Affordable Housing Increases In La Grange: Village

LA GRANGE, IL — In the last few years, the percentage of affordable housing in La Grange has increased, which means the village is no longer required to submit housing plans to the state, an official says.

However, the Illinois Housing Development Authority's information from October 2020 indicates La Grange is among those towns that have yet to submit an affordable housing plan, which was due in June 2015. According to the agency, 8.5 percent of the village's housing is affordable. Towns with less than 10 percent are required to turn in plans.

In early June, Patch submitted a public records request to the village seeking its communications with the state agency on its lack of a plan. Two weeks later, Village President Mark Kuchler wrote the agency, saying his village was now considered exempt from the 2003 law that requires affordable housing plans.

He said that based on 2018 Census information, the village has determined that 13.3 percent of its housing stock is now considered affordable, above the state's 10 percent threshold. He said the state agency was basing its information on 2016 figures.

According to the Census, the median home price is $502,000 in La Grange, more than double the state's.

In his letter, Kuchler said the village was committed to offering affordable housing opportunities. He cited the work of BEDS Plus, a local group dedicated to ending homelessness. In the last few years, the group built the Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing facility in La Grange. It features 20 units for "very low income" residents with a history of chronic homelessness, physical and mental disabilities, and serious health conditions, he said.

The building also includes 5,600 square feet dedicated to BEDS Plus' day services for the homeless.

In 2019, the village became aware of the potential sale of a 13-unit building occupied by low-income adults with developmental disabilities, Kuchler said. The village worked with the property owner and potential purchaser during the sales transaction to keep the affordable housing units, he said.

"As the Village moves forward with other planning projects, including review of key provisions in the Village's Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code, we will do so with a continued determination to include policies that broaden the available housing options for all members of our Village regardless of income or disability status," Kuchler said.

In neighboring Western Springs, 1.5 percent of housing is deemed affordable, lower than Hinsdale's 3.3 percent.

Officials from the state Housing Development Authority did not return messages for comment.