The Land Use Commission expressed support for the city’s draft Strategic Housing Plan at a Wednesday night meeting in one of the first discussions of the project before a city committee.

Commissioners praised the draft plan — known as Housing4All — and advised city staff on details including off-campus student housing, geographic differences across Evanston and coordination with the city’s other major projects.

“It’s a very good document,” Commissioner Kiril Mirinchev said. “It’s necessary to be at our disposal and at the disposal of anybody that plans the future of Evanston.”

City staff released the Housing4All draft plan on Sept. 12 alongside a study showing an “affordability gap” in which almost half of the city’s renters are cost-burdened. By spending over 30% of their income on housing, many lower-income, middle-income and minority households are pushed out of the city. In response, the draft plan aims to preserve affordable housing units, fill gaps in housing supply and prevent displacement, Senior Housing Planner Uri Pachter said.

Community groups advocating for more diverse housing options have applauded the plan while some expressed concern that the plan may not achieve its lofty goals. A feedback form for the 82-page document will close Sunday, but Pachter said there will be additional opportunities for community members to share their ideas.

Mirinchev emphasized that the study’s data should align with the city’s existing projects. Various conflicting timelines — 2035 for Housing4All, 2040 for Evanston’s Preserve 2040 plan, 2045 for Envision Evanston 2045 — force decision makers like the Land Use commissioners to hesitate because they aren’t sure how these individual plans will fit in the broader picture.

He added that he wanted the housing study’s conclusions to be added to the draft comprehensive plan.

“Summarize them in a single document, and then this is the document that actually makes the policy of the city of Evanston for 20 years ahead,”  Mirinchev said. “It’s more of a wish, but maybe when we continue with this, we can synchronize all these plans and align the data between them.”

Although Planning and Zoning Manager Liz Williams said city staff was “thrown in the ringer” after being forced to take the lead on the city’s comprehensive plan, she shared Mirinchev’s dream of eventually streamlining city data.

Commissioner Max Puchtel asked Pachter for more information on which areas of the city have particularly severe housing gaps. Residents near the city’s affordable housing projects have told the committee they feel the developments are concentrated in their neighborhood, he said.

“It’s important to me that there aren’t any areas of Evanston that are off-limits from these kinds of goals,” he said.

Jeanne Lindwall, the commission’s chair, said housing types should match buyers’ unique needs, not just their budgets. Middle-income seniors would probably not be interested in multi-unit houses with stairs, she said, but they might be more willing to choose smaller buildings with elevators.

She noted that Northwestern students living off-campus could have skewed the housing gap data. Students may seem to be cost-burdened because they have little income, she said, but that might not reflect their full financial situation.

The 2023 American Community Survey, the basis for the housing analysis, showed that 20% of Evanston’s Asian population makes less than $25,000 per year, Lindwall added. She suggested that the statistic may be due in part to NU’s student population, and the anomaly should be considered as the city makes policy decisions based on the data. 

The commission also started the process to update its rules for the first time since April 2023. Most of city staff’s suggestions, which Williams said were based on their experiences preparing for and holding meetings, involved clarifying meeting procedure and workshopping public comment rules. 

Commissioners expressed support for allowing anyone to apply for an extension on certain development projects procedures without providing a reason. However, commissioners encouraged applicants to provide a reason of their own accord. They also discussed reducing the advance notice required for groups who want to speak at public comment from five business days to 24 hours before meetings.

The commission will consider further updates to the rules at its next meeting Nov. 12.

“Our mission here really is to hear from the public and make an informed decision,” she said. “So, I think we’re sacrificial lambs when it comes to letting the public speak, but I think it’s important.”

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