Committee reviews second draft of Envision Evanston plan; zoning code uncoupled from plan

City planning staff presented the second draft of Envision Evanston on March 18, describing revisions made after public comment and outlining next steps in the approval process. The committee took no final vote on the plan but was invited to submit written feedback to staff ahead of the land use commission process.

Megan Jones, neighborhood and land-use planner, and Erin Baines, planning and policy supervisor, told the committee that the second draft reflects extensive public engagement: more than 2,500 respondents to an earlier survey, outreach in partnership with Evanston Cradle to Career, and testimony gathered through boards and commissions. Jones said staff uncoupled the earlier draft zoning code from the comprehensive plan: the updated approach is to finalize the plan first and then draft a zoning code that will return for public review after council approval.

Erin Baines said the update reorganizes chapters (including a new neighborhood-and-places framing), adds appendices describing public engagement and supporting data, and revises maps and graphics to better reflect Evanston. Staff highlighted housing data in the draft: roughly 52% of respondents agreed Evanston currently meets their housing needs, declining to about 46% when asked whether housing needs would be met 20 years into the future. Baines noted lower agreement among Black respondents (about one-third) and somewhat higher agreement among Hispanic/Latino respondents (about 40%).

Committee members asked for more granular demographic and neighborhood-level benchmarks to better track displacement and change over time. Several members requested that staff identify which new data were added in draft two versus the first draft and said a summary of public comments and staff responses would be useful when the land use commission considers the plan. Trina Antamera and other committee members emphasized the need for an ongoing evaluation framework (for example, five‑year reviews) and for the housing chapter to be brought back to this committee for monitoring and implementation action.

Members also discussed public concern about potential zoning changes (often described as adding two‑ to four‑unit “missing middle” housing in single‑family blocks). Staff said zoning work is now scheduled to follow plan approval and that design standards and development controls can be addressed during the zoning-code process.

Next steps: staff asked committees and commissions to submit written feedback by April 4; a compiled summary of comments will go to the land use commission for their public hearing and recommendation to council.