Housing developers would be forced to set aside affordable housing units or to pay into an affordable housing fund if proposals discussed Thursday by the Evanston City Council passed.
Aldermen discussed methods of inclusionary housing at a Planning and Development meeting. The Evanston Community Development Department, which submitted the proposals, suggested that the city require housing developers to set aside 10 percent of each development as affordable housing. The requirement would apply to developments with more than 25 units.
Housing developers who do not set aside units would be required to contribute between $40,000 and $63,000 per unit to a city affordable-housing fund.
Aldermen rejected a third option under which developers would build affordable housing outside their construction sites. They said that plan could be more difficult for developers.
No final ordinance was proposed or passed Thursday. And aldermen and city staff expressed some concerns about the ordinance.
Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) said a 10 percent set-aside of affordable units would be too small.
“I think we have to make a bold statement,” he said.
Contributions to the trust fund could increase segregation, said James Wolinski, Evanston’s community development director, because the housing would be built in low-cost areas – likely in West Evanston.
“That way you would get the most bang for your buck,” Wolinski said. “(Evanston) would get the most affordable units.”
Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) questioned how a city affordable housing fund would be managed.
“We have no plan for that fund,” she said.
Evanston resident Sue Carlson, a member of the advocacy group Evanston’s Affordable Housing Future, said the council is taking too long to pass an ordinance about inclusionary housing.
“I would like them to move forward – they’re constantly talking,” she said.
An inclusionary housing regulation is one of many options to increase the amount of affordable housing in Evanston.
All nine aldermen approved the Affordable Housing Demolition Act, also known as a teardown tax, at a Nov. 28 meeting.
Evanston residents would have to pay at least $10,000 to demolish a house if they plan to replace it with a structure worth more than $500,000.
City officials hope the tax will reduce the number of home demolitions that replace affordable homes with more expensive ones.
These discussions occur as local house prices continue to appreciate, said Evanston Housing Planner Donna Spicuzza. The cost of single-family housing in Evanston has increased 40 percent from $290,000 in 2000 to $410,000 in 2004, according to the U.S. Census and Evanston transfer tax stamps.
The city defines housing as affordable if it costs less than 30 percent of a household’s gross annual income.
All residents older than 18 living in one residence make up a household’s income.
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