Inside Highland Park’s ongoing affordable-housing talks

Highland Park officials discussed the City’s affordable housing program Tuesday, Oct. 13, specifically the goal of increasing the number of affordable units across the community.

Evaluating the effectiveness of its affordable housing program may require looking beyond the number of units developed to determine whether City housing policy is meeting its intended goals.

The existing objective of the affordable housing program is to “increase the number of affordable units in the community by looking at the measure in which the number of units is developed.” 

Mayor Nancy Rotering said she would like to wait for the state legislature’s veto session before making a decision, because to her, if there is already a law in place, then the council would have to “rejigger” their mindset to comply with state law.

Rotering is “absolutely certain” that this objective is moving forward and expressed that she would like to include it in the City’s comprehensive plan. 

Leaving the Policy As Is 

Councilmember Anthony Bloomberg was in agreement with Rotering in that whatever the City Council decides may be irrelevant in a short period of time and wants to see how the objective “flies with the state.” So, his preference is to “do nothing,” for the time being.  

Bloomberg calls the City’s inclusionary zoning ordinance “successful.” To him, “no one” has asked for an exception to the ordinance and he noted Highland Park’s significant amount of development over the years. 

He recognizes that Highland Park’s Solo Cup redevelopment is the “largest development in our history,” and that to him says the policy is working. 

He found that increasing the number of affordable units is “not something he is comfortable looking at,” because the City has already looked at how the percentage of units are calculated. Reexamining the policy, he said, is “not necessary,” as it creates uncertainty. 

Updating the Policy

Councilmember Andrés Tapia, however, finds the objective “worth looking into.”

“I think it’s a good time to see if there’s some creative thinking that could be done as we look at new realities,” Tapia said. 

Tapia would like the objective to include “increase the diversity of housing stock,” as well, because he believes that phrasing supports different income levels in the community.

Councilmembers Jon Center and Yumi Ross agreed with that addition as well. 

Tapia finds the current policy “too narrow” and would like more families to be included in affordable housing. He hopes city officials can be more creative in how they decide who qualifies for affordable housing with a goal of limiting any waiting list.

To him, there are “plenty” of vehicles for the council to explore financially, through zoning, partnerships, collaborations, new programs and more. 

Going off of Rotering’s point, Tapia wants the City to look at the objective “holistically,” and “as part of a larger plan.” 

Rotering added that the council should make sure that “no sudden movement creates unintended consequences.” 

Center called the housing program’s objective “complicated.” He said it has significant economic considerations and requires a lot of input from stakeholders and individuals who participate. 

That being said, Center would like to “reconsider” the objective through more discussion. Though the policy has been successful, he said, it was built a decade ago and it is a different time, citing construction costs as one major change.

“Maybe the system that was implemented a decade ago might not have had the same goals as what we are looking for today,” Center said. 

Councilmember Annette Lidawer “loved” the objective and called it “crucial. She, like Tapia, believes it is worth reviewing the policy and considering different options, like additional inclusivity for people to get off waiting lists and qualify for affordable housing.  

Lidawer said the policy is “wonderful” and wants to revisit the objective. 

Ross supports the objective but believes it can be “tweaked.” To her, in order to build affordable units the City Council must find a way for market-rate housing to be more accessible. 

The next steps will entail the council meeting with stakeholders and property owners for them to have a greater understanding of the affordable housing program, integrating the objective in the comprehensive plan, reviewing barriers and keeping an eye on state legislation, City Manager, Ghida Neukirch said. 

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