Oak Park residents will not get a direct vote on the village's proposed elimination of single-family zoning. The Village Board voted 5-1 on Tuesday, July 21, to reject Trustee James Taglia's motion for an advisory referendum on the Shape Oak Park plan, even as more than 20 residents spoke in favor of putting the question on a ballot.

The vote means the most sweeping change to Oak Park's 1921 zoning code in a century will advance through the Plan Commission and back to the board without a public ballot measure. A Plan Commission public hearing is tentatively set for Sept. 17.

Taglia cast the lone yes vote. Trustees Cory Wesley, Brian Straw, Derek Eder, Jenna Leving Jacobson and Chibuike Enyia voted no. Village President Vicki Scaman was absent due to a family obligation.

"Let's be the board that trusts and listens to the people of Oak Park," Taglia said at the July 21 meeting, as reported by the Wednesday Journal. "Let's be the board that recognizes the difference between ordinary policy decisions and foundational ones."

Trustees who voted no argued the issue is too complex for a yes-or-no ballot question. Straw said he does not believe an advisory referendum provides the same level of meaningful engagement as open hearings and town hall forums. Leving Jacobson said she is committed to pairing any zoning changes with an inclusionary housing ordinance to ensure affordable units are actually built.

Village Attorney Greg Smith said at a July 14 meeting that a binding referendum is not possible under the Illinois Constitution. Only an advisory referendum, which carries no legal force, was on the table.

Wesley, who seconded Taglia's motion but voted against it, said he did so because he believes in democracy but noted that previous village boards have always decided zoning without referendums. "The law in Illinois is clear. The village board votes for zoning. That's just how it works," Wesley said at the meeting.

In a July 28 column, Taglia wrote that more than 250 residents had emailed the board ahead of the vote, with over 95% supporting a referendum, and that more than 400 residents signed a petition in 36 hours. Those figures have not been independently verified.

One week after rejecting the referendum, the board voted unanimously on Tuesday, July 28, to refer the Opticos Design consultant recommendation to the Plan Commission. The Shape Oak Park proposal would update the village's zoning map to allow "missing middle housing" such as duplexes and small apartment buildings in neighborhoods currently zoned exclusively for single-family homes, as we reported Aug. 5.

Taglia voted yes on the referral but said his support should not be read as an endorsement. "My yes vote tonight should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the proposal itself, nor does it change my belief that a decision of this magnitude deserves an advisory referendum," he said at the July 28 meeting.

Opticos will hold at least four public engagement meetings before the Plan Commission hearing. The first is projected for Aug. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Recreation Center on Madison Street. A final board decision on the zoning recommendation is not expected until October.