EAC Statement on the Adoption of Envision Evanston 2045

The Evanston Action Coalition condemns the City Council’s vote to adopt Envision Evanston 2045.

This plan was approved through a process that failed to meet basic standards of transparency and democratic accountability. In published interviews, City of Evanston Planning Manager Liz Williams stated: “This is definitely not a staff-driven plan, it’s been a community-driven plan.” The public record does not support that claim.

A comprehensive plan cannot credibly be described as community driven when undisclosed and substantive commitments were made to secure federal housing grant funding before residents had an opportunity to weigh in; when public engagement was limited, episodic and narrowly framed; when resident perceptions of development and affordability were characterized as “barriers” in City staff-authored grant materials rather than treated as legitimate civic input; and when there was no City Council authorization of the associated PRO Housing grant application or agreement, nor reauthorization for a new zoning code RFP.

Calling this process “community driven” does not make it so. It misrepresents the experiences of residents and citizen commissioners who asked basic questions, sought clarity, or requested time only to see decisions advance off the public record.

Some members of the Evanston Action Coalition steering committee have compiled a detailed, source-based timeline documenting how planning decisions, grant applications, and zoning commitments unfolded. These moves occurred ahead of and outside meaningful public discussion.

• Envision Evanston 2045 Timeline (PDF)

The timeline draws from public records, City documents and FOIA-released materials and is intended to support informed public understanding of how Envision Evanston 2045 was advanced and adopted.

The Evanston Action Coalition calls on the City of Evanston to immediately disclose all commitments made to secure federal housing grant funding, including certifications, assurances and representations submitted to federal agencies; any obligations that constrain future zoning, land-use, housing policy or public participation; and documentation showing how those commitments were authorized and approved.

Residents cannot evaluate a comprehensive plan or hold their government accountable, without knowing what the City promised, to whom, and with what binding effect.

—Evanston Action Coalition Steering Committee