In the July 29 issue of Viewpoints [Progress on housing affordability], Trustee Derek Elder compared the result of ending single-family zoning in Minneapolis with what he expected would happen if we ended single-family zoning in Oak Park: falling rents and building new multifamily units that created more affordable housing. In the Aug. 19 Viewpoints section [Comparing Oak Park & Minneapolis], I pointed out that ending single-family zoning had virtually nothing to do with falling rents and building new multifamily units that created more affordable housing in Minneapolis.
Affordable housing in Minneapolis was a result of Minneapolis’ huge land area, huge population, lack of population density, large amount of vacant land, publicly owned vacant land, inexpensive private lots, tens of millions of city dollars devoted to affordable housing, and organizations like Habitat for Humanity building affordable housing. Eliminating single family zoning had virtually nothing to do with these factors, and our trustees ignored every one of these factors that Oak Park does not have in determining that Minneapolis was a parallel example for the results we could expect in Oak Park.
Several California cities, including Santa Monica and Midway City, are actively building affordable housing using prefabricated modular methods to speed up construction and lower costs. In Santa Monica, the city completed Berkeley Station, its very first modular affordable housing project. Spectrum News 1 (9/5/26) reports “The building has 13 sustainable, all-electric homes” designed for low-income and housing-insecure families. In Midway City, a major development featuring “65 units of new affordable housing” was recently stacked into place, bringing rapid rental solutions to small families and lower-income individuals (Orange County Register, 8/29/26). Minneapolis’ public housing authority acts as a leader by utilizing off-site construction (prefabricated units) to rapidly develop affordable housing units (ced.sog.unc.edu).
These examples offer real solutions for real problems that have nothing to do with eliminating single-family zoning.
One of the key factors in creating Minneapolis’ affordable housing was the fact that the city had vacant buildable land owned by the city perfectly situated for prefabricated modular housing. Oak Park should buy the current vacant land at the corner of Chicago and Ridgeland, Austin and Roosevelt, and the Mohr Cement property. These three lots should be rezoned for modular housing and then the village should solicit bids to build such housing.
The result: No change in zoning and virtually immediate affordable housing for lower-income residents.
In 1960 Oak Park had a white population of 99.9% (WJ, 11/24/09). In 2024 Oak Park had a white population of 61.5% and a minority population of 43.5% (CensusDots.com). (These numbers do not equal 100% due to multiple racial reporting.) In 1960 and in 2024 Oak Park had single-family zoning. What role did single-family zoning play in preventing minority populations from moving into Oak Park and increasing from virtually 0% to 43.5%?
Absolutely none.
Al Krause
Oak Park