Sun-Times file
The City Council moved Wednesday to preserve affordable housing and slow gentrification that has displaced so many long-time residents of Pilsen and the neighborhoods of Logan Square, Wicker Park, Humboldt Park and Bucktown around the wildly popular 606 trail.
The “anti-deconversion” ordinances championed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot would generally make it more difficult for owners and developers of property on certain blocks to turn their multi-unit buildings into expensive single-family homes that only exacerbate Chicago’s affordable housing crisis.
The 606 protections were approved in conjunction with a two-month extension of anti-demolition rules. That will buy time for the city and local aldermen to finalize a more sweeping protection plan that includes “demolition impact fees.”