Evanston’s 3rd Ward City Council candidates and mayoral hopefuls gathered at Evanston SPACE on Sunday afternoon and dished out their takes on Envision Evanston 2045, affordable housing and transit-oriented development.

As incumbent Mayor Daniel Biss and challenger Jeff Boarini took the stage first, they exchanged lighthearted banter but primarily focused on the issues.

The two adversaries differed in their approach in opening statements. Biss highlighted policies on reparations and affordable housing from his term, but acknowledged he has more work to do.

Boarini, meanwhile, highlighted his managerial experience and recounted how his romantic relationship with Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) informed his opinion that the city government remains unresponsive to its residents.

With Envision Evanston — the city’s overhaul of its comprehensive plan and zoning code — Boarini expressed a need for more public engagement, while Biss emphasized the value of committee expertise.

“It doesn’t quite feel comprehensive to me,” Boarini said.

At the forum Sunday, Biss admitted the proposal was not yet ready to face a vote, pending updated Land Use Commission recommendations and resident feedback on zoning changes.

City Council is expected to vote on the comprehensive plan sometime after the April 1 municipal elections, and the zoning code in September.

The approval process has been wrought with controversy, with councilmembers split over the plan’s potential impact on property values. Biss and Boarini each said, if elected, they would work to build consensus and limit alleged obstructionism on City Council.

After the mayoral segment of the forum, 3rd Ward candidates Gennifer Geer, Shawn Iles and John Kennedy stepped up to the plate. The trio is running for an open seat after veteran Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) chose to retire after a 28-year tenure.

At first, the aspirants seemed aligned on major issues. All three candidates supported the Chicago Avenue Multimodal Corridor Improvements, which facilitate multiple forms of safe transportation.

“The money is not going to just pay for a bike lane. It also will pay for improved street lighting and traffic lights, synchronized traffic lights, so hopefully that makes it easier to move cars through the corridor,” Geer said. “I think if you tell most people that, they will be like, ‘Okay, that’s a good enough improvement that we’re okay with the reshuffle of the parking.’”

Geer concurred with Iles and Kennedy that improved bike lanes could not come at the cost of parking for 3rd Ward residents. Not yet, anyway.

The candidates also sparred on transit-oriented development and affordable housing — key components of the debate over the city’s revised zoning code.

In November, city staff proposed rezoning much of Chicago Avenue south of Dempster Street to increase the maximum allowable building height from 45 feet to 100 feet.

Though all three candidates agreed that the current height limit should remain, Kennedy expressed some skepticism.

“It’s very difficult for a developer to build and make money unless they go tall,” he said.

Kennedy said the city needed to find a way to attract developers while maintaining affordable housing. He was the lone 3rd Ward candidate to oppose the Healthy Buildings Ordinance.

While Geer argued it was possible to maintain housing affordability while tightening emissions regulations, Kennedy maintained that the renovation costs required to comply with the ordinance would increase rents to an untenable level for many residents.

Each 3rd Ward candidate also had varying opinions on the future of the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, pending a March 10 City Council vote on whether to consider returning municipal operations there.

Kennedy and Iles landed on opposite sides of the debate. Kennedy said the city could consider remaining at the Civic Center and conducting a partial rehabilitation, while Iles said it should adaptively reuse the historic building for housing.

Geer said that the city does not have the necessary information, including cost estimates and development proposals, to decide the Civic Center’s future.

“What I would hate is a repeat of Harley Clarke (Mansion), where we have a building that stays vacant for 10 years,” Geer said.

As Evanston attempts to balance its progressive proposals with economic realism and some residential opposition, each 3rd Ward candidate expressed different priorities for the ward.

For Iles, the main issues facing the ward were Envision Evanston and lakefront preservation. Geer identified fiscal responsibility and lambasted council members who supported a property tax increase.

Kennedy selected Envision Evanston. While he criticized the lack of detail in the comprehensive plan’s initial draft, he said he generally supports the initiative’s goals.

All three candidates said City Council would have to collaborate across the dais to pass Envision Evanston. They agreed that members would need to compromise on the specifics to achieve the plan’s overarching goals of climate action and housing reform.

“If we’re going to get everything done, we need nuance, we need compromise and we need willingness to listen to each other,” Geer said.

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