A side yard is a fenced yard directly adjacent to a neighbor’s home and can be used for any purpose allowed by zoning. 

Purchase price: 

• The market value of vacant, City-owned property listed for sale is located on ChiBlockBuilder.com.
• Side Yard applicants can submit a purchase offer of ten percent (10%) of market value. 

Name of individual or of business or non-profit

• Individuals must include their full legal first and last name. 
• Non-profits or businesses must include their legal and DBA name as registered with the Illinois Secretary of State. 

Address of residence, non-profit, or business

• Individuals must provide their primary residence address. 
• Non-profits or businesses must provide their physical business address. 

Proof of ownership of immediately adjacent property

• Applicants for Side Yards must provide proof of ownership of their place of primary residence or physical business address as being immediately adjacent to the Side Yard for which they are applying to purchase. A copy of the deed or of a mortgage document is sufficient. 

Proof of residence of immediately adjacent property

• Applicants for Side Yards must live next door to the property for which they are applying to purchase. A copy of a utility bill showing both the service address and billing address as one of the adjacent properties, or a government-issued ID with one of the adjacent property’s addresses, is required. A government-issued photo ID with one of the adjacent property’s addresses is preferred. 

Purchase offer

• Each application must include a proposed purchase price. For side yards, this should be 10% of the market value. For example, a lot with a market value of $20,000 should have a purchase offer of $2,000.

Economic Disclosure Statement (EDS) 

• This can be completed online here. Download a PDF copy to upload to the application. 

Indebtedness check

• The applicant must not have any outstanding debts or financial obligations to the City or delinquent real estate property taxes.    
• If the applicant is a non-profit, the indebtedness check is performed on the non-profit organization and its officers. 
• If the applicant is a business, the indebtedness check is performed on all ownership interests of greater than 7.5 percent (7.5%).   

Side Yard applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:  

• Confirmation that the applicant owns and lives on the property directly adjacent to the City-owned property. This means the City-owned lot must be to the right or left (or in some cases the rear) of the applicant’s property where they live as their primary residence.  
• Capacity to maintain property and pay property taxes. 
• Capacity to install and maintain fence. 

Note: If property owners on either side of the City-owned property both apply with a complete application and meet the criteria, a lottery will be held at the Department of Planning and Development offices to determine the winner.