"Chicago needs to rewrite the zoning ordinance so that it iscompatible with modern uses, and meets the unique needs and goalsof our neighborhoods for today and into the future," said Daley.With the city in the midst of a building boom it hasn't seen sincerebuilding after the Great Fire of 1871, itÕs easy to find examplesof projects and "mini high-rises" that are not compatible with thescale and density of current development. There's even a photoexample of this on the City's Web site devoted to the ordinance,www.cityofchicago.org/mayor/zoning.

Some of the goals of the ordinance include: protecting propertyvalues; strengthening neighborhood retail districts; establishingdesign standards for both downtown and the neighborhoods; improvingaccess to transportation; encouraging the development of more parksand open space; and simplifying code regulations.

Even with such lofty goals in mind, politics do enter thepicture. Chairman of the commission is attorney John R. Schmidt, apartner with Mayer Brown & Platt and a former Democraticcandidate for Illinois governor. He was also once Mayor Daley'schief of staff. Schmidt has put an estimate of "more than a year,"for the rewrite of the code. However, something as complex as this,with more than one million parcels of property, could take as longas three years by some calculations.