As Oak Park prepares to vote on its rezoning plan, I’d like to make the case for supporting it, and I hope even those with skepticism will consider it in good faith.
We can start with what makes Oak Park distinctive. Our blocks hold 2-flats, courtyard buildings, townhomes, and apartments alongside single-family houses. This mix of “middle housing” isn’t a departure from our village’s character. It *is* our character. Rules that restrict it would prevent us from building more of what made this community so appealing and unique in the first place.
Zoning influences affordability. When a village limits the kinds of homes that can be built, it limits choice, and this tends to push prices and rents up. First-time homebuyers feel this most: A modest condo or townhome can be a first step toward ownership, but only if the village allows it to exist.
There is the fiscal side too. Compact, multifamily housing generally adds more taxable value per acre than single-family-only development. A broader tax base spreads the cost of schools, roads, and services across more properties and allows public services to realize economies of scale. Without that growth, the burden falls on homeowners and local businesses.
Finally, housing is tied to our local economy. Businesses need workers, and families need places to live. Restrictive zoning can constrain a community’s growth, and with it the customers, employers, and jobs that keep our commercial districts thriving.
None of this means change should happen dramatically. Reasonable people can differ on design standards, scale, etc., and those conversations are important. But the plan before us is a measured and incremental way to keep Oak Park inclusive, diverse, and financially sustainable while deliberately aiming to preserve the village’s character.
Jacob Kauppila
Oak Park