The Housing and Community Development Committee voted 7-2 Tuesday advising the City Council to pass the Pilot Property Circuit Breaker Program alongside the city’s Strategic Housing Plan.
The Property Circuit Breaker program aims to subsidize property taxes for Evanston homeowners of over 15 years with $500,000 from the Northwestern Good Neighbor Affordable Housing Fund.
The Strategic Housing Plan, commonly known as Housing4All, is a 10-year plan that aims to address issues such as Evanston’s lack of affordable housing and increasing housing costs. Council will vote at its Jan. 26 meeting whether to consolidate the circuit breaker program into the comprehensive housing plan.
Community activist Meleika Gardner expressed frustration over the tax relief plan’s potential consolidation after working with Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) for over a year to develop the program.
“We don’t want something like this that can really bring relief immediately to so many people stalled in that Strategic Housing Plan,” Gardner said after the committee’s vote. “This was a standalone because the Strategic Housing Plan did not address property tax relief. It didn’t address it until tonight.”
The Strategic Housing Plan did not propose property tax relief as an initiative until its January draft.
Kelly, who has been an advocate of the Property Circuit Breaker Program, presented amendments Tuesday night, including disclosing non-taxable assets in calculating financial need, reducing the maximum eligible house size to 1,800 square feet and extending benefits to homeowners who have lived across multiple Evanston residences over the 15-year requirement.
She also thanked Cook County Commissioner Samantha Steele, State Sen. Laura Fine and Illinois House Majority Leader and State Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston) for supporting the program.
“We want to get started now to stop the flow of displacement in our community,” Kelly said.
She addressed committee members’ concerns that the program exclusively benefits homeowners, adding that she hopes to expand the program to renters in the future. According to Gardner, the Property Circuit Breaker Program originally included renters before the team supporting the program simplified the plan for the pilot year.
Ald. Bobby Burns (5th) said he was uncomfortable passing the Property Circuit Breaker Program before the Strategic Housing Plan was approved.
Responding to Burn’s concern, Ald. Matt Rodgers (8th) said the Property Circuit Breaker Program should have been incorporated into the Strategic Housing Plan earlier.
“This was a topic of discussion long before the Strategic Housing Plan was presented, and we’re just seeing it rolled in here,” Rodgers said. “I kind of feel like this whole process has been a little bit messed up.”
Ald. Shawn Iles (3rd) questioned whether half of the NU Good Neighbor Affordable Housing Fund should go to a program outside of the Strategic Housing Plan, raising concerns about the program’s sustainability and limited scope.
After the initial vote to recommend the Property Circuit Breaker Program failed 4-5 during the meeting, Iles proposed the motion to recommend consolidating the program under the Strategic Housing Plan.
“I thought based on feedback that we heard, it would be better to send it to Council with a specific recommendation,” Iles told The Daily after the meeting.
Evanston residents gave public comments both supporting and criticizing the Property Circuit Breaker Program.
Darlene Cannon, one of the eight public commenters advocating for the program, emphasized the need to address the increased exodus of Black Evanston residents alongside preserving the city’s economic diversity.
“It’s just something that’s tangible that we can put our money where our mouth is when we always talk about what we’re going to do for the community,” Cannon said. “Let’s try to do something for real.”
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