Like many of you, I was interested and involved during development of Evanston's new Downtown Plan several years ago. Among other issues, it addressed structure height and density, preservation, public spaces, parking, and bonuses for public benefits provided by developers. Perhaps most significantly, the Plan recommended a change to form-based zoning code and a streamlined approval process for new projects to reduce uncertainty for all parties involved.
The plan was adopted by the Evanston City Council in February 2009 after many months of input from a variety of stakeholders, including citizens, city staff, businesses, organizations, and consultants. The Plan was a framework, but needed to be codified and made legally binding through changes to Evanston's zoning ordinance. The SEA Board has a committee that monitors zoning matters. We knew the City Council had not approved any major zoning amendments for downtown in 2010 or 2011, so we contacted city staff for an update.
In a nutshell, the process of codifying the Downtown Plan is still underway. In February 2011, the Plan Commission approved a proposal recommending amendments to the zoning ordinance. They then forwarded their recommendations to the City Council. Currently the matter rests with the Planning and Development Committee of the Council, and city staff members anticipate this will be on the Council's agenda for 2012. No timeline has been established for finalizing zoning changes.
In the meantime, as the economy recovers (hopefully!) and developers propose projects, will they be subject to the existing ordinance and process or those proposed in the Downtown Plan? Craig Sklenar, General Planner in the Community and Economic Development Department, says, "While current applications will be accepted and evaluated under the current zoning ordinance, including planned developments, the applications will also be evaluated under the adopted downtown plan as guidance."
Information about the Downtown Plan and proposed changes to the zoning ordinance is available at the following city website: http://www.cityofevanston.org/planning-zoning/downtown-zoning/documents/
