Flexible land zoning, more multi-tenant developments, and even tiny homes are among some of the proposals on the table as DuPage County officials continue an ongoing exploration of addressing housing affordability challenges within the region.
“When I took office, one of my top priorities was to research and begin planning for DuPage to seek affordable housing solutions,” County Board Chair Deb Conroy said during a presentation on the topic at a meeting Tuesday, March 11. “We’ve learned an awful lot about what we can do and things that we maybe need to change. The journey continues.”
18-month review with consulting organization
Grounded Solutions Network, an organization based in Washington, D.C., has been working with DuPage County officials throughout the course of the past year-and-a-half to explore avenues — some new to the area — to help ensure the region has housing available to people in all income brackets.
Conroy said the exploratory process has entailed “learning about people’s stories, listening to the experiences of builders, residents and planners, zoning staff and our national experts with Ground Solutions Network.”
As the review process winds to a close, a housing action plan has been developed. Within it, three of DuPage County’s greatest needs have been identified:
- Making available more affordable homeownership opportunities
- Offering a greater number of housing types that currently dot the landscape
- Encouraging community-led solutions that bring a cross-section of local people into the fold
Colby Sledge, a policy analyst with Grounded Solutions’ office in Tennessee, worked with local representatives in developing the housing action plan.
“We really wanted to make sure that we were working hand-in-hand with organizations that had longstanding experience with folks who were experiencing housing needs and were looking for housing of all types and all levels throughout their county and municipalities,” Sledge said.
Land banks and housing trust funds
From a countywide perspective that includes Naperville and all other incorporated municipalities within DuPage, several levers could be pulled to help bring more affordable options into the housing marketplace, Sledge and others said during the recent presentation.
The concepts of land banks and housing trust funds were discussed and could be pursued as practical ways of opening up the region to more affordable housing options.
Land banks are an opportunity for governing agencies, such as the county, to acquire, renovate and sell properties to provide value, establish a land disposition process and turn what on paper is deemed a liability into an asset instead.
“Land banks exist in Illinois,” Sledge said. “There are several areas where they are operational. However, they are not operational right now in DuPage.”
Housing trust funds, meanwhile, can be used as a means of supporting different housing needs, augmenting and expanding existing programs and providing seed funding for new initiatives. Rental assistance, building rehabs and home ownership support programs are among some of the tangible examples.
“The great thing about establishing a housing trust fund is that it can be used to support what you deem appropriate as a county, regarding the variety of housing needs you may have,” Sledge said.
County Board member wants tiny homes
At the recent meeting, a number of the DuPage County Board commissioners weighed in on the initiatives that have taken place to enhance affordable housing opportunities within the region, while others mulled further opportunities.
District 6 County Board member Sheila Rutledge advocated for making tiny homes a reality within DuPage through county zoning and other means. The tiny home movement, which is marked by a simplified living space and minimal square footage, has picked up momentum on the west coast, but is relatively unheard of in the Midwest.
“I’ve been talking about tiny homes since I ran for office in 2018,” Rutledge said. “I’d still like to see that in properties that we own. Kids these days don’t want 1,800 square feet.”
Affordable housing projects underway
Mary Keating, the county’s director of community services, said a number of affordable housing projects are taking place in municipalities across DuPage, with some having been completed and set to break ground.
The 71-unit Tower Court Residences project in Naperville is among the affordable housing projects that are coming to fruition, in part because of the county’s resources. Other affordable housing projects with county assistance have sprung up in Addison, Glen Ellyn, Villa Park and Warrenville.
A combined 250 units of affordable housing projects have taken root across DuPage, Keating said, through the strategic approach.
“There are a lot of things happening,” she said.
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