Aldermen ignored a colleague’s opposition to a Far Northwest Side apartment complex with affordably priced units Tuesday, giving the project a key approval and dealing a blow to Chicago’s tradition of council members calling the shots in their own wards.

       The City Council Zoning Committee approved the Glenstar O’Hare development by a 12-5 vote, despite local Ald. Anthony Napolitano arguing it isn’t a good fit for the area just east of O’Hare International Airport. The proposal will head to the full council Wednesday.

       The fight over the 297-unit Glenstar project has dragged on for years.

       It includes 59 affordable units, and has become a flashpoint in the racially charged fight over the need for affordable housing in Chicago.

       City Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara spoke in favor of the proposal Tuesday, saying it will provide much-needed lower-cost apartments for people who work at O’Hare.

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       And it would meet the city’s goal of building more housing close to public transit, in this case the CTA Blue Line Cumberland stop that’s nearby, she said.

       Ald. Anthony Napolitano, 41st, during a meeting at City Hall on Oct. 29, 2021. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

       Novara pointed to the lack of affordable housing on the Far Northwest Side compared to other parts of Chicago.

       “Our stance is that all communities need to contribute to meeting the city’s affordable housing needs. All communities. And this, too, is a citywide issue,” Novara said.

       Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s support for the project makes it a key front in her pledge to target aldermanic prerogative, the custom in the council of aldermen enjoying de facto veto power over developments in neighborhoods they represent.

       Napolitano, of the 41st Ward, told the committee there are already hundreds of vacant apartments in the area, many managed by “mom and pop” landlords struggling through the pandemic.

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       And he framed the vote, which would change the property zoning to allow the apartments to be built, as part of the Lightfoot administration’s broader attempt to take local decision-making away from those who know best what neighborhoods need.

       “Today, it’s a commercial (property) that’s being forced into being changed to residential in 41. Tomorrow, it may be residential into manufacturing in your ward,” Napolitano said.

       “Today, I’m sitting in the hot seat. And you may like me, you may hate me. But your decision will definitely reflect the precedent when you are sitting in the hot seat tomorrow. This is a complete overstep of our office. This is a complete overstep of what our ward wants.”

       The Glenstar project made it to the Zoning Committee in 2018 but got voted down, with Napolitano saying it would be too dense and lead to school overcrowding.

       Glenstar returned this year with a similar proposal, and the city Plan Commission approved it in August with the support of officials from the Lightfoot administration.

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       Opponents of the zoning change might still use a parliamentary maneuver Wednesday to delay a vote until January.

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       Lightfoot ran for election on a promise to end aldermanic prerogative, but she has faced fierce pushback from the City Council at nearly every turn.

       The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is pursuing its own investigation of aldermanic power over affordable housing and recently sent letters to aldermen asking about the role prerogative plays in local development decisions.

       The overwhelmingly white Northwest Side bungalow belt has been ground zero for recent affordable housing fights.

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       Ald. John Arena, 45th, shepherded a Jefferson Park project with affordable units through the City Council despite opposition from area residents who complained it would lead to traffic problems and school overcrowding.

       Supporters said opponents really wanted to keep minorities out of the neighborhood.

       Arena lost his reelection bid in 2019 to Jim Gardiner, who had the backing of opponents of the project. The outgoing alderman was forced to abandon a plan to greenlight another apartment complex with affordable units at the Six Corners shopping district, which Gardiner opposed.

       jebyrne@chicagotribune.com

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