Residents debated the relationship between Envision Evanston 2045 and the city’s historic districts at a joint 1st, 3rd and 7th Ward meeting Tuesday. 

The Envision Evanston 2045 comprehensive plan and rezoning overhaul has been under fire since its launch last February. The city initially aimed for its full adoption by March 2025, but this timeline has since been delayed.

While the comprehensive plan and rezoning overhaul were at first considered concurrently, City Council split the two at its Jan. 13 meeting. Current discussion is centered on the comprehensive plan.

At the joint ward meeting, residents were concerned about the initial draft plan’s wording in the housing section, which would allow a variety of housing types in most neighborhoods.

“All the rest of it can be rainbows and unicorns, but as long as that’s still in there, single-family homes can be torn down anywhere in the city,” resident Steve Test said.

City staff assured attendees that this language had been removed from the draft prior to the meeting in response to similar complaints. An updated version is set to be released Feb. 21.

Evanston Preservation Planner Cade Sterling assuaged further concerns about the relationship between the existing Historic Preservation Ordinance and new development goals, which some residents said would allow for unrestricted demolition and rebuilding. 

Sterling emphasized that the current Historic Preservation Ordinance in the City Code, which establishes the preservation review process, will take precedence over new zoning changes under Envision Evanston. 

“Ultimately the zoning yields to the Preservation Ordinance,” Sterling said. “So in that sense, just because the zoning says that your building can be 35 feet tall, it doesn’t mean that you’re going to meet the standards for scale and height in the Preservation Ordinance.” 

Sterling said that instead of instituting minute changes to housing policy, the comprehensive plan is intended to set broad goals for the city’s development. He said the zoning code would thus be the “tool” necessary to implement these goals. 

Regarding preservation, Sterling said the comprehensive plan aims to allow for the natural evolution of the preservation process. Instead of focusing solely on the built environment, the new plan strives to take an intersectional approach in which climate resilience, affordability, cultural resources and living heritage are considered in tandem. 

Still, many residents expressed dismay that the comprehensive plan currently in consideration would fundamentally alter the Evanston environment and dismantle their neighborhoods.

“If I wanted to live in the city of Chicago, I would move to the city of Chicago,” resident Lucinda Johnston said. “I like the aesthetic here.”

This sentiment was explicitly tied to prevalent worries that the plan would allow high-rise development directly next to existing single-family homes. Residents pushed for the inclusion of a guiding statement into the plan that would encourage the city to consider the context of each historic district and its surroundings. 

Some of this concern was also tied to a lack of clarity about the future of neighborhoods that are not historically recognized districts. Sterling said there are roughly 430 local landmarks outside of Evanston’s historic districts and that these individual landmarks are more vulnerable. He suggested the creation of pocket historic districts to help protect these sites.

Other residents were concerned about the plan’s ambiguous handling of affordable housing. Residents said the plan failed to define the parameters of affordable housing, leaving the community at the mercy of developers. 

Many attendees presented solutions. One resident proposed the incorporation of prescriptive design guidelines, a suggestion that was met with applause. Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) said she is working to integrate the creation of an urban design commission into the plan. 

The City Council members that attended the meeting stressed the importance of community engagement as the debate over Envision Evanston continues. 

“We want your input as the comprehensive plan is being developed,” Kelly said. “This is about the community.”

Email: sophiebaker2028@u.northwestern.edu 

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