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Plan Commission delays ADU zoning amendment, asks staff for draft and public process
Summary
The Plan Commission continued the zoning chapter amendment on accessory dwelling units (Case 2025-21P) and asked staff to draft a cover memorandum and text for the Village Board and to return to the commission with a review draft on July 16, 2026; commissioners cited pending state and federal legislation and public-input needs as reasons for the delay.
The Skokie Plan Commission on June 25 continued consideration of a proposed zoning chapter amendment (Case 2025-21P) that would allow and regulate accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in residential districts, asking staff to prepare a draft for Village Board review and to return a detailed draft to the Plan Commission on July 16, 2026.
Justin Malone of the Community Development Department recapped the proposed changes: allow ADUs in residential zones, require compatibility with the principal use, prohibit unrelated business uses and short-term rentals, require rental registration, and set minimum unit sizes (the presentation identified 220 square feet as the minimum size for a two-person ADU and 120 square feet for a one-person ADU, drawing on the International Property Maintenance Code).
Commissioners focused on design and practical impacts. One commissioner asked whether converting an attached garage with doors facing the street would violate the proposed single front-entrance rule; staff responded that building-code and parking rules would constrain habitable garage conversions and that entrances should be sited to preserve a single front-facing pedestrian entrance in most attached cases. Commissioners also raised concerns that an on-site parking requirement could prompt homeowners to pave front lawns, altering neighborhood character and increasing impervious surface.
Several commissioners urged caution because state and federal proposals remain unsettled. Commissioner Whitmer said municipal authority could be affected by pending state bills and IML advocacy and recommended delaying a final recommendation until after the veto session; Commissioner Black suggested carrying the matter forward to allow time for legislative developments and for staff to design a public survey if appropriate. After a short recess for counsel to check procedural options, the commission agreed on an interim approach: staff will prepare a draft memo and recommended language to be seen by the commission, the commission will review that draft at a July 16 meeting, and the Plan Commission will then decide whether to forward a recommendation to the Village Board.
The motion to continue to July 16, 2026 and to receive a staff-prepared draft passed by unanimous vote.
The commission also asked staff to gather comparative rules and procedural examples from other municipalities and to circulate the Village Board’s recently adopted conduct rules before the next discussion.
