Evanston Plans to Add More Apartments Through Zoning Reform

Illinois cities such as Evanston, Naperville, and Highland Park are often referred to as the "suburbs of Chicago" despite their municipal charter status. These cities are home to many residents who commute to Chicago most days of the week for work or business, but they also share a residential zoning factor that explains their overly suburban ambiance.

Single-family zoning has been predominant in Evanston and the rest of the Chicagoland cities that function as large suburban communities. Most people associate these cities with tree-lined streets, leafy sidewalks, and three-bedroom homes built in the Prairie, Victorian, or Midwest Modern styles. These are real estate markets that predominantly feature single-family zoning, thus explaining their low percentage of multifamily housing options. Urban planners and members of the Evanston council want to change by urging the Land Use Commission to approve a zoning reform package.

As the situation stands in Evanston, real estate developers have limited opportunities for completing apartment projects. The traditional zoning practices for most districts and neighborhoods limit the building of residential structures to single-family homes. To make Evanston more appealing to multifamily housing developers, the city planning department is proposing a major change to zoning laws. To enable this change, the R1 zoning districts would have to be reopened across Evanston, meaning that any lot would be approved for multifamily construction projects.

R1 zoning districts with single-family residential restrictions are often credited with helping foster a strong civic image. Realtors who operate in the suburban Chicago market take full advantage of this image; they often paint R1 districts with a wholesome brushstroke, often showcasing single-family residences as the proverbial "homes with white picket fences" of the American Dream. This image, however, has come under increasing scrutiny for its exclusionary effects and contribution to housing shortages.

Critics of exclusive R1 zoning say that it is limiting housing affordability and hindering socioeconomic development. When renters in Evanston get priced out of the market, some of them leave the city and move north to Skokie because they can't find reasonable multifamily housing options. Not everyone can afford to move into Sherman Plaza or the Optima Towers in the downtown district, so the reality of Evanston is that it needs more multifamily housing units to compete with other Chicagoland markets.

The proposed zoning reform in Evanston aims to address various issues by increasing housing density and providing more housing options for residents with diverse needs and budgets. On paper, the proposal calls for eliminating single-family residential exclusivity in R1 districts; plus, it would allow the construction of new multifamily projects, particularly those that include an affordable housing component. Once city planners get approval from the Land Use Commission and the municipal council, new rules would need to be formulated to define future residential development.

Evanston is a more diverse housing market than Lake Forest and Oak Lawn, two cities where the shortage of multifamily housing options is even more problematic, but city planners do not see economic sustainability arising from the "bedroom communities" model of the late 20th century. Multifamily housing options tend to attract residents with different income levels, ages, and family structures, leading to a more vibrant and inclusive community. With higher density in Evanston, there would be higher socioeconomic motivation among residents to reduce their reliance on cars; this would be promoted by city planners through pedestrian-friendly projects that feature mixed-use zoning and accommodate public transportation.