You could also broaden your geographical footprint.

More specifically, code section 16-18-070 seems to indicate that it may be possible to get this fee waived if the area meets the goals in the City Space Plan.There are many, many pages of reading material online about the plan, but we are trying to figure out how to tell if the goals for our area are being met.Property is pretty squarely between the actual parks of Wicker Park and Humboldt Park and close to the 606, so this may not be one of the areas of the city requiring additional green space.Basically, if there is a viable way (by meeting current criteria of the City Space Plan) we’d like to not pay the fee if we can supply the correct information.It is very challenging to decipher this and we get one shot at getting the fee waived.If it matters, we are taking an existing 2 flat and turning it into a 3 flat – allowed by area zoning and there are no changes to the footprint of the existing building.We still have more research to do but we couldn’t even find specific information on the progress of the plan’s goals and what areas meet the Open Space Requirements now.16-18-070 Individualized Assessment Of Impact.

Some measure the footprint - literally the outside dimensions of the property - while others measure just the interior dimensions of the living space.  

I spoke with a friend who is an environmental engineer who said that it could be the ground water (rare but possible).

If so, liens are extinguished unless environmental liens from DEQ.

We ask the tenants to inform us of any problems that may arise, but take responsibility ourselves to do periodic inspections of the property.You may want to explore the aspects of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

I wouldn't worry too much about location since independent inspectors will usually travel a wide area.This person was recommended to DIG members - I have not had any need to use him yet:Rob LunnyLunny Environmental

It was just the slab on a pretty small footprint, but was still more than 10k Unless it's the deal of the century with a guaranteed massive return written by Zeus himself, I wouldn't repeat that experience.

Is the new deck the exact same footprint as the existing deck?

During my hiatus from the BP site I enrolled back in college to pursue my Masters in Environmental Engineering and got married just a little over a year ago.