Increasing Walkability in Glenview

Let’s face it, the suburbs are not built for people. Last summer I interned with the Village of Schaumburg's transportation department. Everyday we had to conduct fieldwork and our method of transport- a bike. It was from this experience I learned how badly designed our suburbs are for humans not in cars, it was certainly more dangerous to bike around this suburban community than drive. Even in Schaumburg's most dense area, Woodfield Mall, people would drive a couple blocks down from their place of work to lunch simply because the area is not safe for pedestrians. As a result of the widespread use of the automobile and urban sprawl that engulfed the U.S., cars have had more of a say in our public policy then people have. When the Glenview Board of Trustees approved the sale of the former Bess Hardware site to be redeveloped into a mixed-use rental development, the trustees were more concerned about parking then affordable housing; setting aside $1 million dollars for parking but doing nothing to address affordable homes.

Our community is not designed for people but for cars, and that leads to problems from traffic deaths (which nowadays we just accept as an everyday risk) to lost economic activity. When you drive to a strip-mall you may often find much of it blighted. This is because strip-malls are designed for easy and quick access by car rather than a destination point for foot traffic. Businesses lose out as customers don’t walk around to check other places. When it comes to revitalizing our downtown, making our roads safer, attracting a younger population, and developing our local economy the issue that needs to be addressed is zoning.

For those who don’t know zoning codes are what municipal governments use to divide the land into zones that allow or prohibit certain uses. For example many Glenview residents live in single-family housing residential zones that only permit residential housing units that are each built for one family. One problem is that our zoning divides us. Much of this is because cars allow us to live farther distances from where we shop, eat, work, and play. However, many are starting to see this level of disconnectedness is not necessarily good.

That is why one of the central themes of my campaign for trustee is zoning reform. Replacing our archaic zoning code that slices and dices with a less regulated one. I am advocating for form-based zoning. That is, instead of regulating the location where something gets built, we regulate how it is built. So with current zoning if someone wants to build a coffee shop on your block in a residential area, that is prohibited. With form-based zoning they can build it, but the municipality now regulates how it will be built to ensure it blends in with the surronding built environment. Now to clarify, the Village will still have the power to block a vape shop from going up near a school or a marijuana dispensary being built downtown. This reform in zoning simply allows more opportunity for plots of land to be developed in creative ways that the current zoning code would squash before they even are presented to the Village.

What does this have to do with walkability you ask? If our zoning code goes from prohibiting to regulating then, naturally, more mixed-use developments (that is a mixture of uses from commercial activity to living spaces) will come about. People like being conveniently near places, and mixed-use developments will increase walkability in our community. Places that once required a car ride to get to might one day be a brisk walk away as the coffee shop and your house are no longer prohibited from being near each other. Our streets will become safer as they will be built with human safety in mind. Different housing options will become available as developers can now build condos, townhouses, and apartments in places they were not allowed to. Milennials and younger generations will want to move in with new housing choices. New jobs and small businesses will open as the customer base in the community grows. The environment will be benefitted as people drive less. Our community will feel more connected and be healthier as people are out more instead of being isolated in their residential zones.

No, Glenview will not change overnight and you will not have a coffee shop down your street in the next few months if such a reform gets passed. More likely then not this idea will have to be incorporated slowly, being only adopted in areas that have the potential for change such as strip-malls and areas by public transit. However, by reforming our zoning code we can lay the foundation for change over generations, making Glenview a more walkable, liveable, and loveable community for all.

This is the first of weekly articles I will publish, going into greater detail on a position apart of my campaign platform.

- Benjamin Polony, Candidate for Glenview Trustee

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