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August 12, 2020
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Affordable housing and River Forest Proponents of expanding access say the village isn’t doing enough By LACEY SIKORA
I
Contributing Reporter
n June, facing a state deadline of June 28, the River Forest Board of Trustees voted to approve an affordable housing plan for the village. Illinois required all towns with fewer than 10 percent affordable housing to file plans for how they would reach the goal of 10 percent affordable housing. Affordable housing is defined as housing costs that are no more than 30 percent of gross income. Households spending more than 30 percent are considered housing cost-burdened.
Lawyer Dan Lauber, a local resident who has worked on fair housing issues since 1985 and is a vocal proponent of more affordable housing, has followed the debate in River Forest while advocating for more affordable housing. River Forest’s affordable housing share is currently 9 percent. Lauber contends that while public support for more robust affordable housing measures in River Forest is strong, the board’s current plan is not strong enough. He details his opposition at the website www.riverforestmatters.com. Chief among Lauber’s concerns is that in drafting the affordable housing plan for the village’s Plan Commission, consultant John Houseal lifted large portions of the affordable housing plan from a plan previously adopted by the village of Wilmette. Lauber says the Wilmette ordinance was so poorly received that it was removed three years later. Lauber also said that there were a number of amendments proposed
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that would make River Forest’s affordable housing plan more impactful, but they were not adopted. A few of the recommendations Lauber has made include adopting incentivized inclusionary zoning, adopting a policy that at least 15 percent of units in new multifamily developments be affordable, ensuring that in TIF districts existing affordable housing be maintained or replaced with affordable housing in new developments on a one-for-one basis, and establishing a goal of at least 10 percent affordable housing as opposed to a capping affordable housing units at 10 percent of village housing stock. Lauber notes that all of his suggestions were rejected. Instead the village agreed to allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and to increase supportive integrated housing, which is housing for people with disabilities or those needSee AFFORDABLE HOUSING on page B3
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ForestParkReview.com August 12, 2020 ■ Wednesday Journal/Forest Park Review
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