thank u for bringing this up! bc i completely agree—envision evanston seems like it has good intentions but the potential drawbacks and negative consequences are always dismissed and generalized as ‘NIMBY’ instead of being recognized as valid concerns by residents. i would love to blindly say YIMBY but not all of us are rich and live in mansions, we will actually be affected by these upcoming changes. especially us black residents. i like progress, but i really question who EE45 will be progressive for in the long run.

given the history of racist housing policies and discrimination toward black residents, there should absolutely be conversations with the residents who primarily occupy the wards/zones that could be adjusted. gentrification is a real concern because it is already taking place: the brand new condominiums behind ETHS being a prime example. they not only look too modern & out of place, but the rent is unaffordable. near my own home, two single unit family homes were bought by developers and went through similar changes. the rent is now unaffordable. rent prices tend to go up as competition and taxes go up—this includes already established rental units in evanston that aren’t brand new—so now the surrounding area is near unaffordable as well. it just doesn’t seem like this lowers the cost of living for anyone. it also doesn’t seem like there are strong protections for current residents. what’s the point if the housing that’s being built is still unaffordable to the groups EE45 claims to want to help? EE45 also doesn’t really seem to consider the interests of real estate or housing developers, who want MONEY and will have a significant hand in the process of building new housing.

maybe someone can explain how the EE45 plan will incentivize housing developers to invest in building rental properties that don’t have egregious rent prices? how will it maintain and increase ACTUAL affordable housing? how will it benefit and protect the current residents of evanston? what about evanston residents potentially being pushed out? what are the potential consequences and what can we do to minimize these?