After being directed by the Village Board to develop draft affordable housing policy recommendations for review and consideration, the Plan Commission held a series of Public Hearings and Listening Sessions earlier this year to gather input from local and regional organizations engaged in affordable housing development and advocacy and from Skokie residents. At the April 17, 2023 Village Board meeting, Plan Commission Chair Paul Luke and Community Development Director Johanna Nyden presented the commission’s goal-based framework recommendation that emerged from these meetings:
- Goal A: Study and assess the ongoing supply and demand for inclusive affordable housing in Skokie;
- Goal B: Preserve, protect, and improve Skokie’s existing affordable housing to be accessible and sustainable;
- Goal C: Reduce “jobs/housing mismatch” and ensure that housing is available to all of Skokie’s workers;
- Goal D: Create new opportunities to increase Skokie’s supply of affordable housing; and
- Goal E: Support local and region-wide partner efforts to promote and expand fair housing efforts.
Possible options presented to achieve these goals included studying the Village’s changing demographic profile and available housing stock to determine our affordable housing needs, bolstering existing repair programs to assist residents remaining in their homes, exploring the feasibility of establishing a land trust, establishing an inclusionary housing ordinance which would require certain new developments to include affordable housing, and updating the zoning code to allow accessory dwelling units.
These recommendations are scheduled to be discussed and voted on at the May 1 meeting of the Village Board. The full recommendation can be found in the April 17 Village Board meeting packet (PDF).