What is allowed under the new zoning plan?

On By Pranco

Evanston’s proposed new zoning code and zoning map — which was released earlier this week — would allow larger buildings in most — but not all — residential zones.

Comparing the existing And suggested Zoning maps indicate that the proposed reduction from seven to four residential zones generally works out this way.

  • Homes in the lowest density R1 zone will retain their R1 designation.
  • The old R2 and R3 zones will be merged into the new R2 zone.
  • The old R4 and R4a zones fall into the new R3 zone.
  • The old R5 and R6 zones fall into the new R4 zone.

These are the general patterns seen on the cards. There are numerous cases where a particular block does not follow this pattern – often because the existing buildings in the block do not fit well with the existing zoning plan.

Here is a diagram showing what the main rules are for each current And suggested residential area. It’s terribly nerdy and you might just want to skip it, otherwise you’ll go cross-eyed trying to understand it.

Once we put the rules together, we then tried to see how they would apply to a lot that had the minimum size and width allowed under the existing rules – what would be the maximum number of square feet that could be on that lot was allowed under the old and new rules.

Please note that if different rules produce different results, the most restrictive rule applies.

So here’s how it came out:

  • A building in the new R1 zone could be 40% larger than what is currently allowed in R1.
  • A building in the new R2 zone could be 27% larger than the average of what is allowed in the existing R2 and R3 zones.
  • A building in the new R3 zone could be more than twice the size of what is now allowed in the R4 and R4a zone.
  • A building in the new R4 zone could be almost exactly the same size as the average of what is allowed in the R5 and R6 zones – much larger than what is allowed in R5, but much smaller than what is allowed in R6.

Would these results change if you started with a different size and size batch? Quite possibly yes.

Did we have time to run an infinite variety of lot sizes through these calculations? No.

Much of the discussion to date about the proposed new zoning code has focused on a provision that would allow up to four residential units on each lot in zones R1 through R3.

Currently, only one primary dwelling per lot is allowed in R1 and R2 and only two in R3.

(However, the city’s accessory dwelling unit ordinance allows a second unit of up to 1,000 square feet on lots in any zone.)

This analysis indicates that multifamily housing in the R1 zone does not have to be the size of a postage stamp, as some have suggested.

Even after subtracting interior space for stairs and other common areas, each unit in a four-flat on a 7,200-square-foot R1 lot could have about 1,500 square feet of space — typical for a three-bedroom apartment.

But that also means that another possible outcome is that some existing modest-sized single-family homes could instead be replaced with single-family McMansions.

What no zoning code can determine is how many of these options the real housing market could provide.