Chicago Suburb Mulls Eliminating Single-Family Zoning To Encourage More Apartments

Evanston is contemplating an alteration to its zoning laws that would eliminate single-family-only zoning for neighborhoods and allow multi-unit buildings on any residential lot. 

The Chicago suburb would be the first in the area to make the change, following in the footsteps of similar programs in Minneapolis and the states of California, Oregon and Washington. The change is part of a comprehensive overhaul to zoning across the city that officials proposed at a Land Use Commission meeting Wednesday.

“It’s an important question for the community to consider based on the increasing costs of housing,” said Liz Williams, the city’s planning manager, according to Crain's Chicago Business. “Evanston is known historically for its diversity of housing types, and this particular change is intended to expand housing choices for residents at all income levels and life stages.”

The subcommittee will bring the proposal up for public discussion at a Dec. 4 meeting and hold additional town hall meetings to gather community input as part of the overall zoning rewrite, Crain's reported. Williams said she expects the full city council to decide on the 20-year road map in March. 

Minneapolis has seen success after loosening some building restrictions beginning in 2009 and implementing a long-term plan in 2020 that further loosened regulations. The city reduced and then slashed minimum parking requirements, allowed accessory dwelling units and lowered minimum lot size requirements in residential zones in response to rising housing costs. 

Minneapolis has used the policies to bolster its housing supply at a faster clip than other Midwestern cities and other parts of Minnesota, according to Pew. Eighty-seven percent of its new housing stock has come from buildings with 20 or more units. 

But Evanston's proposal has already received pushback from some of its residents. 

“I have loved the sense of safety and beauty found on our tree-lined streets,” Evanston resident Anne Trompeter said at the meeting, Evanston Now reported. “Homeowners like me sacrifice to stay in our homes. … We have zoning for a reason, to bring order to our community.”

George Halik, a member of the city's Land Use Commission, said at the meeting that changes to R1 zoning districts, which comprise single-family households, could dramatically alter Evanston's civic image, The Daily Northwestern reported.

Halik said he would be opposed to a comprehensive reopening of R1 zoning and wanted more information on whether the draft included an exemption for historic districts.

“It’s not zoning at all. It’s a free-for-all,” Halik said of the plan as it stands.