Skokie zoning reform would make home renovations easier

Homeowners in the suburb could soon have more freedom to renovate their homes without being forced to add parking spaces.

A proposed zoning amendment in Skokie would allow residents to renovate or expand their homes without requiring them to add parking spaces.

Here is the proposed language (emphasis added):

“When the intensity of use for an existing building, structure, or premises (excluding residential or mixed-use with residential) shall be increased through the addition of gross floor area, seating capacity, or other specified units of measurement, additional parking and loading shall be provided as required by this article.”

The change would give homeowners “greater flexibility,” according to village staff, which recommends approval.

Skokie would follow other such moves in Illinois and set an example for towns that want to make building housing easier and less expensive. The change is on the village board’s Sept. 8 agenda.

Relaxed parking mandates have passed in other places:

• Rockford is making it easier to build multifamily housing in its older neighborhoods, where financing projects can be difficult. The city’s recent zoning changes allow duplexes in neighborhoods that were limited to single-family homes, permit vacant lots to be developed and eliminate the enclosed-garage requirement.
• Chicago adopted parking reforms last year that eliminate some or all of the parking requirements for projects within a quarter mile of a CTA bus corridor or within a half mile of a CTA train stop. The ordinance allows developments to reduce parking without seeking zoning changes if other city standards are met.
• State lawmakers removed minimum parking space requirements for developments near transit hubs.

Illinois needs such wins for housing affordability and production as the state’s home listings rebound much slower than the nation’s after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skokie’s proposed parking reform marks a step toward removing barriers that can make housing harder and more expensive to improve. Such reforms can give property owners more freedom while making it easier to build and improve the housing Illinoisans need.