Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers describe 'Build' housing plan to ease single‑family restrictions, expand ADUs
Summary
At a Prospect Heights forum Rep. Tracy Katzmuhl and others outlined the governor's 'Build' initiative to allow more missing‑middle housing (duplexes, triplexes, cottage clusters), expand accessory dwelling units and update inspection timelines; Katzmuhl said the proposals remain under negotiation and include home‑rule carve-outs.
Representative Tracy Katzmuhl, introduced at the event as the state representative for the 57th District, described the governor's 'Build' housing initiative and the parts of it that drew the most attention in northwest suburban communities.
Katzmuhl said the proposal would allow properties currently zoned for single-family homes to accommodate a range of housing types—"anything from a single family home to a duplex, a triplex, a cottage cluster, a set of town homes"—and would make accessory dwelling units (ADUs) more broadly allowed statewide. She said that some provisions would include home-rule exclusions so that smaller municipalities retain some control, while other provisions would be statewide.
The bills also included technical changes Katzmuhl said were intended to reduce friction in permitting, such as revised parking requirements and optional private third-party review systems for building inspections when municipal review times exceed specified deadlines. Katzmuhl acknowledged the scope of the proposal and urged local feedback: "Keep talking to us. Which pieces of this resonate with you?" she said, asking attendees to weigh in on parking, timelines and other design choices.
Katzmuhl emphasized that the bills filed are initial offers and that negotiation and compromise are part of the legislative process. She and other legislators said that several related bills and smaller measures had progressed during the session, but that the main Build package still required more work and public input before becoming law.
