Tonight, Tuesday November 15th, Winnetka’s Village Trustees will be discussing Winnetka’s affordable housing plan, an issue that’s stirred much heat in “the crown jewel of the North Shore.”
Groups of Winnetka residents have organized both to advance and to thwart adoption of the plan, which includes proposals to allow owners who have coach houses to rent them and amend the zoning code to encourage inclusion of affordable units in new multi-family dwellings.
WIN (Winnetka is Neighborly) favors the affordable housing proposals while WHOA (Winnetka Home Owners Association) is opposed. WIN’s most recent email accuses WHOA leaders of engaging in “extreme rhetoric” and “character assassination.”
Prospective home buyers in Winnetka may have less interest in the controversy than in how a Winnetka property owner described his property in the above video. A salient quote:
My house is 98 years old. It has lead paint. It has asbestos. It has hot water heat. It is going to be torn down. Nothing can save it.
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And there are many other houses in Winnetka of similar age with similar problems.