By Louis McGill
Ninety-two years after Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata’s assassination in 1919, the Zapata name has been dragged into another struggle over land use.
This modern-day battle pits a proposed housing development, known as Zapata Apartments, against a community group concerned about the project’s impact on property values in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.
The opposition group, Armitage Neighbors Together (ANT) argues that a new apartment building for low-to-moderate income families would create a “dumping ground for poverty,” according to their website.
Despite vocal opposition and legal challenges, Zapata Apartments, like its namesake, has shown itself to be difficult to defeat.
The project, the result of a partnership between the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) and the non-profit Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, would bring 61 units of affordable housing to the neighborhood, with 31 two-bedroom units, 22 three-bedroom units, and 8 one-bedroom units. The construction would replace four long-vacant lots at 3230 W. Armitage, 1955 N. St. Louis, 1900 N. Ridgeway and 3503 W. Armitage Ave.
The opposing organization filed a suit once before to try and stop the project, which they lost last September. They filed a second suit against the zoning change that saved the project last December, which was dismissed by the Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mary Mikva on May 4.
That suit contended that September’s zoning changes granted by the City Council and the development of the apartments unconstitutionally deprives them of their property rights.
“We are very excited and very grateful,” said Lisette Castaneda, co-chair of the LSNA’s housing committee, about the ruling.
She hopes that ANT will now spend their energy and resources on trying to work with them instead of against them.
But, the fight is far from over.
Attorney Thomas Ramsdell, who represents ANT, has a history of fighting the city on various zoning changes and TIF expenditures. He said that his clients disagree with what he calls a “novel decision” by the courts, and are considering their appeal options.
According to Ramsdell, Judge Mikva’s dismissal violates a legal precedent that has governed rezoning in Illinois for the past 50 years. The precedent he cites is a legal test called the LaSalle balancing test that he says weigh the benefit to the public against the harm to property owners, taking into account factors such as community need for the proposed rezoning and care of the community in its land-use planning.
While the LaSalle test was mentioned in the court’s opinion, the judge said that it did not apply to this type of challenge.
“We think this decision sets dangerous precedent for zoning challenges,” he said, “regardless of the type of project contemplated, and essentially makes the City’s zoning decisions review-proof.”
The idea to name the project after the revered Mexican revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata, came after a Bickerdike employee passed by a man in a Zapata t-shirt walking by one of the lots. The name seemed fitting given the large Latino population in Logan Square and Zapata’s historic struggle for land reform in Mexico.
According to their website, ANT has opposed the development because of worries that it would be too large and population-dense for the area, cause a dip in property values, and cost taxpayers millions through the use of Tax Increment Financing funds. They also believe that the neighborhood already has an excess of affordable housing.
Castaneda disagrees.
According to her, the housing available in Logan Square is often too expensive for families making the median income of the neighborhood. The units in their price range, she said, are single-bedroom units that are unsuitable for families with children.
“I think that there is a difference between quality housing and available housing,” she said.
In response to the charge that the project would create a “dumping ground for poverty”, Castaneda said the resident selection process outlined on the Zapata Apartments site is rigorous, involving income requirements, criminal background checks, personal references, an inspection of their current residence, and approval by a body comprised of tenants and other neighborhood residents.
Tito Vargas of the West Town Concerned Citizens Coalition is unconcerned about ANT’s claims. His organization’s offices are located across from one of the lots, and he said they support the development, citing Bickerdike’s good reputation. According to Vargas, it is necessary in the area because gentrification continues to push low-income families westward.
Castaneda said that the two groups have made attempts to work out their differences amicably. According to her, they have met to speak about their concerns and previously made changes to their original plans, including a decrease in number of units, due to opposition and discussions with local aldermen.
“I don’t know what else we can do to work with them,” she said. “I think they will find fault and opposition in everything we do.”
The Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation and LSNA are moving forward regardless of ANT’s continued opposition. According to Castaneda, they only need to secure a little more funding before finally breaking ground later this year.
