At the beginning of the Oak Park Village Board meeting on May 19, 2026, during the non-agenda public comment phase, an Oak Park resident of 39 years named Rick Easty contributed his voice to the public discourse about the proposed policy change to eliminate zoning in residential neighborhoods.
As an active, local general contractor with almost 40 years of experience with the Oak Park housing market, with a dozen completed residential building projects and having served on the Building Code and Advisory Commission during the last five years (and being the only active general contractor on it), Easty is perfectly positioned to understand the practical effects that would result from pursuit of this policy. He thus fills a glaring void in the public debate by representing the views, absent until now, of the developers for whom this policy change is designed to create opportunity and whom the government of Oak Park would need in order to realize the vision for increased housing and population density that some members of the village board have.
After introducing himself, Easty says he doesn’t believe “that we should eliminate all single-family zoning” and that Oak Park should be “strategic” about where to change zoning to allow single-family residences to be converted to multifamily residences in pursuit of greater population density. He believes it makes sense to do so closest to rapid transit, retail, and in particular grocery stores.
He then goes on to observe that “unfortunately some of the best potential development land” is in the historic districts and “removing that distinction, where it may make sense, may free up some of those parcels. The unfortunate thing is that there is no economics for 2- to 4-flats and possibly up to 6-flats given the high cost of property and construction. Eliminating all single-family residential zoning will more likely result in the purchase of large lots and building larger buildings, as doing so allows. Probably 12 units per lot or more. I scouted some sites and that’s exactly what I would do. Some pushing 20 [units].”
While he is “supportive of the concept of more ‘missing middle’ housing,” Easty believes there is “a lot more to consider before eliminating the current zoning of single-family residential districts in Oak Park.”
He advises the village board that “the economics dictate that large multifamily development like that witnessed over the last 10 to 15 years is likely the only thing that will make any economic sense. Since this vote has the potential to change the character of the village that has been thoughtfully developed and maintained by several generations … I suggest that this issue in its final form [be] put before the voters for our vote.”
Rick Easty’s assessment of the economic realities confronting developers should be considered by everyone who cares about Oak Park and its future because his insight is a guide to where the elimination of single-family residential zoning would lead. I support his call for a referendum.
To watch Rick Easty deliver his comments to the Oak Park Village Board on video, go to Oak Park’s website (https://www.oak-park.us/Government/Meetings/Village-Board-Agendas-Minutes-Videos), find the May 19, 2026 meeting line and click on “video.” Rick Easty begins at the 1 minute and 20 second mark.
Adrian Marquez
Oak Park