After years of review, an ordinance change paving the way for an official affordable housing incentive program (AHIP) could soon be adopted in Naperville, based on a draft the city council currently is reviewing.
The program proposal is part of a discussion stretching back five years on affordable housing options within the city, but there are councilmembers who have gone on record in opposition to the ordinance — at least in its current state.
What the ordinance entails
At its core, the ordinance, if adopted, would amend the city’s municipal code and encourage the voluntary production and availability of new affordable residential units, with economic incentives offered on the condition the units are available to low- and moderate-income households for at least 30 years.
Developers offering affordable housing unit components to all or portions of a project would be privy to several incentives through AHIP that could lower their total cost for a ground-up housing project.
Some of the technical incentives that could be attached to an AHIP project could include decreases in the number of required parking spaces and open-space areas, additional height allowances and a waiver on paying park impact fees. For its part, Naperville Park District officials have gone on record in opposition to the park impact provision.
If adopted as outlined in the draft, housing projects within AHIP would not have to go through the traditional city channels — including approvals from the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council — for project reviews, so long as rezoning or annexation are not required.
Allison Laff, deputy director of Naperville’s transportation, engineering and development (TED) department, outlined the reason behind the bypassed municipal reviews for AHIP-eligible projects.
“As our consultant (SB Friedman) looked at ways to incentivize and get people to participate voluntarily, that was really the only thing they could come up with,” Laff said. “That waiver of the process reduces the developer’s risk.”
Laff added, “Obviously, as (developers) go through the process, they hear public concerns that are raised about what’s being proposed, especially when it happens to have affordable housing included. That is the incentive that is built in, and that is the waiver of the process.”
Council has concerns, questions about affordable housing ordinance
Mayor Scott Wehrli and multiple councilmembers openly had questions and concerns about the current iteration of the AHIP ordinance as a first reading of it took place at a meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Some indicated they would not support it when it comes up for a vote at the next meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Since the introduction of SB Friedman’s report on affordable housing in Naperville, pointing to a lack of supply, Wehrli noted numerous projects have cropped up across the city.
“We’ve added a lot of affordable housing to the city, and this is without any sort of ordinance in place,” Wehrli said. “This was basically voluntarily added by developers who came to the city, recognizing a need.”
Wehrli said the lack of any formal reviews from the Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council gave him pause.
“As this ordinance currently reads, if a developer were to come before us and find a site, and that site was zoned appropriately, they would get everything from parking ratio reduction bonuses to density bonuses to height bonuses to not having to donate money to the park district,” Wehrli said. “Those projects would never have to come before the council for any vetting whatsoever.”
Councilman Josh McBroom echoed similar comments in his critique of the ordinance and gave an indication of how he would vote on the ordinance amendment.
“We want to have a public discussion, and the fact that we’ve done this all along, and we do give variance exceptions all the time, I don’t see a need for the ordinance, McBroom said. “I will ultimately be voting against it.”
Supporters also weigh in
The introduction of AHIP and the ordinance amendment is the culmination of a years-long review that has included input from city officials and such groups as the Human Rights and Fair Housing Commission.
Mary Beth Nagai, a 25-year resident of Naperville and member of the DuPage Housing Alliance, addressed the council on Nov. 5 in support of AHIP.
“We look forward to taking the next steps — together with city staff and city council — to finalize a AHIP ordinance to provide more housing that is affordable to more people in Naperville,” Nagai said.
Councilman Patrick Kelly acknowledged the positive strides toward affordable housing in recent years in Naperville, but said he believed AHIP was an essential part of continuing the momentum.
“My concern is that if we don’t move forward on this program, it would send the exact opposite message to developers who have been hearing the consistent message over the past many years that we do value affordable housing,” Kelly said. “If we turn the other direction, it’s hard to know if that will continue.”
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