What's wrong with West Chicago housing? Tell experts Tuesday

West Chicago residents who want to provide their opinions on what the future of housing should look like in the city are invited to attend a meeting Tuesday night at city hall.

The workshop, which runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at 475 Main St., is part of a project called Homes for a Changing Region. The project is being run by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, or CMAP, the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and the Metropolitan Planning Council.

"It's trying to see how the housing and residential needs of the community will be best served in the future, and to try to anticipate what those needs might be," said John Said, the city's director of community development.

For years, Homes for a Changing Region has been examining clusters of communities in the Chicago area with similar housing needs. West Chicago is part of a cluster with Glendale Heights and Hanover Park. Sometime next year, plans will be presented to all three communities with recommendations for ways they can better prepare for future housing needs.

Several meetings and workshops with some stakeholders - mostly people working in real estate and development - have already been held. Representatives from Homes for a Changing Region have met with the city's development committee, too.

Now, the goal is to get more input from residents.

"I want to have residents feel like their input is not only sought out, but also valued and integrated into what it is that the community may try to do in the future," Said explained. "It's important for residents to know, in my view, that they have stake in planning their community in the future. It's not just some consultant, it's not just the city staff, it's not just the elected officials. The residents have a stake."

Housing trends expected to take place over the next 20 to 30 years will be discussed at Tuesday's meeting. Attendees will then be asked to share what they believe are the most important housing challenges and opportunities for the city. Their suggestions for what the local government and civic partners should do to help also will be gathered.

Residents who cannot attend Tuesday's meeting are being urged to submit their opinions online, at nwdupage-homes.com/west-chicago.

A survey on the website is available in English and Spanish. It includes questions related to resident satisfaction with property maintenance, the variety of housing types available, the ability to buy a new home in the city, property taxes and more. It also asks residents to rank what kind of housing programs and options, such as apartments, housing for seniors and potential homebuyer assistance, they would like to see more or less of in the city.

Said encouraged anyone interested in city planning to come out Tuesday or fill out the survey.

"We think it will be a very constructive, engaging opportunity," he said. "Any community that is successful or wishes to be successful is thinking about its place in the world, where it's at, what it's doing, where it wants to go, where it needs to go. Certainly our housing component is an important piece in that puzzle."