Paul Breslin: Before Election Day:  EE2045, Mayor Biss
                         What We Can Agree On, and What We Can’t

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We’ve had months of passionate exchanges, concerning the candidates for mayor and the current mayor’s Envision Evanston 2045 (“EE45”).  Sometimes our debates have generated more heat than light.  I too have said some pugnacious things along the way.  It’s okay that we passionately disagree — that’s how a democracy works. 

However, when a debate becomes too fiery, smoke gets in your eyes.

This letter is an attempt to step back from the fighting and look calmly at:
 

1. Points where both sides are agreed

2. Points where both sides disagree

Points of Agreement:
 

1. Creating more affordable housing;

2. Having fewer cars;

3. Promoting environmental sustainability;

4. Researching housing strategies in other municipalities to help Evanston create strategies to plan Evanston’s future;

5. Gathering knowledge of Evanston’s current situation to plan Evanston’s future;

6. The two mayoral candidates provide a clear contrast.

Points of disagreement:
 

1. Whether or not EE2045 will deliver on its claim to provide more affordable housing;

2. Whether or not Evanston’s existing public transportation can reduce car ownership;

3. Whether or not greater density will increase affordability and/or  improve environmental sustainability;

4. Whether or not Evanston’s planning has struck a good balance between the results obtained in other municipalities and the existing conditions in Evanston;

5. Which of the two mayoral candidates should be elected.

Commentary on points of disagreement:
 

   1. Some knowledgeable people doubt that EE2045 will bring affordability:
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• Analysis: City’s zoning plan may not benefit moderate- and low-income households
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• Letter to the editor: Envision Evanston proposals won’t achieve affordability

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They question the wisdom of replacing R2- and R3-zoned properties with up to 4-unit buildings in areas currently zoned for detached single-family dwellings.  The result will be (over time) more gentrification and the irreversible dismantling of existing neighborhoods.
 

    2.There are bus routes on Chicago Ave. and Ridge Ave.,
                      and the Purple Line runs the full north-south length of Evanston. 

However, west of Dodge Ave. there are no east-west bus routes between Dempster and Oakton Streets and no Purple Line or Yellow Line stops.Residents living in this transportation desert would need to own a car or pay for frequent cab rides to get to the center of the city.And not everyone can safely ride a bicycle. Therefore, affordable housing should be built only where there is easy access to public transportation and essential goods and services.

   3. A great deal of mid- and high-rise housing has already been built in recent years, but rents and prices continue to increase.  Some argue that as supply begins to exceed demand, prices will inevitably drop.  However, supply-and-demand operates only within a given price range.  For example, if you can only afford $2400/month for housing, it might not matter that a $3,000/month apartment drops its price to $2,700.

   4. Large, new buildings can be heated and insulated for less than older structures.  However, Evanston has no room to build outward:  It is bordered by the lake to the east and other municipalities to the north, west, and south.  The area of Evanston is less than 8 square miles, and most of it (except for the parks) has been developed.  To build a new building, an existing building must be demolished.  Demolition has environmental consequences (e.g., releasing dust and insulation materials into the air;  producing and transporting heavy-duty steel and concrete to construct tall buildings uses much energy.  The idea that greater height increases sustainability is controversial; it may instead have a negative effect.

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• The Sustainability of Tall Building Developments: A Conceptual Framework

• Ban Construction of Buildings Over 10 Stories High in Evanston

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   5. The mayor has placed too much trust in national trends and analogies to other municipalities while failing to closely examine  the specifics of Evanston.  Comparison is not useful if you study only one term of the comparison.  There is ample evidence (e.g., per Jeff Smith) that the creators of EE2045 have charged ahead without looking closely at Evanston as it is.  Apparently, the city government has not even tracked how many cars are registered in Evanston nor how many new housing units have been constructed in recent years, let alone in which specific areas of Evanston. ​

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• Letter to the editor: Evanston literally doesn’t know what it’s doing

These are just two statistics among many things that should have been known before committing to a comprehensive plan.

Daniel Biss is intelligent, but there is more to being a good leader than intelligence (e.g., wisdom, character, problem solving, introspection, cooperation, transparency, diplomacy, understanding, trustworthiness, honesty, patience, being secure enough to admit when you are wrong, etc.). 

Mr. Biss is a skilled politician, which is good in some ways (he knows how to get things done), and not so good in other ways (he knows how to get things done behind closed doors).

He is a “big ideas” person, the “four more years of bold experimentation” candidate.

However, what if we, the residents, don’t want to be the objects of his experiment?

Mr. Biss apparently sees ideas based on national trends as applicable to any municipality, without considering what is unique or atypical about that municipality.

Jeff Boarini is not a career politician, a characteristic that is good in some ways (e.g., he is plainspoken and doesn’t make everything about himself).  It also means that he does not yet have policies.  However, that’s because he wants to look carefully at things as they are before issuing policies for improving them.  He is also intelligent, but he doesn’t flaunt his intelligence.

On March 22, I listened to Mr. Boarini as he took questions from an audience of 25 people.I was impressed by the quickness with which he grasped the essence of questions, the gist of problems, and the facts required to answer conclusively.His thinking is the opposite from that of Mr. Biss – Mr. Boarini begins with a study of the particulars and then develops his ideas.

Of the two approaches, I prefer Mr. Boarini’s.I trust him to learn quickly what he needs to know and to base his policies on what he has learned.