The Oak Park village board unanimously voted to approve an ad hoc Housing Advisory Task Force at a board meeting on Sept. 15.
The task force will be comprised of people with a wide range of experience to focus on advancing affordable housing goals and make recommendations to the board for the next steps of the Shape Oak Park zoning proposal.
“The village board has determined it is in the best interest of the village and the public to establish an ad hoc Housing Advisory Task Force in accordance with this resolution to not only focus on Opticos Design’s recommendations, which will support the missing middle housing program, but also on other affordable housing initiatives,” says the amended resolution.
Members of the task force are appointed by Village President Vicki Scaman, and there are nine people already chosen. The resolution outlines there will be three members from the Plan Commission, three members from the Housing Programs Advisory Committee, three members with economic development or real estate experience, two ex officio members of the village board, one member from the Historic Preservation Commission, and one member from the Aging in Community.
The two spots for former members of the board and two spots for the development and real estate experience are still open, but there are people in mind, according to the village spokesperson.
“As we have continued to evaluate the needs of that committee and the things we’d be working on, we thought that it made the most sense to beef up the amount of real estate and development expertise on it, particularly given the work that will be happening around subsidies and support activities related to housing development,” said Jonathan Burch, Oak Park neighborhood services director, at the meeting.
Michael Bailey, the government affairs director for the Oak Park Area Association of Realtors, spoke during public comment in favor of the task force emphasizing the importance of people with relevant expertise.
“If Oak Park wants more affordable housing, more missing middle housing and more opportunities for people to remain in or move in this community, members need to understand the entire housing production process from beginning to end,” said Bailey.
He also encouraged the village to use the Illinois Realtors’ Housing Supply Accelerator Program which connects government affairs directors with local officials, stakeholders and planners “to develop solutions that reflect local conditions and can be put into action, almost immediately in some instances,” according to the website.
Once the final members have been appointed, the task force will be able to determine their meeting times and move forward with their duties which are outlined in four parts in the resolution. Those include reviewing and recommending a pattern book for housing development, financial incentives for affordable housing production, changes to building codes, and any additional recommendations for modifying the zoning code.