Creating a more inclusive community, affordable housing and community character are among the priorities of Wilmette residents, according to a draft of the village’s 2024 comprehensive plan.
The voluminous 142-page document titled “Ready Set Wilmette” is a blueprint of sorts for the future of the village and includes 11 chapters on topics including diversity and inclusion, sustainability and business and commerce, said Wilmette Village Manager Mike Braiman.
“We want to identify what the community felt were priorities for us,” Braiman explained. “We think we have a unique comprehensive plan in a fully built-out community. We’re not doing a lot of planning for large lots of vacant land but instead we’re able to identify what’s important to Wilmette.”
He said the village hasn’t done a comprehensive plan since the 1980s and a lot has changed in the north suburb since then.
“We just want to reevaluate where we are and set our direction looking forward,” he said. “The plan lays out a lot of ideas and a lot of priorities, whether it’s economic development, sustainability or active transportation.”
He said part of the planning process included “significant” public outreach, more than has been done in decades.
Chapters headings in the plan created based on feedback from the community include: A Plan for Wilmette, Community Engagement, Community Character, Community Culture, Sustainability, Active Transportation, Diversity and Inclusion, Housing, Business and Commerce, Land Use and Subareas and Implementation.
According to a draft of the plan on the village website, commissions in the village will play an ongoing role in bringing the plan to fruition, as they did in its development. It goes onto to say their work regarding the “key values of Wilmette” started before the plan was begun and will continue. It also says nearly many commissions served as focus groups for the planning process as they reviewed and refined the goals and objectives related to their areas of focus.
One of the most challenging aspects of the plan is likely to be housing. According to the payscale.com website, Wilmette’s housing expenses are 267% higher than the national average. It also says transportation expenses like bus fares and gas prices are 25% higher than the national average and that Wilmette grocery prices are 5% higher than the national average.
And the datausa.io website says that in 2021, Wilmette had a population of almost 28,000 residents with a median age of 45.6 years old and that the median household income was $173,967. It also says the largest ethnic groups in Wilmette are white (80.9%), Asian (12.3% ) and Hispanic (2.68%.)
Braiman said despite the challenges the village is committed to diversity and affordable housing to make it possible for people who want to live in Wilmette to stay.
“It’s incredibly important,” he said. “Wilmette is primarily a community of single family homes. We lack different forms and different types of housing. Whether that’s one story ranches to support seniors who want to age in place in their community or housing for persons with disabilities or townhomes for people who may be looking for something different than a single family home or a different price point as well as housing that’s more attainable.”
He said a final draft of the plan is headed to the Plan Commission for a May 7 vote and it is expected to go to the board for a vote early this summer.
“It’s fairly complete,” he said. “I would say all the substantive components of the plan are set based on the many reviews that we’ve undertaken through our boards and commissions. They’ll continue to be tweaks and improvements to the plan before it is adopted. There have been plenty of opportunities for review at our various board and commissions.”
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
