The City of Evanston has a new Comprehensive Plan, a vision for the city for the next 20 years, approved by City Council on January 26. This is the first part of Envision Evanston 2045, and later this year work will begin on the second part, a revision of the Zoning Code. This process started in its public phase two years ago, in January 2024, and incorporated extensive public input, including ward meetings, surveys of residents, requests for comments on early drafts, sustained reviews by the Land Use Commission, and seven special Council meetings in the second half of 2025 to debate concepts and fine-tune language. 

It is good news to have a new Comprehensive Plan. It is worrisome that the Plan was approved by a 5-4 vote. Councilmembers Clare Kelly (1st Ward), Tom Suffredin (6th), Parielle Davis (7th) and Matt Rodgers (8th) voted no. Many of the votes in the earlier meetings on substantive additions or language edits passed or failed by comparable split votes, sometimes 5-4 and sometimes 6-3. This contentious process path to adoption reflects a divided Council that has struggled to develop effective communication and collaboration. 

The extensive discussions on the Plan expanded the early draft of 118 pages to a final version of over 300 pages, with more data, more history, more maps, and more detailed explanations. An initial premise was that Evanston’s population will and should grow, but that was challenged by some. Housing, and especially the development of more affordable housing, was an important goal for many, but strong differences emerged about how this might or should be achieved. Parks, transportation, the environment, and other major topics received more attention and documentation. Halfway through the process, it was agreed to address the Plan first, and to postpone the revision of the Zoning Code.

Public interest in the process was strong, and every Council meeting that was focused on the Plan generated passionate public comment. At the January 26 meeting, there were 29 public comments on the Plan, 12 in favor and 17 opposed. Much of the opposition challenged the framework for creating more affordable housing, expressed support for different approaches to housing in different neighborhoods, or criticized the process for being staff-driven rather than resident-driven. City staff, particularly Liz Williams, Planning Manager, and Sarah Flax, Director of Community Development, consistently expressed their willingness to respond to suggestions from Councilmembers and from residents. 

LWVEvanston has been watching the process since it began as one of our Local Program topics: observing meetings, reading drafts, discussing strengths and weaknesses of the documents, and conveying our concerns to City staff and elected officials. We were impressed with the hard work, the lengthy process, and the difficulty in building a consensus. If you would like to join us in watching our Evanston government take on the task of revising the Zoning Code in the coming year(s), please contact Sue Calder, Betty Hayford, or the LWVE Co-Presidents at president@LWVE.org.