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player ready...St. Charles aldermen began to review on Monday the final study to come out of a year-long planning process aimed at preparing four Fox Valley communities for an expected increase in housing demand in coming years.
At the council’s Planning and Development Committee meeting, representatives from the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and Kane County presented the 140-page “Homes for a Changing Region” study, which looks at future housing trends and offers recommendations on how communities might meet them.
The committee ultimately voted to postpone adoption of the document so aldermen could have more time to review the findings and recommendations.
“I’d like to see this document guide and develop in the future. … I think that it could be a great tool,” said Ald. Rita Anne Payleitner, who served on the study’s steering committee.
Payleitner added that she understood others may need more time to digest the document.
“Clearly when I look at it I can sympathize,” she said.
Overall, the Chicago agency projects a demand for roughly 9,000 owner units and 5,000 rental units in Batavia, Geneva, North Aurora and St. Charles by 2040, according to the study.
An analysis of current housing trends found that there has been a decrease in affordability in the region since 2000, meaning more households are using more than 30 percent of their income on housing, said Kane County planner Brett Hanlon.
Public input garnered through workshops and an online survey last year also revealed an increase in demand for more varied types of housing, Hanlon said. Seniors, especially, are looking to move out of large single-family homes and into smaller rental units, he said.
The subregional study includes general recommendations, such as exploring employer-assisted housing options and increasing public transit land uses along main corridors in Kane County, as well as specific recommendations for each municipality. The study was completed by CMAP and Kane County planners at no cost to the municipalities.
Specific recommendations for St. Charles include considering options to zone and rezone newly annexed land to accommodate housing, increasing residential density in the downtown area and incorporating workforce housing along major transit corridors, like Randall Road.
Officials in Batavia will consider the final recommendations at a meeting Sept. 15. Geneva aldermen will review the document on Sept. 22. A final presentation in North Aurora has not yet been scheduled, Hanlon said.
St. Charles aldermen are expected to vote on the study for approval at next month’s Planning and Development Committee meeting.
“Great job,” said Ald. Dan Stellato. “This was done at no cost to the city. That’s a wonderful thing.”
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