Skokie Director of Community Development Johanna Nyden on Feb. 2 presented potential housing affordability solutions to the village’s Plan Commission as it continues its deep dive into researching the topic.
The Village Board of Trustees, during its Dec. 19 meeting, tasked the Plan Commission with researching housing affordability to recommend an affordable housing ordinance by March 30. The board hopes the ordinance will serve as a guideline to manage Skokie’s current housing stock and future developments to come.
Nyden said the commission’s recommendation to the Board of Trustees should fall into four categories — goal setting, investment in existing housing, housing creation and funding opportunities.
When looking at goal setting, Nyden told the commission it should explore undertaking a housing needs study and analysis. She said while the 2020 census provided new data regarding housing, a formal study to gather information about Skokie’s individual characteristics and housing needs is necessary.
“I was speaking to a developer before the meeting and they suggested looking at the student population going to Oakton College and what housing needs they might have. How are those students residing in our community?” Nyden asked. “We could also gain a better understanding of different workers that come to our community. Where are they living? How far is their commute? Getting some of that data the census might not glean.”
Nyden also told the board it could improve goal-setting initiatives by revisiting the Comprehensive Plan. She said staff can work with information gathered during this housing affordability deep dive to ensure the village’s goals are written down in a tangible manner to direct future development.
“It signals to the development community … what our priorities and vision for housing are,” she said. “It’s the government’s way of signaling how we want to see our goals carried out.”
Skokie already has some programs oriented toward investing in existing housing, Nyden told the commission. Skokie’s Housing Rehabilitation Program is one of these. Nyden said the program provides financial assistance to low- to moderate-income homeowners for home improvement projects.
The program currently offers up to $12,000 toward improvements and averages six recipients a year totaling to approximately $80,000, according to Nyden’s presentation. Nyden told the Plan Commission the program could be improved by identifying additional funding opportunities and working with a partner agency to increase the number of applicants.
Nyden also said the Neighborhood Housing program, another home improvement funding program but focused toward a broader neighborhood scale, could be modified to encourage multi-family building owners to apply for funding.
Creating new types of housing could also improve housing affordability, Nyden said. She suggested updating the village’s zoning code to allow accessory dwelling units — small independent residential units on the same lot as a single-family home. This housing type could increase Skokie’s housing stock with potentially more affordable options, according to Nyden’s presentation, especially in more residential neighborhoods.
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“(These units are often) converted basement units that are rented out — often not legally or in a safe way,” Nyden said. “This represents an opportunity to manage this from a zoning perspective and make sure the building code is applied to these private properties so people have safe houses too.”
Nyden suggested implementing an inclusionary housing ordinance to help produce new, affordable housing options. The ordinance would designate a certain amount of units in new residential developments to be classified as affordable housing. Nyden said developers could opt out of this by paying a payment in lieu of providing on-site units.
The village has an action item in its adopted Environment and Sustainability Plan to identify underutilized paved areas that could be turned into “sustainable green space or infill development,” according to Nyden’s presentation. She said these parcels could also be identified as “suitable for housing” since Skokie’s inner-ring suburban location leaves the village primarily built out — leaving little space for new developments. Her presentation states the “next 12 months” as the timeframe for implementation.
Nyden said the commission needs to explore new funding channels for these projects. She said items like payment in lieu of affordable housing, major home alteration, vacation rental and vacant building registry fees could help make this possible while also tackling other issues happening in Skokie.
“We’re starting to see an uptake in Airbnb’s in Skokie and frankly we’re getting quite a lot of complaints. There are concerns regarding the relationship those vacation homes have with the rest of the neighborhood,” Nyden said. “People don’t like the coming and going of (tenants) and also (tenants not) knowing garbage pickup and parking rules.”
Plan Commission Member Peter Ousley said he is concerned about the fee regarding home improvements considering some improvements might be done to make current housing arrangements more accessible to those facing disabilities or aging. He directed staff to look into these fees more closely to focus on more recreational and nonessential improvements, such as pool installations.
Skokie residents also spoke on the issue via a public hearing, including a presentation by the Skokie Neighbors for Housing Justice. The advocacy group has repositioned its stance that affordable housing in Skokie should be classified as 50% of area median income. That is an adjustment from the 60% proposed during public comment when the Board of Trustees assigned the Plan Commission to look into affordable housing in December.
The group, whose spokesperson is Gail Schechter, an affordable housing advocate and Skokie resident, provided its own list of proposed solutions. This includes potentially creating a housing commission, boosting tenant protections and implementing a criteria-scoring system for development proposals.
“(We should explore) developing a set of criteria and a scoring system for your commission so, looking at things that would favor in-fill development versus sprawl,” Schechter said. We need “a variety of housing types … near public transit. Is this housing that will be housing in an integrated manner or will it separate people?”
Niles Township High School District 219 Strategic Partnerships Coordinator Samina Hussain provided insight on how the student population would benefit from the commission’s plan. Hussain said 28.6% of the student body, or 1,416 students, receive free and reduced lunch while 2%, or 79 students, experience homelessness.
However, not every Skokie resident is keen on improving affordable housing initiatives. A woman who identified herself as Jo came up to the podium during the comment period and said Skokie already has too much affordable housing, which she believes increases crime.
“I’m afraid to go out at night,” she said. “This just has to change.”
The Plan Commission’s next meeting on housing affordability research is set for March 2, after which it plans to craft a recommendation anticipated to make the Board of Trustees’ March 20 agenda.
Skokie isn’t the only North Shore suburb looking to improve its affordable housing initiatives in 2023. The Evanston City Council, during its 2023 goal setting meetings, deemed affordable housing among its top priorities for the year. Many, such as Schechter, say since Northwestern University and other tax-exempt organizations occupy roughly a third of the suburb’s land, the financial burden is placed on Evanston residents.
Evanston Councilmember Clare Kelly and local organizations, including the Community Alliance for Better Government and Most Livable City Association, are advocating for a payment in lieu of taxes program for these nonprofits to financially support the city considering it provides the organizations with public services, like police and fire protection. Advocacy organizations believe the program would take a financial burden off taxpayers and hopefully make Evanston a more affordable place to live.