Plan to Build More Affordable Housing on Far Northwest Side Survives Test.

Aldermen sided with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday in a dispute over a proposal to build a 48-unit affordable housing complex in Jefferson Park, turning back an effort by Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) to block the development.

The City Council’s Zoning Committee took no action on a measure from Sposato that would have blocked a plan from Full Circle Communities to transform a long-vacant lot in Jefferson Park into an apartment complex using $1.5 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

The plan from Full Circle Communities calls for two four-story buildings with 48 units to be built near Lawrence and Austin avenues on the Far Northwest Side, where many residents pride themselves on a lack of multifamily unit housing and relish the suburban-like vibe of their community.

While Lightfoot and Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara backed the proposal that reignited the furious debate surrounding Chicago’s massive affordable housing shortfall, Sposato said the plan was too dense and had too few parking spaces.