La Grange trustees back forming resident housing advisory council, ask staff to draft ordinance

After broad public comment in favor of an advisory body to study housing affordability, trustees signaled support for creating a resident'led housing task force or advisory council and asked staff to draft language for the board's consideration.

Multiple speakers urged action: the League of Women Voters' housing committee detailed research and a proposed task force scope; the La Grange Design Review Commission chair Kurt Volkmann described state and federal trends (Illinois Build initiative and federal Build Hubs Act) and urged the village to plan proactively; the Community Diversity Group cited data showing households in the 60525 ZIP code spend more than the recommended share of income on housing.

Trustees debated the group's scope (broad review of housing stock and the Build initiative versus a narrow focus on incentivizing developers), membership size (a suggested 10'15 members), whether the group must comply with the Open Meetings Act if board participation is substantial, and the village'president's role in appointments. Trustee Augustine favored a general task force to assess a needs analysis and options for seniors, workers and young families; other trustees recommended clearer charges and staff'drafted language.

President Coogler said he would appoint members and that the board would not vote tonight but would return with proposed ordinance/resolution language after staff prepared details. Trustees requested staff clarify whether the body would be a formal commission (with Open Meetings Act obligations) or an informal advisory council, how members would be selected, whether the task force would have a budget and what specific charges it should pursue.

The board did not adopt a final ordinance; trustees asked staff to return with a draft for consideration at a future meeting, with a plan to revisit specifics within roughly two weeks.