Beginning next Monday, Chicago-area REALTORS® can purchase Professional Service Parking Permits from the city of Chicago so they can park in residential zoned parking areas and show properties, conduct open houses and perform listing presentations from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Applicants who bring the proper documentation to Room 107 of Chicago City Hall and pay the annual fee – $500 for Chicagoans, $800 for residents of nearby counties – will receive non-transferable stickers that should be displayed on the windshields of their vehicles, according to information from the Chicago Association of REALTORS® (CAR). The permits are being launched as a two-year pilot program. Find out the details.
The permits are available after years of lobbying and advocacy by Illinois REALTORS®. The idea was unanimously passed by the Chicago City Council in November 2015, according to CAR. The permits are an enhanced version of REALTOR® sticker that was used in Chicago in the early 2000s but didn’t last. Local Governmental Affairs Director Brian Bernardoni worked with Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza to establish the pilot program.
“REALTORS® have a friend in City Clerk Susana Mendoza,” Bernardoni says. “She knew well the issues with the first permit and led the way to develop a meaningful program for our members and clients.”
The permits will give REALTORS® more flexibility in serving their clients seven days a week, he adds.