Residents Weigh In On Winnetka's Affordable Housing Plan

Winnetka's village council chambers overflowed with people Tuesday night as the village's affordable housing plan came before trustees in a study session.

After a presentation by the Plan Commission on its affordable housing report and many comments from the audience, the trustees decided to move forward with a few of the report's recommendations related to coach houses and downtown apartments. Other recommendations such as a community land trust, housing trust fund and zoning changes were tabled for further study .

But audience members at the meeting called for other courses of action, including a referendum.

"The village should vote on that issue," Bill Pridmore said.

A binding referendum on a policy issue is not an option in Illinois, said Kathy Janega, village attorney.

"The most you could do with a referendum is get an opinion," Janega said after the end of the public comment period. She also mentioned the high costs of referenda, including an educational campaign and the long process of refining the actual language that would appear on the ballot. Because Winnetka already has an affordable housing ordinance on the books, it would be difficult to nail down a single issue or question to pose to voters. Even then, the outcome would not result in an action, Janega said.

Audience members questioned whether an affordable housing plan is mandatory since Winnetka is a home rule community. It is ambiguous whether the state affordable housing law actually applies, but Winnetka might risk a legal battle if it repeals its existing affordable housing ordinance, Janega said. The Illinois Housing Development Authority maintains a list of municipalities that are non-exempt and noncompliant with the state law, and Winnetka is on that list.

"If we take the step of becoming the only community in the state that pulls back its [affordable housing] plan, we're painting a target on ourselves," Trustee E. King Poor said. Trustees agreed a costly legal battle over repealing the plan would not be the best way to spend taxpayer dollars.

"We have a long history here and one of the questions is, have we changed that much as a community in 30 years that this is no longer an important goal?" Poor said.

Becky Hurley, Plan Commission chairwoman, said she suspects most residents are unaware the village has an existing affordable housing ordinance and 30-year history of supporting the measure. Trustee Gene Greable agreed, wondering why previous councils had done almost nothing to address the issue.

"It pains me. It absolutely pains me where we're at," he said. "Were those just words in the comprehensive plan?"

Local Voices

Residents filled the rows of benches, leaned against walls and sat on the floor through the public comment section, where a number of people addressed trustees on the issue.

First to the podium was Richard Kates, who maintained that the plan does not include enough information on implementation or costs.

"The major thing missing here is funding," Kates said. "This thing is not free."

Many residents argued that Winnetka homes are not affordable regardless of the plan because of high property taxes -- rather than a lack of options.

"I’ve seen Winnetka becoming a superlative community because of tax increases," Joan Sullivan said. "If you want to create affordable housing, please do your best to decrease our taxes for the old, the young families, and all in between. Our taxes really create a discriminatory process for my friends and neighbors who I’ve seen move and move and move because of taxes."

Others echoed that affordable housing would not have a negative effect in Winnetka, either in the form of higher property taxes or decreased property values.

"I think people are either not believing what the Plan Commission is saying, which means you’re attributing malicious intent to a group of volunteers who have been volunteering for years," said Ann Airey, one of the leaders of Winnetka Is Neighborly.

Some residents talked about current struggles to keep their homes.

"Thirteen days from today our house is going to be sold in foreclosure," said Jan LaRosa, about the financial struggles that have forced her family to leave Winnetka. "Barring a miracle, it’s too late for our family."

Rick McQuet spoke about opening doors to younger families in Winnetka through affordable housing. He reflected on moving to the area as a young attorney.

"As a community, we should be in favor of creating additional toeholds for who we were 15 years ago," McQuet said.

Moving Forward

After public comments, trustees asked for more information on an affordability standard for Winnetka, quotas of affordable units in any multi-family developments, and a community land trust and housing trust fund -- the more controversial aspects of the plan. Trustees gave the green light to village staff to draft ordinances that would return existing coach houses to the rental market, maintain the quality of existing downtown apartments and discourage their conversion to commercial space.

"I think starting with the coach houses and the apartments in the downtown [areas] would make me comfortable," Trustee Christopher Rintz said.

The board noted a consensus among audience members in favor of revising coach house policies. Currently, village code deems coach houses abandoned if they are not occupied for a period of six months. Once a coach house is rendered abandoned, it cannot be rented out again, according to village code. Easing restrictions on coach houses would allow owners the freedom to rent and renovate the properties, adding to the village's stock of rental units. The move would also expand homeowners' rights and Trustee Bill Johnson called it a "no-brainer."

Trustees also addressed the need to maintain downtown apartments, both in number and in physical condition. In recent years, many of the apartments have been converted to commercial space, resulting in a loss of rental units. Additionally, the village does not have a property maintenance code and a number of the buildings may have fallen into disrepair, trustees said.

"This is overall to me about reusing what we have and that’s important," Poor said.