Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
DuPage County board hears housing action plan, directs ad hoc committee to craft land‑bank and trust framework
Summary
County board heard an 18‑month plan from Grounded Solutions Network outlining land banks, community land trusts and a housing trust fund; staff and board members discussed next steps including an ad hoc committee and potential state legislation to expand income bands for "missing middle" homeownership.
The DuPage County Board on March 11 heard an 18‑month housing strategy from Grounded Solutions Network and the county's housing team and directed its ad hoc Housing Solutions Committee to draft a regulatory framework for a county land bank and housing trust fund.
The presentation, led by Colby Sledge of Grounded Solutions Network, outlined three priorities for DuPage: more affordable homeownership opportunities, more housing types across the spectrum (including the “missing middle” such as townhomes and fourplexes) and community‑led solutions. "We were invited to work with the county on your housing strategies," Sledge said, describing the program that paired DuPage with Mecklenburg County and produced a housing action plan the board received.
The plan recommends three tools: a land bank to acquire and manage underused county parcels, a community land trust to preserve affordability via stewardship and resale rules, and a county housing trust fund to administer and deploy local dollars. Mary Keating, DuPage community services staff, summarized recent and planned projects supported with federal HOME and CDBG funds, including Alden Warrenville (71 senior units; county HOME contribution $2,500,000), an Alden project in Addison (62 units; county HOME contribution $5,200,000), Seguin Services’ Villa Park facility (a five‑person community integrated living arrangement) and two larger potential developments — a Full Circle Communities project in Glen Ellyn (estimated total $23,000,000; county HOME set‑aside $1,750,000) and a 71‑unit proposal in Naperville under review with Gorman & Company. Keating said those projects together total about 250 units "either recently completed or soon underway."
Board members asked how a land bank would operate in DuPage, where properties traditionally cited for land banks (large inventories of vacant or tax‑delinquent parcels) are scarce. Member Michael Cahill asked whether the county would use condemnation or eminent domain; county staff replied the county does not plan condemnation, that many properties have been added to county inventory through donations or the county's clean and lien work, and that the county could buy abandoned properties or participate in tax sales as part of a land‑bank approach. "We would not be looking to use condemnation to gain properties," a county staff member said.
The board also reviewed zoning and regulatory steps already taken: the county reduced minimum lot width on historic lots from 66 feet to 50 feet (20 property owners have already used the change); it revised accessory dwelling unit rules to remove the prior familial and 62‑plus age requirements; and it created a path to allow single‑family homes on certain principal arterial roads to be converted into two units — a change affecting 483 eligible properties. Staff said those changes increase available housing stock as an immediate action while the county considers longer‑term tools.
Sledge and staff noted a statutory constraint that would limit some county land‑bank or trust activities to households at 0–80% of area median income under the Affordable Housing Planning and Appeals Act. Staff recommended the ad hoc committee draft a local regulatory framework and consider seeking state legislation aligned with the county's legislative agenda to address the “missing middle” between 80% and 120% AMI.
No formal county ordinance or ordinance amendment was voted at the meeting. The board's next steps, as described during the discussion, are: (a) the ad hoc Housing Solutions Committee will develop the regulatory and program design for a county land bank and housing trust; (b) staff will continue underwriting and advancing HOME/CDBG‑funded projects already in process; and (c) the county will consider legislative changes at the state level if the ad hoc committee recommends expanding the statutory income bands.
Board Chair Deborah A. Conroy thanked the presenters and the ad hoc committee chairs; she said staff will keep the board apprised as projects such as the Glen Ellyn development move through underwriting and permitting.
