Lot size
Level of flexibility for mixed uses
Number of people who can share a residence, and their relationship to each
other
Density limits
Requirements that exclude groups of people from living in a given area (e.g.
building construction standards that require a high income to afford)
“Ensuring a range of housing choices has long been a bedrock planning principle for
most communities, but it may be inconsistent with certain other development policies.” 13
Generally, minimum lot-size restrictions, density restrictions, and the practice of
conditional and special uses may limit the types of housing available in the area. These
limits can in turn impact protected classes who may be seeking affordable or accessible
housing, or housing of a particular size.
Land-use and zoning provisions can also impact a housing development’s access to
utilities such as sewer and water. If housing developments do not have easy access to
utilities, developers have higher infrastructure fees, which are then passed along to
residents of the development. Further, if a developer has higher infrastructure costs,
developing multifamily units becomes cost prohibitive in comparison to single-family
units. Housing development best practices include ensuring all housing types have
adequate access to such utilities, where practical and feasible, in order for housing to
be affordable and designed to adequate size.
Multifamily housing options create affordable housing choices supportive of diversity in
family size, which in some cases may be influenced by ethnic background.14 Zoning that
limits multifamily housing can create housing choice limitations for four of the protected
classes—physical or mental disability, race and color, national origin and ancestry, and
familial status—who would choose multifamily housing options that would, in some
cases, be more affordable than a traditional single-family home, especially in the high
housing cost climate of Lake County. The table on the next page outlines existing
multifamily zoning practices in the county’s various municipalities:
13
Richard Ducker, “Community Planning, Land Use and Development” (2006). The School of
Government, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill. http://sogpubs.unc.edu//cmg/cmg25.pdf?
14
Simms, Margaret, Karina Fortuny, and Everett Henderson (August 2009), “Racial and Ethnic Disparities
Among Low-Income Families,” The Urban Institute.
48
APPLIED REAL ESTATE ANALYSIS, INC.
LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS