Chicago Air Quality Ordinance
The Air Quality Ordinance, approved by City Council in March 2021, regulates the construction and expansion of certain facilities that create air pollution.
The regulations require a formal City review process and expand public engagement opportunities for the zoning, public health and transportation implications of many types of intensive manufacturing and industrial operations.
The ordinance requires site plan review and approval by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), for the following types of operations:
- Class III recycling
- Class IVA recycling
- Class IVB recycling
- Class V recycling
- Container storage
- Freight terminal
- Intensive manufacturing, production and industrial service
- Outdoor storage of raw materials, as a principal use
- Warehousing, wholesaling, and freight movement
- Waste-related uses
- Coke and coal bulk material uses
- Windrow composting
- Manganese bearing material uses
As part of its site plan submittal, the business must include a traffic study, which will be reviewed by CDOT, and an air quality impact study, which will be reviewed by CDPH.
The air quality impact study will model potential emissions from the business and its proposed operations. Applicants will use air modeling software, such as the U.S. EPA’s AERMOD and EPA MOVES, to evaluate emissions from various sources, such as processing equipment, diesel engines of yard and on-road vehicles, paved and unpaved surfaces, material handling, and wind erosion of stockpiles. In addition to a written report, applicants will submit data files for review by CDPH.
Both CDOT and CDPH will provide opportunities for public review and comment on the traffic and air quality studies, and together provide a joint recommendation on the proposal to the City of Chicago’s Zoning Administrator.
Additionally, the business must host or co-host a neighborhood meeting in the ward in which the project is proposed to give residents and community stakeholders an opportunity to learn more about the proposed project.
Planned Development Requirements
A Planned Development (PD) zoning process is required for all the aforementioned business types on sites that exceed 10 acres. PDs require review by the Chicago Plan Commission, the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards, and the full City Council.
A PD process is also required for the following business types if they locate within 660 feet of certain residential (R), business (B), commercial (C) or public open space (POS) zoning districts.
- Class III recycling
- Class IVA recycling
- Class IVB recycling
- Class V recycling
- Container storage
- Freight terminal
- Intensive manufacturing, production and industrial service
- Outdoor storage of raw materials, as a principal use
- Waste-related uses
- Coke and coal bulk material uses
- Windrow composting
- Manganese bearing material uses
Businesses that are subjected to the PD requirement must also complete the aforementioned traffic and air quality studies. CDOT and CDPH will also review those documents and provide an opportunity for public comment before offering a joint recommendation to the DPD zoning administrator.
The public review and community meeting requirements also apply. The entire review process must be completed before the PD application can proceed to Plan Commission with a recommendation from the Zoning Administrator.
Additional Requirements and Regulations
All new industrial uses described above are subject to DPD’s Chicago Sustainable Development Policy, last updated in 2017.
Additionally, type one zoning map amendment applications that include the establishment of residential, daycare, school, hospital, recreational open space, an outdoor patio, outdoor assembly or other specifically defined sensitive uses located within 660 feet of any of the aforementioned types of business must obtain a special use, unless the zoning amendment also requires a PD.
Other aspects of this ordinance completely ban new incinerators, landfills and mining operations from opening in the city, and remove daycare as an allowed use in all manufacturing (M) districts and all PMD-A districts.
For information on public comment and proposed projects, visit the Air Quality Ordinance webpage. Questions on the Air Quality Ordinance can be directed to dpd@cityofchicago.org. Businesses seeking a zoning opinion on these matters should request a zoning opinion letter from the Office of the Zoning Administrator.