Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that two ordinances have been introduced to City Council that establish the terms and conditions of the land use and authorize roadway vacations related to the Obama Presidential Center (OPC). The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has introduced an ordinance that contains a Master Agreement, Use Agreement and Environmental Agreement between the Obama Foundation and the City of Chicago. The Foundation must comply with the Museum Act’s free admission requirements. Parking fees must be consistent with the rates charged at the Museum of Science and Industry or in the North Garage adjacent to the Field Museum, and these fees may solely be used on OPC operations, maintenance and management or deposited into the endowment.

Among other things, the Environmental Agreement requires the Foundation to perform an environmental investigation of the OPC site and remediate contamination exceeding residential remediation standards. The DPD ordinance also authorizes an amendment to the 2015 Intergovernmental Agreement between the city and the Chicago Park District that provided for the transfer of land in Jackson Park or Washington Park to the city for subsequent use by the Obama Foundation for the construction, operation and maintenance of the OPC. The amendment authorizes the city to acquire the title from the Park District to the reconfigured site in Jackson Park, which is approximately the same size as the original site (19.3 acres and 20 acres, respectively). The Foundation is expected to break ground for the OPC next year.