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Commission backs codifying practice on planned-development threshold tied to inclusionary housing
Summary
The Land Use Commission voted 8-0 to recommend that city council amend zoning text to clarify that required inclusionary housing units and associated bonus units do not count toward the 24-unit planned-development threshold, aligning code with staff’s prior administration.
The Evanston Land Use Commission voted 8–0 to recommend city council adopt a text amendment clarifying how inclusionary housing units and related bonus units are counted toward the plan-development (PD) threshold in the zoning ordinance.
Planning Manager Liz Williams presented a staff referral that would codify an existing administrative practice: required inclusionary housing (IHO) units and developer bonus units tied to those inclusionary units are excluded when calculating whether a project crosses the 24-dwelling-unit threshold that ordinarily triggers a mandatory planned-development application. Williams said codifying the practice will remove ambiguity and align the ordinance with how staff has been administering the code for recent projects.
Commission discussion focused on the implications of the change. Commissioner Brian Berlin asked staff to explain the practical effect: if an applicant proposes 24 market-rate units and the inclusionary requirement increases the project to 28 units, the previously unwritten practice has been to treat the project as below the PD trigger because the IHO and bonus units were excluded. Williams confirmed that past projects (staff cited several examples) had been administered that way and that the proposed text amendment would make that interpretation explicit in multiple zoning sections.
Commissioners asked technical questions about the bonus calculations (bonuses are limited by the inclusionary ordinance and vary by district), the difference between required IHO units and bonus units, and the permitting steps that a project would still follow even if it does not trigger a PD (for example, major variations, parking relief, and building permit reviews remain possible and may require additional public notice). Commissioner Darious Mahbadi noted the change could encourage smaller-scale developments in some locations; others cautioned that codifying the interpretation may reduce the occasions when the city secures public-benefit agreements often negotiated as part of PD approvals.
Staff said other PD triggers (lot size, square footage thresholds and other criteria) remain in effect; the amendment addresses only how required inclusionary units and related bonuses are counted toward the 24-unit numerical threshold. Williams and commissioners agreed this is a technical, interim correction that should be considered alongside a larger zoning-code rewrite tied to the city’s comprehensive-plan update.
On a motion to recommend the text amendment to city council, the commission voted 8–0 in favor. The matter will be forwarded to city council for final action.
