At Evanston’s Land Use Commission meeting Jan. 29, commissioners criticized what they saw as a rushed process to review and approve a 200-page comprehensive plan document and zoning update called Envision Evanston 2045.
In order to air views more thoroughly, they said, commissioners floated the idea of hosting up to four community feedback meetings after they meet again in late February.
Mayor Daniel Biss, who is running for election April 1, said in a December interview with Pioneer Press that implementing Envision Evanston was one of his administration’s biggest priorities.
“It allows us to do so many things this community cares about, from addressing (housing) affordability to sustainability to supporting small businesses to relieving folks’ tax burden,” he said at the time.
Envision Evanston 2045, the city’s comprehensive plan that sets out goals to achieve by 2045, has been in the works since early 2024 and thousands of residents have given feedback on it, according to Biss. More recently, some residents and council members have demanded that the process slow down.
Some Land Use commissioners have been skeptical of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s projections that Evanston’s population has an annual growth rate of 0.35%, which would raise its population from about 78,000 to 84,000 by 2045.
Commissioner Jeanne Lindwall said family sizes could look different in the future. “It’s a guess,” she commented. “I don’t think we should be focusing on trying to build houses for so many more people.” Much of the attention has focused on the proposed zoning changes, which would allow four-plexes to be built on lots currently designated for single family homes. The proposal has brought much division among residents and City Council members, who have mixed opinions on preserving Evanston’s character and increasing housing stock to make it more affordable.
“It reminds me, dare I say, of Ryan Field,” said Second Ward Alderwoman Krissie Harris, at a jam-packed early January meeting, referring to the high level of public interest. At that meeting, the City Council voted to give the Land Use Commission more time to review Envision Evanston separately from the city’s proposed zoning ordinance amendments, a major component of the city’s comprehensive plan.
At last week’s meeting, the city’s Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs Manager, Alison Leipsiger, told the commissioners that the city’s staff is working on releasing a new draft of Envision Evanston on Feb. 21 in order to give the commission five days to review the plan before voting on it on Feb. 26. The Evanston City Council at its Jan. 13 meeting had set a deadline of Feb. 26 for the Land Use Commission to vote on the Envision Evanston plan.
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But that turnaround was too quick for some commissioners, who said that they wished for community members to have more time to read, react and voice their opinion on the matter. The new draft of Envision Evanston is expected to have some amendments from the original draft.
“I just feel that that timeline of literally dropping a generational document onto this body, four days, five days before we’re expected to cast a vote on it is not fair to anybody involved,” Commission Chair Matt Rodgers said.
“This is a document that’s going to affect everyone in the city to different degrees,” Commissioner George Halik said. “The public input on this is very important. People have jobs. People have lives. They’re not working on this full time.”
Commissioners echoed Biss’s words when the council approved extending the timeline in January.
“I even heard the mayor say this, that, ‘We need to get it right,'” Halik said. “The deadline is something to focus on, but it’s not the ultimate. And I think it needs more time.”
Rodgers asked the commissioners if they had an idea for how many public engagement meetings the commission should hold. Commissioner Brian Johnson and Halik said that four would be appropriate, but a vote was not taken. Commissioner Darush Mabadi showed with his hand four meetings would also be appropriate. No commissioner on the dais spoke in favor of having less than three meetings.
Rodgers, who is running for a city council seat in the 8th Ward where he will face incumbent Devon Reid, had previously announced that Wednesday’s meeting would be his last as a member of the commission. Rodgers nominated Lindwall to take over as chair, and she received a unanimous vote from the commissioners.