Council hears attainable‑housing study with zoning and program recommendations; members ask for benchmarks and implementation steps

On Aug. 18 the Downers Grove Village Council received a first reading of an attainable housing study prepared by the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus and Brick Partners under their Homes for a Changing Region program. Ben Schnelli, manager of housing initiatives for the caucus, summarized data from community surveys, focus groups and housing market datasets and said the village faces four key challenges: unmet demand for downsizing options among seniors; a shrinking supply of starter homes for first‑time buyers; a rising share of cost‑burdened renters (especially in older apartment stock); and workforce housing gaps reported by employers.

The team recommended a three‑bucket approach: (1) build local capacity through a housing commission and ongoing stakeholder convenings; (2) maximize outside resources such as county and state funding, nonprofit gap financing, and programs to preserve older rental stock; and (3) pursue zoning and regulatory changes to enable missing‑middle housing, expand accessory‑dwelling unit (ADU) options and consider inclusionary housing tools and a demolition tax to fund a housing trust. Schnelli highlighted the town’s Guiding DG plan as the foundation for targeted zoning amendments near transit and commercial corridors.

Councilors praised the study’s data and asked for clarifying follow‑ups: what geographic comparator makes most sense for benchmarking, how to define and measure ‘success’ for policy interventions, how the state’s periodic affordability calculations square with the study’s local indicators, and which recommendations offer the greatest near‑term yield (several commissioners identified multifamily near transit and well‑crafted inclusionary policies as high‑impact). Commissioners and staff noted many of the zoning recommendations are already in the village’s work plan and will be channeled through the planning and zoning review process.

Audience commenters cautioned the council to protect infrastructure capacity, preserve neighborhood character where appropriate, and ensure shoring and safety requirements are enforced as redevelopment intensifies. Staff and the caucus team offered a menu of near‑term next steps (site visits to model projects, pilot programs to preserve older rental stock, and convening nonprofit and county partners) and identified measurable indicators (ADU and multifamily production counts, housing‑cost metrics from Census data) that could be revisited in two‑ to four‑year intervals to track progress.