I am opposed to the elimination of single-family zoning in the village of Oak Park. Elimination of single-family zoning severely limits consideration of the building type, intended use, adjacent properties, and desires of neighborhood residents in building project approvals. This change threatens the character and architecture of all single-family neighborhoods in the village.
Oak Park is the fifth most densely populated city in Illinois with 11,334 people per square mile. The 41% of housing that is single-family is a lower percentage than in both Cook County and the CMAP region. Nearly half of the village land is already zoned multifamily. Currently, 59% of housing units are in multifamily buildings, with 43.8% of units in the supposedly “missing-middle” type of buildings and another 16.2% of existing units in larger buildings.
There are ample existing properties in the village to accommodate new and redeveloped multifamily and mixed-use buildings, plus the availability of new and existing ADU’s. In fact, there are 34 multifamily development projects currently approved by the village. There is also substantial availability of affordable and multi-unit housing in the surrounding suburbs and the Austin neighborhood.
There is no need for wholesale elimination of existing single-family homes to achieve housing goals. Our compact, rectangular village means that the maximum distance from any residence to any location in the village is 4.5 miles and the average distance is 2.2 miles. The village and all of its features and amenities are entirely accessible by walking, biking, bus, and driving.
Elimination of single-family zoning is a drastic change that will have a significant and immediate impact on all owners and renters, regardless of the imagined pace of redevelopment. Advocates of such a drastic change must make their case to the community. How many single-family homes do they want replaced, 1,000? In what target areas? How many new affordable units are needed, 8,000? Is the new default zoning R-7 Multifamily?
A referendum on the matter is essential. This is the only responsible way to obtain the necessary concurrence of the residents.
Sources:
- UrbFact: Most Dense in Illinois – City Rankings
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Oak-Park-Housing-Profile.pdf:
- On page 6 CMAP says Oak Park had 43.6% single-unit housing structures. I went with the Shape Oak Park number of 41%. Still lower than the 45.2% in Cook County and 57.2% in the CMAP region. I used the CMAP numbers for the middle-size structures (10.3% and 33.5%) because the unit numbers are a good match to the definition of the range of “missing middle” buildings.
- Shape Oak Park/Engage Oak Park, right-hand side of the Shape Oak Park page: Current Zoning Map link has the list of the planned projects. Strategic Vision for Housing link has the 41% number for single-family.
Marc Martinez
Oak Park