Evanston City Council Votes 7-2 To Adopt Sweeping Housing Plan After Marathon Debate

## City Council Votes 7-2 To Adopt Sweeping Housing Plan After Marathon Debate

Evanston City Council voted 7-2 to adopt the Housing 4 All strategic housing plan Tuesday night, establishing goals and priorities for the city housing policies and funding over the next decade.

The document has been in the works in some form since December 2023, and the Housing and Community Development Committee sent it to the council with a positive recommendation in February after working on it over the course of five meetings since October 2025.

## Debate Spans Overnight as Council Works Through 64 Amendments

Despite the strong majority in the final vote, getting there was anything but easy for the councilmembers. The meeting went into Tuesday as Councilmembers, who started working on the housing plan at 9:10 p.m. Monday, wrapped up just before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

In between, they debated 64 amendment proposals submitted after they tabled the plan last month.

The main driver of the lengthy debate was Councilmember Clare Kelly, who submitted 50 of the 64 amendments on the agenda alone. She shared credit with Parielle Davis for another 10 amendments, and Tom Suffredin submitted three.

This trio and Councilmember Matt Rodgers form the councils opposition bloc, often voting together against proposals that encourage greater housing density and development in Evanston. The other five members of the majority bloc tend to support such proposals.

## Councilmember Clare Kelly Calls Majority Autocratic

Councilmember Clare Kelly spent the entire night on the offensive. She called the draft plan a disservice to our residents and questioned aloud why other councilmembers were not seconding one of her proposals.

She was repeatedly cut off by Mayor Daniel Biss for interrupting other councilmembers while they had the floor. She called the majority bloc autocratic before Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma moved to reject the rest of the amendments list in a single vote.

Actually its democratic, Biss responded, and by the way, while you are hurling accusations, note that one of the people you are describing as the five already says he is gonna vote no.

## Final Vote Eliminates Rental Price-Fixing Ban Introduction

The meeting ran so long that at its conclusion, Mayor Biss said a post-meeting executive session would be delayed until the councils next meeting, Tuesday, May 26.

The final vote eliminated a separate introduction vote to ban rental price-fixing algorithms. Councilmembers also gave initial approval to a five-story, 30-unit apartment building development proposed at 1103-05 Emerson St.

The site sits on the edge of downtown next to Ebenezer AME Church at 1109 Emerson St, the city first and oldest Black church. Applicants negotiated a good neighbor agreement with the church to mitigate potential negative impacts.

Since the church is a landmark property, the Rev Deborah Scott and several councilmembers asked to send the proposal to the Preservation Commission for review.

## Housing 4 All Plan Includes Density Goals And Just Cause Reference

In the end, the council voted 7-2 to adopt the amended plan. Kelly and Davis voted no.

Two highly contested parts of the housing plan stayed intact. One is the broad goal of allowing and pursuing greater housing density in all neighborhoods, including those restricted to single-family homes. The majority bloc rejected several proposals that would limit how much those lower-density areas could be considered for denser development.

The other is an explicit reference to adopting a just cause rental law, which would restrict the reasons a landlord could refuse to renew an existing tenants lease. This language was already amended from implement to explore during the housing committees meetings in response to criticism of just cause.