come straight from the adopted ordinance — Title 17 in Chicago — and the rest from city and county public records, so a report is only as current as those sources. Estimates — the averaged front setback, the block survey, comparable sales and the AI precedent read — are labeled as estimates. Confirm anything you will rely on with a survey, the city, or a zoning attorney.

How do I get access?

LotGrade is invite-only for now. Book a walkthrough and we will set you up; the free Zoning Field Guide and zoning guides need no account.

Who uses Lot Reports?

Developers sizing up sites, architects checking a massing before design, brokers pricing land, attorneys preparing for a zoning change, and lenders and investors underwriting a project.

Get access

See a Lot Report for a site you’re evaluating

LotGrade is invite-only. Book a short demo and we’ll walk through a real parcel with you, then set up your account. Chicago is live today; if you work in another market, tell us which one.

Book a demo I have an account