Wilmette adopts initial plan to boost affordable housing from 4.8% to required 10%

Chicago Tribune

23-06-2025

Wilmette elected officials have adopted a new plan for achieving affordable housing goals after a review by the Illinois Housing Development Authority last year found this housing stock lacking in the village.
The plan, approved unanimously by the Wilmette Village Board on June 10, is the first piece in a more robust housing plan that will be developed by the village and the Wilmette Housing Commission over the next 12 to 18 months, Village Manager Michael Braiman said.
'This is more of a bare bones plan that has to conform to certain requirements that the state lays out,' he said.
'Our comprehensive plan is going to be much more strategic, have a lot more detail and strategies, and policy changes we can consider putting in place that will hopefully move the needle and encourage more affordable housing in the community.'
Under the 2003 Affordable Housing Planning and Appeal Act (AHPAA), Illinois communities with populations over 1,000 must have 10% of their housing stock meet the state definition of affordable.
Affordable housing prices and rents are calculated based on the median income for the metropolitan statistical area, which is the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area, said Lisa Roberts, deputy director of community development for the village of Wilmette.
During a 2023 review, the Illinois Housing Development Authority found that only 4.8% of Wilmette's housing is deemed affordable under the state's formula, which triggered a requirement that the village update its plan for meeting the 10% threshold, Roberts said.
To meet this requirement, the village needs to add 532 affordable units, she said.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD defines individuals who earn less than 80 percent of their area's median income as low- and moderate-income earners, according to previous reporting.
According to the Illinois Housing Development Authority, an individual earning $50,400 annually in Cook County would place at 60% of median income, and someone earning $67,150 would place at 80% of median income. Salaries of many teachers and office workers fall into those income levels.
According to the Cook County Assessor's Office, the 2024 median sale price for single-family homes in New Trier township, which includes Wilmette, was $1.3 million.
The plan adopted on June 10 is similar to the village's 2005 affordable housing plan as it also calls for 15% of new multi-family development units to be affordable under the state's definition.
Trustee Mark Steen questioned how realistically the village's goal can be achieved and in what time frame. Because only 15% of new multi-family units in a larger development would need to be affordable, he suggested that as many as 15,000 units would need to be constructed in total in order to get to the 532 affordable units the village needs to be compliant with the state.
'I want us to be aware of what we're actually talking about in terms of how long it takes to get to the goal,' he said.
Village President Senta Plunkett noted it will be important to discuss how Wilmette can keep its stock of affordable housing that is already attainable.
'We don't expect to double the size of Wilmette,' she said. 'We don't have the space. People don't want highrises here.'
There are currently 10,331 total housing units within the village of Wilmette, according to AHPAA. Of these, 501 are deemed affordable.
Trustee Gerry Smith cautioned the village to 'be careful in our definitions,' stressing that 'low income housing' is not the same as affordable housing. Smith's comments came after a speaker, who did not give his name, made references to Chicago public housing high rises of the 1960s in his remarks opposing affordable housing in Wilmette.
According to village officials, Wilmette was successful in adding affordable housing units between 2004 and 2018 through new developments such as Mallinckrodt in the Park on Ridge Road, which resulted in 12 then-affordable condominium units for residents 55 years and over; Cleland Place, a 16-unit rental building; and Residences of Wilmette on Green Bay Road, described as a 'market rate rental building.'
The new plan identifies 16 sites in the community that could potentially contain future affordable housing. These include the Baha'i Home at 401 Greenleaf, a former senior housing facility that is currently vacant, but contains 21 housing units; the former 24-unit Sunrise memory care building at 615 Ridge Road that could be repurposed for affordable use; and the one-acre Hoffman Higgins Homestead property at 204 Ridge Road.
Village Manager Michael Braiman noted, 'While these locations are included in the plan, that does not guarantee they will become future affordable housing developments nor does It limit other potential uses at these locations in the future.'
The plan also identifies nearly a dozen incentives Wilmette could provide for developers to create or preserve affordable housing. This includes allowing accessory dwelling units to be constructed on the properties of single-family homes, reducing or waiving impact fees for projects containing affordable housing, and offering subsidized loans or grants to owners of affordable housing if they agree to keep it affordable.
'Research should be done on programs, funding sources and best practices to preserve existing affordable units,' the plan says.
Eve Williams, a member of Open Communities, a nonprofit civil rights housing commission that provides fair housing protections in Wilmette and other suburban communities, spoke before the Village Board in support of an affordable housing plan. She noted that a housing survey conducted by the village found housing needs in 'almost every demographic.'
'When more people can afford to live in Wilmette, there will be additional opportunities to earn, spend and support local businesses as customers and workers,' she said.
Maureen Dulen, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Wilmette, told the board that not only are older adults finding it difficult to remain in the community they have lived in for decades, but teachers, emergency responders and restaurant employees who work in Wilmette are also challenged to secure housing they can afford.
'Affordable housing is essential for the continued vibrancy and character of this village, which we all appreciate so much,' Dulen said.