Housing for the Homeless

Building residences for homeless persons in the northwest suburban Cook County areas is met with opposition from the village boards and claims of discrimination by those who seek to build the residences.  

I think few people, if any would disagree that solving homelessness should be a priority for our society.  However, without having conducted a survey, I can foresee that many people, who support housing for the homeless, would prefer that such housing be provided in some village other than their own.  This is not a rhetorical discussion.  Housing for the homeless is being proposed in northwest suburban Cook County.  Village boards in three villages, Wheeling, Arlington Heights, and Palatine, each considered and initially rejected such plans.  However, all three had different outcomes.

Providing homes for the homeless is part of the Housing and Urban Development’s Supportive Housing Program (“SHP”).  The SHP is intended to provide housing and services which will allow homeless persons to live independently.  The SHP was authorized by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. See HUD's website for more details about the program.  A support housing plan comes about by a plan proponent selecting an appropriate site and then seeking approval to construct the housing units.  Approval would come from the village or municipality.

In Wheeling, the village rejected the plan citing concerns about zoning, flooding, safety and upset neighbors.  However, the village previously approved a plan to build 50 luxury residential units on the same site.  The proponent of the SHP plan filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination.  The case settled after a judge made an initial determination that there was a “discriminatory effect” and “some evidence of discriminatory intent” on the part of the village.  The plan is going forward and the village agreed to pay $230,000 in attorney fees to the SHP plan proponent.

The outcome was different in Arlington Heights.  After the village rejected the SHP plan, the proponent filed a lawsuit.  The village argued that the plan required far too many zoning variations, and that the village had never approved a plan with that many requested variations.  The judge agreed and found the village acted within its rights.

The proponent of the rejected SHP plan in the Village of Palatine seems to have no plans to file a lawsuit against the village.  The site selected by the proponent is not zoned for residential living and the federal law which governs the SHP does not require that the village change the zoning.  The proponent and the village officials are searching for other suitable locations within the village.

While all three recent cases have different outcomes, it is clear that SHP plans will continue to be proposed throughout the northwest suburbs.  It is also clear that opposition to such plans will continue.  Supportive housing will be a hot button issue for the foreseeable future.