Northbrook adopts new zoning code; removes cottage courts and duplexes from proposed R4/R5 allowances

The Village of Northbrook on Sept. 9 adopted a comprehensive rewrite of its zoning code but directed that cottage courts not be allowed in R4 and R5 districts and that duplexes be removed from the R5 district. The new code — the product of more than two years of staff and consultant work, public meetings and Planning Commission review — updates lot-size rules, use tables and downtown overlay standards, while retaining the village’s inclusionary housing program adopted in 2020 under a new name. Planning director Amy McEwen told the board the rewrite is meant to make the code easier to use, reduce nonconforming lots and add housing choices where appropriate. The draft reduces some single‑family lot minimums (for example, the proposed R4 minimum lot area drops from 12,000 to 10,000 square feet and lot width to about 65 feet; the R5 minimum was proposed at about 7,000 square feet and 50-foot width), which staff said would reduce the share of nonconforming…