At its August 24, 2026, meeting, the Evanston City Council took a small step in the Envision Evanston 2045 process toward revising the Zoning Code. This is the second stage in the Envision Evanston project launched in 2023; the first was developing and approving a new Comprehensive Plan for the city At the August meeting Council authorized the City Manager to execute a contract with a consultant, Code Studio, to rewrite the Code. During public comment, there was significant support for the Code Studio proposal and encouragement to proceed with the process.
Council action on choosing a consultant to work with the City had been postponed from an earlier meeting when Council Members expressed dissatisfaction that only two proposals had been submitted. In July, Council Members debated whether or not to send out a new Request for Proposals. Staff members explained that this would delay any work by months. The final decision to move forward took place only after long discussion and the acceptance or rejection of several proposed amendments. Some Council Members demonstrated their desire to oversee the process and City staff efforts for every stage of the work.
The timetable for this task anticipates completion in 2027, but this may be optimistic. City Council Members urged regular outreach to the community as drafts are developed, and City staff promised substantive reporting to Council on each phase of the revision.
A group of LWVE members will be observing the process and will report to our membership as the discussion evolves.
See the February 2026 issue of the Intercom
for a report on approval of the Comprehensive Plan. You can also access formal LWVE responses to earlier drafts of the Comprehensive Plan through our website.