LF, LB Claim Home-Rule Status Exempts Them from Affordable Housing Report

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Both the city of Lake Forest and village of Lake Bluff claim they are exempt from issuing a report to the state on affordable housing due to their “home rule” status.

Only five percent of housing is considered affordable in both municipalities.

“Under both the Illinois Municipal Code and the Affordable Housing Act, matters of land use including housing stock are matters of local concern,” Lake Forest City Attorney Victor Filippini said in a Lake Forester article. “Under the constitution, home rule units have the same power as the General Assembly on matters of local concern unless pre-empted. In the case of the Affordable Housing Act, the General Assembly made no effort to pre-empt home rule powers.”

“It is important to note that, obviously, the village cannot control market forces that affect the affordability of land and housing within Lake Bluff, nor the income levels of households that serve as the benchmark for determining affordability,” Lake Bluff administrator Drew Irvin added in an e-mail to Pioneer Press. “This is particularly true given the small size of the village vis-à-vis the larger area against which it is measured for establishing affordable housing targets. With this in mind and the uncertain/shaky last several years in the real estate market and development industry it is not a practical goal (and is not a goal) of the village to meet these targets in any specific timeframe.”

Still, both municipalities indicate there has been progress made on the issue.

An affordable housing plan last updated five years ago in Lake Forest that seeks to make 15 percent of its properties affordable is making progress as “30-35 affordable units are either in the community or on the drawing board as part of upcoming development,” according to the Lake Forester.

Lake Bluff passed a similar goal in 2005, but it has not come close to being met and is not an issue with the current administration.

Read more via the Lake Forester