Stop Envision Evanston 2045 — Demand a Transparent, Resident-Led Planning Process

On Monday, January 26th, 2026, Evanston City Council is preparing to vote on Envision Evanston 2045, a comprehensive plan that will guide zoning, development, and land-use decisions across the city for decades. Please demand that your councilmember vote no.

Residents have since learned that major elements of this plan were shaped around a federally aligned housing timeline and grant process pursued by Mayor Daniel Biss and senior city staff without transparency, full public disclosure, or City Council authorization.

Rather than emerging from an open, resident-driven process, Envision Evanston 2045 reflects a top-down approach in which key policy directions—including sweeping zoning changes—have been decided in advance, with public engagement used largely to validate outcomes already in motion.

As part of this process, the City Manager made certifications and commitments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that have still not been fully disclosed to the public. These commitments were executed before the plan completed review by the Land Use Commission, limiting meaningful public oversight and constraining future policy choices.

Envision Evanston 2045 is now being bundled with a broader, federally aligned housing timeline, a strategic housing plan known as Housing4All, and an impending rezoning effort that will affect neighborhoods citywide—from building scale and density to affordability, displacement, and infrastructure capacity.

Evanston deserves a responsible comprehensive planning document that is transparent, data-driven, and led by residents—not rushed decisions driven by federal deadlines, insider access, or undisclosed agreements.