# Find vacant property near transit stations and lines This tutorial will demonstrate how to use Property Finder in a Place Report (for any of CTA's eight 'L' lines) to find vacant property, especially those that are in the "Transit-Served Location" (TSL) areas. The Transit-Served Location ordinance is commonly known as "TOD", for "Transit-Oriented Development". This tutorial will also work for any Place Report, including transit-specific Place Reports like [Metra's commuter rail lines](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php#/?places_type=metraline) and the [eligible bus route corridors](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php#/?places_type=chicagotodbusroute). ## What this tutorial will cover The tutorial will show you how to locate properties near a CTA 'L' line that have the following characteristics: 1. Within a B, C, D, or M zoning district (the primary zoning districts where the TSL ordinance applies) 2. Has the property classification of "Vacant Land (1-00)" 3. Within 2,640 feet of a CTA or Metra station, or within 1,320 feet of an eligible bus route corridor (this is what we call a "transit facility") Note that the TOD ordinance does not have any standards or benefits that apply in "R" zoning districts. ## Select the type of Place Report to search We present three options below: (a) the Green Line, which represents the train tracks; (b) a CTA station; (c) a Chicago community area. ### (a) begin with the Green Line The Green Line is a line-shaped Place Report, and will find property within certain distances of the tracks. If you are trying to search around a CTA station or in a boundary (like a Chicago community area, ZIP code, or ward), follow the directions in the next two sections. 1. After you've signed in to a paid Cityscape account, open the Place Report for the [Green Line (all segments)](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php?place=ctaline-green-line-all). 2. Next, click the "Property Finder" button under the map. This will open a table and box of filters. The map will load 10 properties (also called parcels) ordered by their Property Index Number (PIN). 3. Then, locate these filters and change them to the specified option: - "Change the search area": 1,320 feet (1/4 mile) - "Filter by transit/TOD proximity": click the "Chicago TOD/TSL" option - "Filter by zoning": search for "TOD" and select "TOD prim. parking districts (RM-5+,B,C,D,M,PMD-B)" - "Filter by Property Class": type in "1-00" and select "Vacant Land (1-00)" 4. Finally, click the "Apply filters" button. ### (b) analyze a CTA station The steps to find property near a CTA station are very similar. First, open the Place Report for the station you want - [here's a table and map of all CTA stations](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php#/?places_type=ctastation). Search for it by name and line. If you search for "Western Blue Line" the search results will present the ["Western/Milwaukee" Blue Line station](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/ctastation-western-milwaukee) and the ["Western (Forest Park branch)" Blue Line station](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/ctastation-western-congress). Choose appropriately. 1. Open the [Western (Forest Park branch)](http://chicagocityscape.com/place/ctastation-western-congress) station. 2. Next, click the "Property Finder" button under the map. This will open a table and box of filters. The map will load 10 properties (also called parcels) ordered by their Property Index Number (PIN). 3. Then, locate these filters and change the to the specified option (notice that train station Place Reports automatically set the search area to 1,320 feet, or 1/4 mile): - "Filter by transit/TOD proximity": click the "Chicago TOD/TSL" option - "Filter by zoning": search for "TOD" and select "TOD prim. parking districts (RM-5+,B,C,D,M,PMD-B)" - "Filter by Property Class": type in "1-00" and select "Vacant Land (1-00)" 4. Finally, click the "Apply filters" button. ### (c) use a Chicago community area The steps to find property in an area (like a Chicago community area, ZIP code, ward, or one your draw yourself) are nearly identical to the steps in the previous two sections. 1. Open a Chicago community area that has CTA stations, like [North Lawndale](http://chicagocityscape.com/maps/index.php?place=communityarea-north-lawndale) station. 2. Next, click the "Property Finder" button under the map. This will open a table and box of filters. The map will load 10 properties (also called parcels) ordered by their Property Index Number (PIN). 3. Then, locate these filters and change them to the specified option: - "Filter by transit/TOD proximity": click the "Chicago TOD/TSL" option - "Filter by zoning": search for "TOD" and select "TOD prim. parking districts (RM-5+,B,C,D,M,PMD-B)" - "Filter by Property Class": type in "1-00" and select "Vacant Land (1-00)" 4. Finally, click the "Apply filters" button. ## Try additional filters Feel free to remove and add other filters as needed. For example: - Select a different property class - Choose "Chicago-owned land" in the "Special filters" list - Show properties in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT) or an incentive area like an Enterprise Zone - Filter by minimum or maximum lot size Users are cautioned about long processing times. In large areas, if there are too few filters, the processing time may exceed one or even five minutes. However, with a property class filter applied, the processing time will often be less than one minute. ## Results - There are approximately 476 vacant lots along the Green Line (all branches) meeting the city's TOD requirements. (At the time this tutorial was written.) - You can see some clustering around the Kedzie and California Green Line stations, and the Western Avenue bus route corridor. Tip: Only the first 25 properties will appear. You can change that number to 500 to show all resulting properties. You can apply more filters to find city-owned land. [[Exporting to spreadsheet|Learn how to export data to use in a spreadsheet]] like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. The screenshot below shows the four filters applied in this tutorial. ![Screenshot of the Property Finder filters labels the four filters that were discussed in this tutorial](images/todvacantlots_filters.png) The second screenshot shows the clustering of vacant lots in the East Garfield Park and Near West Side community areas. ![A screenshot of a map showing the clustering of vacant lots in the East Garfield Park and Near West Side community areas](images/todvacantlots_clustering.png) # Related articles - [[Picks]] - search less, find more, as properties with good development and transit proximity characteristics are presented with a one-click filter.