In a little less than six weeks the Oak Park Village Board will receive and vote on whether or not to accept proposed changes to Oak Park’s zoning code that are being developed by a consulting firm the village hired likely to eliminate single family zoning in Oak Park. But before that happens one board member, Jim Taglia, wants the village board to allow voters in Oak Park to decide whether or not they want to eliminate single family zoning by having a binding referendum on the question placed on the November ballot.
“The magnitude of decisions like this belong in the hands of the voters,” Taglia told Wednesday Journal after bringing up his referendum idea at the June 16 village board meeting.
Taglia said the elimination of single-family zoning is such a consequential decision that voters, and not the village board, should make the decision.
“The decision has the potential to completely change the village,” Taglia said. “It affects has so many parts of the village. It can affect the density, obviously, the parking, traffic, schools, and certainly our taxes.”
Taglia said during the board meeting that he doesn’t believe most Oak Park residents have really engaged on the issue of eliminating single family zoning and a referendum is the best way to get residents to focus on the issue.
“When there are referendums in this village, people talk,” Taglia said.
Village board member Cory Wesley, who has been perhaps the most outspoken proponent of eliminating single family zoning districts in Oak Park is willing to second Taglia’s motion to allow the village board to vote whether or not to have a referendum. But Wesley will not be voting to authorize a referendum.
“I believe all ideas should get a fair hearing but I’m not voting to approve a referendum on this,” Wesley said in a text message.
Village President Vicki Scaman said she wants more public input on the issue but doesn’t seem inclined to vote to take the responsibility of making changes to the zoning code away from the village board.
“This board was elected, and is paid, to make decisions,” Scaman said.
On July 28 the village board is expected to vote on the recommendations from the consultant.
But that vote will only start the process of changing the zoning code. If the village board votes to accept the recommended changes to the zoning code then village staff would work to make the proposed changes part of the zoning code. The proposed changes would have to go before the Plan Commission which would have to, by law, hold a public hearing, perhaps more than one, on the proposed changes before the village board finally votes to actually change the zoning code. That process is expected to take months and could run into 2027.
At the June 16 meeting the village board unanimously approved paying its consulting firm, Opticos Design, an additional $128,000 to do economic feasibility testing, community outreach and develop a zoning comparison tool in relation to proposed changes in the zoning code.
If, as seems likely, the village board votes to accept the Opticos recommended zoning changes at the July 28 meeting, Opticos or the village, would send a postcard to all Oak Park addresses to inform residents about the proposed changes in the zoning code and would arrange six public meetings, three on the north side of town and three on the south side, to get public input into the proposed zoning changes.
“This is a more meet in your neighborhood type of process,” said Oak Park Development Services Director Craig Failor.
Taglia says more public input is needed but he said that input should come before any steps are taken to change the zoning code.
“We need to have townhalls where a thousand people come, in the auditorium of the high school, that’s where you need to have it,” Taglia said.
But Scaman said that residents need a proposal to consider.
“We need the community to have something to react to,” Scaman said.
Wesley says single family zoning is racist in origin and limits affordability and socio-economic diversity.
“The root cause is racism,” Wesley said. “It was implemented to keep Black people out of various different areas, Oak Park being one of them. It is not unique to Oak Park, this is prevalent across the entire country.”
Most other village board members seem to agree. Making Oak Park more affordable and diverse is a high priority for the entire village board.
“We’re a low affordability community,” said board member Jenna Leving Jacobson.
Wesley said Oak Park is unaffordable for too many people and is thus losing its diverse character and what makes it distinctive.
“I’m more concerned about that aspect of a potential future changing Oak Park’s character than I am of a couple two flats or three flats on a block changing Oak Park’s character,” Wesley said.
Taglia said he has not made up his mind about whether exclusive single family zoning districts should be eliminated.
“I really don’t have an opinion yet because I haven’t got the recommendation,” Taglia said “So I’m keeping an open mind but I think whatever the decision it should be the voters making the decision not four trustees. It’s foundational to the Oak Park experience.”
Wesley is impatient and wants to eliminate single family zoning as soon as possible.
“We’ve been working on this since 2022,” Wesley said.
Taglia is more patient.
“There’s no doubt that housing is a crisis but it’s not the kind of crisis where if we wait three months it’s going to matter at the end of the day,” Taglia said. “I want to do it right and I want to be thoughtful.”