Wednesday’s meeting focused on the new district map and code created by the project, which would consolidate the city’s existing 41 districts into 17 and shift district standards such as minimum lot sizes and maximum building heights. It followed that of the Commission first formal meeting on November 20th via a Draft overall plan outlining the city’s policies for future development in Evanston.
Although commissioners discussed the proposed districts, they began and ended the meeting with votes that will significantly change the manner and timing of their work on the Envision project. The original schedule, which was met by Wednesday, called for the commission to discuss all three documents in a single hearing divided into six sessions.
The remaining code chapters were scheduled to be discussed on December 11th and 18th, followed by a meeting to hear continuing presentations from residents on January 8th and a closing meeting for all amendment requests and final recommendation votes from the commissioners on January 15th. The documents would be available by the end of March final consultation and acceptance forwarded to the city council.
But early Wednesday evening, Commissioner George Halik suggested splitting the process and postponing any further discussions about the code and map until Wednesday until the group completes its review and final vote on the plan. He argued that the plan’s policies and goals should be finalized before taking action on the laws created by the code and map, echoing criticism voiced by some residents at recent commission meetings and Envision town halls.
From left: Commissioners George Halik, Darush Mabadi and Max Puchtel at Wednesday’s Land Use Commission meeting on the draft Envision Evanston 2045 zoning district map and code. Credit: Duncan Agnew “When we reviewed this comprehensive plan, we all had comments, some important comments about what was missing from the comprehensive plan, what wasn’t properly addressed, a lot of issues,” Halik said. “Nevertheless, we are making progress with the development, which should be aligned with the goals of the comprehensive plan. It makes no sense.”
Most other commission members agreed at the hearing. Kiril Mirintchev said the original schedule did not provide enough time “if we want to be serious.” Commissioner Jameika Mangum warned against a slower review of zoning changes, pointing out that “once you ring the bell, you can’t let it go.” Halik’s motion was approved 6-1, with Commissioner Max Puchtel voting against; Jeanne Lindwall and Myrna Arevalo were not present at the meeting.
Deadlines and cost implications However, existing meeting dates cannot easily be swapped to accommodate this, meaning the Commission will need to hold additional meetings later in January and possibly beyond.
That’s why City code Requires public hearings on the Comprehensive Plan to be announced at least 15 days in advance by publication in a print newspaper of general circulation such as the Chicago Tribune. December 11th and 18th are too early for this and the following Wednesdays fall on Christmas and New Year, so the earliest possible date is January 8th.
Accordingly, at the end of the meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously to cancel the December 11th and 18th meetings as there will be nothing to discuss there. When they return on Jan. 8, they will listen to all presentations from residents who have made requests to move forward with the plan before holding their own consultations. They will then meet again on January 15 to make changes to the plan and take a final recommendation vote.
Another unanimous vote continued discussion of the code and map until a new special meeting on Jan. 22, but beyond that the timeline is less certain. Six further chapters of the draft code still need to be reviewed, three of which have already been reviewed made available to the public on Nov. 26 and another three are scheduled to be released this week, followed by presentations on continuing the code and map and final changes and votes from commissioners.
Planning Director Liz Williams speaks with residents at an Envision Evanston 2045 workshop in March. Credit: Bob Seidenberg
Speaking to media after the meeting, City Planning Manager Liz Williams said she had no answer as to when the final code chapters would be released due to the scheduling changes and said staff would meet with Commission Chairman Matt Rodgers to agree Clarify whether additional chapters are required to meet beyond January 22nd, perhaps extend the hearing until January 29th or beyond into February.
“The change tonight from the city’s perspective, I think, is that … it may be difficult to continue to meet the current schedule (for passage),” Williams said. “It all depends on what the Land Use Commission process looks like.”
An extension beyond the end of March could drive up costs for the Envision project’s team of consultants, according to the city’s contract fixed HDR-A is budgeted assuming final adoption will occur at that time, a copy of said the work plan of the contract made available to the RoundTable. Although no advisers were present at Wednesday’s or Nov. 20 meeting, Williams said extending time beyond the current contract end may require additional funding.
“Because of what happened tonight, we need to go back with the advisory team and talk to them about the existing scope of work that we have with them,” Williams said. “If there are expenses that exceed our requirements, that would need to be forwarded to the City Council as a change order.”
Imagination and choice Of course, another impact of an extension beyond the end of March is that adoption would occur after the April 1 consolidated general election, when all 11 elected city offices are on the ballot.
Mayor Daniel Biss and five incumbent council members are running for re-election and face opponents, while council members Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th District) and Juan Geracaris (9th District) are running unopposed for new terms. Melissa Wynne (3rd District) and Eleanor Revelle (7th District) decided to step down at the end of their terms and leave their seats for competitive races.
Several public commentators derided the schedule as a hasty adoption before the election. At the podium, Commissioner Darush Mabadi said he had heard from “some people on the city council” that there was a “fear” that the next city council “may not be as focused on the Envision project” as the current city council.
“I think everyone should talk to everyone who’s running for council and say, ‘This master plan and this zoning ordinance that we’re looking at, if it’s not passed before the election, you need to be there.’ “Win it,” Mabadi said. “That’s part of the game, that’s part of governing. “Governing continues whether you’re on the council now or later, and we still need to be able to count on you.”
Kelly and Suffredin praise the slowdown
At least two council members were pleased with the commission’s changes, as Clare Kelly (1st District) and Tom Suffredin (6th District) praised Wednesday’s votes in messages to the RoundTable. Kelly wrote that the extension will provide all parties, including residents as well as commissioners and council members, “much-needed additional time” to review all documents and potentially propose changes.
“If this goes beyond an arbitrarily rushed deadline in March before the April election, the community will be well served,” Kelly wrote. “We have to take the time to get this right.”
Suffredin, meanwhile, wrote that the commissioners’ decision to conduct their reviews “consciously and in the right order” shows that they “take their duties seriously.”
“The amended hearing schedule reduces the burden on engaged residents to attend meetings during a busy time of year, provides more time to implement revisions already proposed by LUC and will allow for more focused discussion of the draft master plan and possible associated zoning changes.” ” wrote Suffredin.
Mayor Biss and council members Nieuwsma and Devon Reid (8th Ward), lead sponsor and two co-sponsors, respectively, of most of the policy recommendations being considered for the new plan and code, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
The current council has three lame-duck sessions
The final City Council meeting before the election is scheduled for the day before, March 31, to avoid overlapping with Evanston Public Schools’ spring break the week before. After the election, the current city council will meet three more times, on April 14, April 28 and May 12, before dissolving at the end of its final meeting. Immediately thereafter, the new City Council will meet in a special session and the 2025-29 term will begin.
The RoundTable expects to publish an article later this week with more details on the district map and code discussion.
Duncan Agnew contributed to this report.
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