Yes Oak Park (Page 2)

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The housing crisis goes beyond big cities.

The housing crisis goes beyond big cities.

The NYTimes has a long form piece on the the ongoing housing crisis and how it's impacting places we don't usually associate with dramatic spikes in rent and housing prices. They take a deep dive into Kalamazoo, my home town. Kalamazoo County’s home prices have

Massachusetts now allows ADUs by-right

Massachusetts now allows ADUs by-right

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), sometimes know as 'granny flats' have been legalized in MA by state level legislation that prevents localities from interfering with permitting on many common grounds. In Massachusetts, Your In-Law Apartment No Longer Makes You An OutlawAs has been widely reported, Governor Maura Healey

Tim Walz, the first YIMBY VP candidate

Tim Walz, the first YIMBY VP candidate

Tim Walz is a YIMBY. He’s supported a ton of new housing that’s kept rents down in Minnesota.Minneapolis has become a national leader on housing policy reform that’s helped the city build lots of new housing and keep rents way down.AOLEliza Relman Tim Walz, the

Explore Chicago NIMBY's exhaustive list of new projects in the west loop

Explore Chicago NIMBY's exhaustive list of new projects in the west loop

Though many of these buildings go far beyond what's doable in Oak Park, there are some great architectural examples in here, some of which would fit in just fine in downtown Oak Park. I'm very glad to see that Chicago is still adding new housing at

Rethinking Zoning to Increase Affordable Housing

The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials has published a list of zoning modifications recommended to promote affordable housing: Recommendation 1: Eliminate Single Family Zoning Recommendation 2: Bundle Zoning Reforms Recommendation 3: Increase Density Near Transit Recommendation 4: Eliminate Off-site Parking Requirements This is very similar to our

A perfect example of how zoning bans affordable housing

A perfect example of how zoning bans affordable housing

On July 30th, 2024, the Oak Park Village Board approved the affordable housing project at 1106 Madison. This will be a five story, 36 unit building. It's being built by the folks who did the Sugar Beet Co-op building and will be run by Housing Forward. It&

Zoning gets contentious even in very progressive areas

Zoning gets contentious even in very progressive areas

The Big Zoning Battle of BerkeleyThis is very important, readers.The Discourse LoungeDarrell Owens Even highly-educated Americans in Berkeley, California are so culturally addicted to suburban living that going back to the normal ways of housing density appears extremely radical to them. So those who want to keep the

Village board supports zoning reform*

Village board supports zoning reform*

During the July 23rd Village Board meeting, village staff presented a number of re-zoning options to the board. The asterisk in the title above represents that fact that all of these options are quite preliminary, and lacking in specifics. Option 1 - Remove the single family only zoning district entirely,

Why Say Yes?

1. Because it's fair. Every Oak Parker knows what the border between Oak Park and Austin means: we're the beneficiaries of generations of anti-Black housing policy. The history of apartment bans in Chicago is the history of redlining and racial steering, and we're

Gone are the days of the arena surrounded by parking lots

Gone are the days of the arena surrounded by parking lots

United Center owners planning massive $7 billion mixed-use campus around the arenaPlans call for a music hall, housing, park and pedestrian-friendly spaces as part of a 10-year development project that could start as early as 2025.Chicago Sun-TimesAbby Miller

Village staff propose zoning changes that fall short, literally

Village staff propose zoning changes that fall short, literally

Village staff will present zoning options to the board during the July 23rd meeting. They put forth the following 'strategic vision': Modify Oak Park’s Zoning Ordinance to Allow “Missing Middle Housing”: 1. Build consensus on intended goals of missing middle housing and zoning changes necessary to achieve

The shady history of zoning in Oak Park

The shady history of zoning in Oak Park

Thomas Ptacek is doing some historical research on Oak Park zoning codes. I will leave the details to him, but he found that our zoning code was penned by none other than Harland Bartholomew and Associates, who entered into a contract to amend our code in the 1940s. Harland Bartholomew

Housing Activists create NYC Super PAC

Housing Activists create NYC Super PAC

The super PAC, Abundant New York, is the electoral arm of Open New York,a nonprofit group formed in 2016 that advocates more development. The PAC is a more aggressive attempt by the group to make politicians feel consequences for not doing enough to address a worsening housing crisis.

Oak Park Housing Vision

Oak Park Housing Vision

This was presented back in March to the village board by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, and I think it's worth revisiting. It's got a wealth of general information about Oak Park, demographics and the current state of zoning and development, well worth a read. It also

Chicago expands ADU eligibility

Chicago expands ADU eligibility

Love this, though Chicago has historically had much more permissive zoning than the burbs.I think that Oak Park's ADU ordinance is relatively weak, not many have been built because it's far too restrictive. Oak Park should create a meaningful ADU ordinance that allows economically viable

Escaping the Housing Trap

Escaping the Housing Trap

I can heartily recommend ‘Escaping the Housing Trap’ by Charles L. Marohn Jr. and Daniel Herriges. This is the third in a series of books from https://www.strongtowns.org/, focusing on housing and housing affordability. The book opens with ‘how we got here’, a somewhat depressing retelling of how