PLATFORM & POLICY

Evanston residents are rightfully concerned that  'good ideas' are imposed on Evanston residents by circumventing both genuine public input and open meetings.  I will call for the City Council to be faithful to the residents and the law on legislative process.

We cannot develop an authentic vision of where we want to be unless we know from where we are starting. Meaningful data are needed on our current level of rental housing availability and rent ranges, successfully occupied affordable housing units, number of cars registered to rental addresses and condos, just to begin.  There is no genuine deadline between now and April. The city should take its time and do it right.

The proposed upzoning is unnecessary to create more affordable housing. It will encourage costly new construction on now modestly valued properties which can result in displacement of our lower to middle class residents. It is not an initiative that arose organically from the residents and will change the landscape of our neighborhoods. 

A multi-pronged strategy needs to be developed to create housing to keep a diverse, inclusive population. Market driven tactics dependent upon for profit developments are not sufficient. If we truly value affordability, we need to explore public funding for mixed income limited equity land trust developments, and explore instituting property tax relief for seniors, as well as support our already existing affordable housing. 

Evanston as a hub for distinctive shopping, arts, and entertainment will create the distinctive appeal needed to revitalize our downtown and attract visitors. Prolific high rise residential density is not an effective solution for our downtown and does not reduce our carbon footprint.

The Climate Action Resilience Plan is a promise to our children that we must keep.  Its implementation must be the result of seeing input from all stakeholders in our city: rental property owners, condominium owners, places of worship and other nonprofits serving our community. 

In this era of reduced federal funding, we will need to be certain we have thoroughly explored all options before awarding contracts and leverage the wealth of expert consulting available from our own residents.