Evanston staff and Land Use Commission leaders on Wednesday summarized a draft comprehensive plan and proposed zoning code rewrite and urged continued public input while residents pressed to slow the timetable and asked for more data about likely impacts.

"We, on the Land Use Commission, decided to, put a temporary pause on the discussion of the zoning ordinance and focus our attention on the comprehensive general plan," Land Use Commission Chair Matt Rogers said, describing the commission’s schedule. Rogers said the commission will resume zoning discussion beginning Jan. 8 and that staff will publish a finalized meeting schedule.

The draft plan presented by Megan Jones, the city’s neighborhood and land use planner, sets a 2045 vision rooted in seven goals — including housing diversity, climate action, transportation options and economic resilience — and maps a future-land-use framework that reduces the city’s 34 zoning districts to 17. "In 2045, Evanston is a vibrant, resilient, and a welcoming community for all," Jones read from the draft vision statement.

City staff emphasized public outreach already completed and asked residents to keep sending written comments. "We did a lot of outreach in that first phase and got many people from all parts of Evanston involved, about 3,000 total," Community Development Director Sarah Flacks said, acknowledging that 3,000 represents a small share of the city’s population and that the process is iterative.

Nut graf: The meeting focused on whether the draft plan and a simultaneous rezoning will protect neighborhood character and advance equity. Residents and council members asked for clearer data on conversion rates of single-family homes, tree- and stormwater protections, parking and impacts on schools and local streets; staff responded with existing policy references and committed to further analysis and to compile community feedback for the Land Use Commission and City Council.

Most of the technical answers came from staff and planning consultants. Jones outlined plan chapters addressing land use, transportation, environment, housing, economic development, parks and historic preservation. Staff said the zoning rewrite aims to better align zoning with the existing built environment so more parcels will be conforming under the new regulations; staff cited roughly 6,930 R1 parcels, of which about 60% were described as conforming today, and about 4,250 R2 parcels with roughly 57% conforming.

Several residents said the proposed changes would allow larger multiunit buildings close to narrow lots and small homes. Staff replied that the maximum height and side-yard numbers cited by speakers—for example a 35-foot height limit and a 5-foot interior side-yard setback in the proposed R1 district—would not change in some categories, though setback reductions to 3 feet were proposed in some R2/R3/R4 districts to reflect existing lot widths and the current built form.

On environmental and infrastructure concerns, staff said existing controls remain in place: the city’s 2023 stormwater master plan and stormwater regulations still apply and Public Works staff have been participating in the code rewrite; the city’s tree-preservation ordinance that took effect in June 2023 remains in force, and removal or protection of trees would follow that ordinance. Staff also said projects will continue to be reviewed for stormwater and tree impacts under current rules.

Parking and traffic drew repeated questions. The draft zoning would eliminate parking minimums for new development and require developers to submit a transportation management plan explaining how they will meet parking and travel demand. Staff noted that about 30% of Evanston households do not own a car and said parking needs vary by project and location.

Several speakers urged more precise data about housing tenure and likely conversion rates. Flacks cited U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates that about 89% of single-unit homes in Evanston are owner-occupied and about 37% of 2–4 unit buildings are owner-occupied. Staff also said that the city’s 2021 change allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs) did not produce large immediate conversion numbers—"I think it's something like 36," Flacks said—illustrating that zoning changes do not instantly transform the housing stock.

Residents raised process concerns: many asked why the city is pursuing a large, citywide rezoning rather than a parcel-by-parcel or neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach, said the public had limited time to review draft code sections the Land Use Commission must vet, and urged delaying major decisions until after the next City Council is seated. Some speakers requested that school properties be called out on the map; staff replied that schools commonly sit in the same base zone as surrounding parcels and that adaptive reuse rules exist if a school site’s use changes.

Council members and staff described next steps: staff will compile written comments and surveys, release an interactive map to let residents compare current and proposed zoning at parcel scale, and provide the Land Use Commission with the complete code package for a thorough review. Rogers and staff described the pause in Land Use Commission zoning discussion so commissioners can review a complete package rather than piecemeal sections.

Residents said they were not reassured: they asked for clearer demographics of participants, broader outreach, slower timelines and explicit anti-displacement measures tied to the zoning changes. Several called for a longer review period and extra safeguards for historic districts and block-level character.

Ending: City staff left the meeting with commitments to compile and publish more of the public-record feedback and to return updated materials to the Land Use Commission and City Council. For now, no formal zoning changes or council votes were taken at the meeting; the Land Use Commission will continue its review starting Jan. 8 and city staff asked residents to submit written comments through the Envision Evanston 2024 channels so they can be included in the record.