North Cook News

The Evanston city council recently discussed a development request involving affordable housing and the Mount Pisgah Ministry.

Mount Pisgah Ministry is looking to build a new facility on Church Street that will help facilitate more of its outreach ministries and missions. The Housing Opportunity Development Corporation is looking to build a new affordable housing development next door to the church, and the deal is dependent upon a land swap between the entities. The organizations have been holding off on doing the land swap until the city approves the land uses and zoning variances for both proposed plans.

Throughout January and February, the plans went through the land use commission, planning and zoning, and was brought up in city council meetings. The commissions were slow to approve them, at one point approving the housing but not the church.

Both entities ended up at the March 13 Evanston City Council meeting. Many residents came out to express their opinions about both the church and the housing development. Some residents were upset with the demolition of the existing structure, but most residents were opposed to the development of more affordable housing. 

Critics claimed that their ward was saturated with such developments and wanted to see the land be used for projects to benefit neighbors and children in the community. They stressed that they were not against affordable housing or proposed tenants, but wanted to have more say in the development of their neighborhood.

"We're in a city where we want housing and affordable housing, but we don't want it or we don't want it here," Evanston Council member Krissie Harris said. "And I do look forward to when we get to a place where we change all of our zoning, where we can adequately put housing in every single ward. There's nine of us here that should be having housing in our community. So I do look forward to that day. Again, I've heard the concerns on both sides and it's just a hard place that I think we all find ourselves in because there's a lot that say yes. And then at the same, no. I always want us to recognize that the loudest voices are always the majority."

The proposed housing development would have 44 units, and be limited to five stories at the mid-block location. The church plan, which was not recommended by the land use commission, passed its introduction with a vote of 6-2 in favor, meaning the council will make a final vote on it on March 27. The ordinance on the housing development also passed for formal consideration at the end of March, although this was recommended by the land use commission. It passed with an amendment made by council with a vote of 6-2 in favor.