View our presentation from the community session
While we do believe that zoning change is a very important tool in opening up more housing, it must to be paired with a strengthened IHO in order to meet the needs of those looking for affordable units. This Brookings article talks about how changing the zoning code without a strengthened IHO can lead to gentrification and the loss of affordable housing in the short term.
While new supply should have a moderating effect on rents, as a policy tool there is no way to determine how many units would be needed before rents fall sufficiently to become affordable to those in most need. Therefore, local government needs to ensure new supply comes online at a range of price points so that the growth is balanced across income spectrums to serve the entire community.
It is also inaccurate to think of demand for Oak Park as generated only within our boundaries. Demand for housing is regional and national, meaning that Oak Park’s high demand is driven by factors outside of Oak Park as well: Chicago families who want to move here for good schools and proximity to their work; people from across the country who feel Oak Park offers a liberal, racially diverse place to live freely; young professionals and graduates who cannot find affordable housing in the city, etc. A supply side focus on new construction assumes we can build enough to exceed the demand generated from these various groups. Do we feel confident that we can generate a supply of housing in Oak Park that can meet a demand that is regional and national in nature? Given that demand is difficult to estimate, the more equitable policy option is to ensure that lower-income households benefit from each new construction opportunity.
It’s true that in most cities (prior the current national focus on affordability and its attendant housing policies), any naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) was formally market-rate housing that was built for upper middle or upper income households that over time lost its ability to command premium rates.
Units lose their desirability because they deteriorate in quality: units become undesirable as they age, lack updated amenities, and do not benefit from capital updates by landlords (like fixing creaking floors or updating HVAC systems) that would allow them to command higher rents.
In theory, filtering occurs when new market-rate housing is built and more affluent households can move into these more desirable newer units, leaving their older units available for lower-income households. This is a process that occurs over decades. While this phenomenon highlights the importance of ensuring new construction gets built, it is not an appropriate policy tool to generate immediate affordability because it does not directly incentivize the creation of affordable units and leaves lower-income households waiting until such time that buildings degrade to the point they become affordable.
Additionally, filtering may not open up affordable housing in Oak Park itself if the affluent households who occupy new market construction are not moving out of units in Oak Park, but instead come in from Chicago, for example. The more affordable unit will become available in Chicago, not Oak Park.
No. While this is a common misconception, according to the nonprofit Grounded Solutions Network, “there is no credible evidence to suggest that inclusionary housing policies lead to a reduction in the production of new market rate housing.”
Yes!
Oak Park’s 2012 Homes for a Changing Region plan reported that housing costs are rising at a fast rate, Oak Park’s renter households with incomes below $50,000 face challenges being able to afford rent, and overall, seniors face housing difficulties.
According to the updated Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Report, commissioned by the Village as a follow-up to the 2012 Homes for a Changing Region: “Four out of every ten renter households in Oak Park are “housing cost-burdened,” meaning they pay more than 30% of their monthly income on housing. Oak Park’s renter households with incomes below $50,000 are particularly impacted, with three-quarters of this group being housing cost-burdened. Additionally, housing prices and housing variety in Oak Park’s neighborhoods are major factors in integration efforts. In less diverse and integrated census tracts of Oak Park, Black and Latino households earning the area median income of this group can afford less than 10% of owner-occupied homes. Several of these census tracts also have significantly lower percentages of multifamily and rental units than the community as a whole.”
Yes. Zoning decides what types of developments are allowed on plots of land. Currently, our zoning code restricts development of multifamily housing and therefore limits the amount of housing that can be built in Oak Park. Changing the zoning code to increase housing supply is a tool the Village can use to lower housing costs. Pew Research shows that expanding the housing supply can slow the rise in rent prices in an area. Zoning changes, paired with a strengthened IHO, can make a real impact on affordability in Oak Park.