Wednesday, July 31, 2024 | View in browser
Dear Community Members,
I wanted to share with you an op–ed I published in the Evanston Roundtable last week.
I wrote about the City Council’s exciting embrace of a series of bold ideas that have bubbled up from the Envision Evanston 2045 project to rewrite our comprehensive plan and zoning code. Thousands of residents have participated in these discussions, and so far, what they’ve come up with is ambitious.
I hope you’ll consider reading the whole piece, but in case you’re in a hurry, here are the ideas that have been raised:
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To address the lack of attainable housing for people seeking to move to Evanston, we could expand the housing supply by changing zoning to lift bans on 2-, 3-, and 4-unit buildings, increase height, and eliminate parking minimums;
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To address the crisis of Evanston residents being priced out of town we could implement an anti-displacement strategy and expand the tax base to limit residents’ tax burden;
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To encourage the types of residential and commercial growth that we want to see, we could streamline review processes, liberalize outdoor dining rules, and make the zoning code simpler and more predictable so development decisions stop being transactional;
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To create more public spaces for joy and creativity, we could identify locations for mixed-use development that incorporates greenspace and public gathering places, close streets to vehicular traffic, and facilitate more public events and art throughout the community; and
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To center our commitment to sustainability and climate action in this work, we could increase opportunities for active transportation and expansion of the tree canopy, while optimizing all planning and zoning decisions around making it easy and convenient to live in Evanston without a car.
If we get these types of initiatives right, we have the opportunity to unlock huge progress in affordable housing, sustainability, economic development, and more. That’s why I think it’s critical that we be willing to go big and enact versions of these ideas before the end of this Council’s term – hearing most Councilmembers express that same view last week was truly exciting.
But it’s not enough to do this and do it quickly – we need to do it well. It’s obvious that these ideas will need vetting and refinement and so I hope you’ll engage in this process by signing up for Envision Evanston email/text updates and participating in upcoming conversations and meetings. With everyone at the table I’m confident that we’ll wind up with a comprehensive plan that truly meets the needs of our whole community.
Thank you so much for your commitment to Evanston.
Sincerely,
Daniel Biss
Mayor, City of Evanston
dbiss@cityofevanston.org
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