News Details

City Asks Residents For Input On Affordable Housing Recommendations

Three public meetings have been scheduled this month to give Aurora residents an opportunity to provide feedback on proposed draft recommendations that have been presented to the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Affordable Housing.

The Task Force, which was originally formed in October, has met nine times in seven months. All meetings have been open to the public and contained opportunities for residents to participate and give feedback. The forums are designed to seek additional public input before the Task Force makes any final decisions on the proposed recommendations.

At the open-house-style forums, residents will have the chance to:

• Review the proposed recommendations and action steps;
• See examples of successful affordable housing models from other cities;
• Ask questions of City of Aurora staff and Affordable Housing Task Force members; and
• Fill out survey forms to indicate their feedback about the proposed recommendations.

The three open house forums will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a brief formal presentation taking place at 7 p.m. on each of the following dates:

• Thursday, May 24 at the City’s Customer Service Center, 3770 McCoy Drive;
• Tuesday, May 29 at the Aurora Public Library West Branch, 233 Constitution Drive; and
• Thursday, May 31 at the Fred Rodgers Community Center, 501 College Ave.

The Task Force has been facilitated by Community Planning & Development Advisers (CPDA), an independent consultant group whose three primary principals are retired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with more than 80 years of combined experience. In September, the Aurora City Council commissioned and approved CPDA to complete a comprehensive, citywide study of Affordable Housing.

The study will include data, resources and inventories of existing housing and potential sites for the development of future housing – along with recommendations for future actions designed to create a balanced housing stock for all Aurora residents in order to improve the overall standard of living. The recommendations and action items identified in the study will be the primary focus of the open house forums.

The study and proposed recommendations will be available Thursday, May 17 on the City’s website along with an online survey. Hard copies also will be available beginning May 17 at the City’s Neighborhood Redevelopment Division office, 51 E. Galena Blvd.

Location: Aurora, Illinois