At their May 11, 2026, meeting, the Evanston City Council adopted a
Strategic Housing Plan. Called Housing4All, it establishes goals and priorities for the City’s housing policies and funding for the next decade. Housing affordability is one of City Council’s six priorities and was an important part of the Comprehensive Plan passed late last year. The full document also contains considerable background information about Evanston’s residents and its built environment.
The substance of the Plan is important because it will guide Council as proposals are reviewed and budgets are adopted. The overall aims are to protect residents from displacement and to preserve and create additional affordable housing units. The Plan generally supports greater density and development. It encourages creative reuse of vacant or underutilized City property and will affect the upcoming debate on revising the Zoning Code.
The process to adopt the Plan was drawn-out and contentious. The Housing and Community Development Committee (HCDC) worked on the Plan for two years before sending it to Council in February 2026. (See an
earlier Intercom article for some background and a link to the LWVE statement on the September 2025 draft.) Council discussed it at several meetings and then asked staff to draft potential amendments suggested by Council discussion. At the May 11 meeting,
64 amendments were presented for adoption, rejection, or modification. These ranged from stylistic changes (e.g., changing some punctuation) to small but meaningful changes in wording (e.g.. changing “the City of Evanston will sustain a diverse mix of homes” to “the City of Evanston will protect and expand a diverse mix of homes”) to adding and/or deleting full paragraphs.
The process was guided by City of Evanston Planning Manager Liz Williams. She divided the proposed amendments into three groups identified by staff: 10 consistent with the earlier version and recommended for approval; 33 inconsistent and recommended for rejection; and 21 for discussion. While some Council Members were ready to follow her guidance, others insisted on discussing and debating each amendment.
The ensuing discussion lasted from a little after 9:00 p.m. to after midnight. Councilmember Clare Kelly (1st ward) had proposed 50 of the amendments and called for discussing each one. Sixteen of her proposed amendments passed, and the other 34 were rejected, some for lack of a second to the motion. At 11:30, she and Councilmember Parielle Davis (7th ward) moved to adjourn without completing the process, but the motion to adjourn failed, 2-7.
Around 12:30 a.m. on May 12, all proposed amendments had been voted on and the Strategic Housing Plan, incorporating the approved amendments, was approved 7-2. It will be an important framework for this and future councils. Unfortunately, the process reflects consistent divisions within Council and difficulties in members working collaboratively to develop a consensus. In the coming months Council will be working to revise the City of Evanston’s Zoning Code, and that seems likely to be a similarly drawn-out and divisive process.
This meeting was observed by a member of the LWVE Observer Corps*, and the
report is available
on the LWVE website. League members are welcome to join the Observer Corps group; interested members should contact one of the LWVE co-presidents at
president@LWVE.org.
*How can I learn more about what’s happening in Evanston City Council—and in the committees?
LWVE Website Tips in the September 2025 issue of the Intercom answers this question and tells you how you can find Observer Reports on our website!