City planning and housing officials are looking to introduce an ordinance this month to make it harder to convert some small apartment buildings into single-family homes, a process blamed for the loss of affordable housing in gentrifying areas.

Speaking during a meeting of the City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Tuesday, Chicago Department of Housing Comm. Marisa Novara said the ordinance will require property owners to apply for a zoning change before converting two- to six-unit apartment buildings into single-family homes in some multifamily residential zones.

PharmaCann got city approval to open a dispensary at 60 W. Superior St. in River North (left) and The Herbal Care Center got a permit to open at 222 S. Halsted St. in Greektown. GOOGLE

The Herbal Care Center and PharmaCann got Zoning Board approval for new dispensaries. Now, the state has to sign off.

CHICAGO — Following three long and contentious meetings, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals approved permits for two new weed dispensaries close to Downtown without any objection Friday.

The Herbal Care Center, at 222 S. Halsted St. in Greektown, and PharmaCann, at 60 W. Superior St. in River North, received special-use permits at the monthly virtual meeting of the board. The permits are a city requirement, but the two proposed dispensaries still need a state license before they can open.

News in brief: Delivery fee caps set for approval; $134M Cook County Forest Preserves budget faces final vote

Mayor Lori Lightfoot during a press conference on Monday said she is putting additional funding toward violence prevention and program that would send mental health professionals and police to mental health calls.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed on Monday to pad her proposed 2021 budget with an extra $10 million in funding toward violence prevention efforts and expand a plan to send mental health professionals to respond to emergencies. Yet even with the added measures, the mayor faces an uphill battle to get at least 26 “yes” votes.

Many aldermen remain skeptical of Lightfoot’s plan to close the city’s $1.2 billion budget chasm by hiking the city’s property tax levy by $94 million and restructuring or refinancing $1.7 billion in debt. Lightfoot on Monday formally introduced her proposed $1.63 billion tax levy (O2020-5747), plus a revenue ordinance (O2020-5749) spelling out plans to issue more than $2 billion in borrowing.