Evanston Moves Forward With Housing4All Plan

After months of delays, the Chicago suburb of Evanston is moving forward with a blueprint for a housing policy that’s laser-focused on affordability.

The 134-page Housing4All plan passed the Evanston City Council May 12, and isn’t meant to be all encompassing, according to the Chicago Tribune, but rather a stepping stone to more robust housing policy. Goals of the plan include preserving up 1,000 existing affordable housing units, constructing 4,000 more, and protecting residents from displacements.

The plan could increase accessory dwelling units and, among other goals of the document, Evanston is now set to pursue greater housing density in all neighborhoods, according to the publication Evanston RoundTable, with several amendments that would limit which lower density areas could be considered for redevelopment ultimately rejected by alderpersons.

The council spent nearly five hours debating 64 amendment proposals to the document.

The plan states that rising housing costs have been a key factor in increasing economic and racial segregation in Evanston. In 2025, 35 percent of Evanston households were estimated to fit the “cost-burdened” profile, or more than 30 percent of a household’s income spent on housing, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Following the housing policy update, the council will also be updating Evanston’s zoning code with the Housing4All parameters as a guideline. Dates have not yet been set for discussion.

The decision comes in the wake of sweeping changes for housing in Illinois and a question about who, exactly, gets to decide zoning issues. Governor JB Pritzker’s Building Up Illinois Development plan, or BUILD, aims to juice housing supply numbers by giving developers workarounds to regulations that slow construction. BUILD has not yet passed the Illinois legislature, but has come under fire from local municipal leaders who say it undermines their authority to zone the places they live in, according to the outlet.

Part of Pritzker’s plan would increase the amount of accessory dwelling units across the state as well as increase housing density — similar to the path Evanston appears to be taking.

— Hunter Cooke