Here’s a recap of our live coverage of this evening’s Evanston City Council Planning and Development Committee meeting.
Two requests for vacation rental licenses were approved tonight.
A packet with information on tonight’s agenda items is available online.
Meeting called to order at 7:19 p.m.
P 1 – Vacation rental license for 1914 Jackson
Alderman Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, asks whether the city should allow use of properties that aren’t owner-occupied as vacation rentals.
Says she’s concerned that vacation rental use could reduce the amount of affordable housing in the city.
Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, says Denver has adopted a ban on vacation rentals in properties that are not owner-occupied.
Says there are numerous journal articles on both sides of the issue. Different conclusions about whether they do or don’t take affordable units off the market.
Says could limit the number of days per year the property is rented as a vacation rentals.
Says might want to do a moratorium on multi-family properties.
Alderman Melissa Wynne, 3rd Ward, says could end up with a stampede of requests if people hear about moratorium idea.
Alderman Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, says originally B&Bs were supposed to be owner occupied. Says she’s convinced that Airbnbs should be owner occupied. Agrees with the moratorium idea. Says there are a lot of properties that could be vacation rentals.
Alderman Don Wilson, 4th Ward, says he doesn’t disagree with Fiske’s comments.
Owner of 1914 Jackson, Victor Molesco, says he’s thinking of renting to visitors during the school year.
Wilson says licenses are good for one year — says he doubts should deny these.
Wynne says she doesn’t want to deny the current requests either. Says given that NU is moving more students onto campus there are likely to be additional rental vacancies.
Rainey says with the additional
Molesco says he’s owned the property for about two-and-a-half years — moving from one unit to another as he fixed up the property — which he says initially was practically uninhabitable.
Fiske says the neighborhood adjacent to campus will change a lot — wants to have restrictions to prevent the buildings from being rented out as party venues. Says neighbors are very concerned about that.
Approved 6-0.
Rainey makes referral to Rules Committee regarding potential moratorium — which Wynne suggests should be time limited.
P 2 – 1026 Parnett Place vacation rental license
Robert Taylor, owner of the property, says the property meets all the standards for approval. Says concern with neighbor has been resolved.
Says high property taxes and operating costs — including water and sewer rates — contribute to the problem of affordable housing.
Says vacation rental guests are typically dramatically better than undergraduate students as tenants.
Taylor says wants to be able to do vacation rentals at any time of year.
Approved 5-1. Fiske votes no.
P 3 – Special Use for Special Educational Institution in I2 District
Alderman Peter Braithwaite, 2nd Ward, provided an introduction for the proposal.
This involves the large industrial property that includes Erie Family Health on Dempster Street.
Address proposed for the facility is 1233 Hartrey Ave.
The proposal would create a special ed program for ETHS on a portion of the site. Would eliminate the need to bus them out of town for schooling.
Says the school has agreed to make property tax payments on the facility.
An ETHS staffer says the program would serve 20 to 40 students and provide about 18 jobs for teachers and other staff
ETHS Superintendent Eric Witherspoon says the program would save as much as an hour of travel time each way for students in the program and would let the students take part in after school and other activities at the high school.
Says efforts to bring students back from out-of-town placements have saved over $1 million in the last two years — this program would increase those savings.
Reed Beidler, property owner, says the building has had mixed uses for many years — hasn’t been a conventional industrial property.
Says existing special education programs in the building have been successful.
Urges the aldermen to give quick approval to the proposal so that the program can be in operation next fall.
Alderman Ann Rainey, 8th Ward, says the city has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending its I2 zoning district.
ETHS staffer says there are 13 categories under state law that could qualify for placement. Mostly emotional difficulties, but also sutdents on the autism spectrum or learning disabilities.
Rainey says she was appalled at the Plan Commission hearing on the issue. Says doesn’t think the Plan Commission — which favored the plan 4-2 — had been properly briefed on the issue.
Says such a use would be permitted in almost any other district in the city.
Says she can’t believe that the city is considering doing this (after defending and winning a suit over the issue of putting a school in an I2 district several years ago.)
Alderman Judy Fiske, 1st Ward, says other special uses have been added to the I2 district in the past and she’s supportive of the current proposal.
Approved 5-1. Rainey votes no.
Discussion item
PD 1 – Lakefront Policy for Private Land
Gary Gerdes says some of the revetments being proposed on lakefront private properties are moving beyond the old lake shore line further into the lake.
Says there are 42 privately owned properties in the city and that with recent increases in lake levels there have been more requests.
Says there’s not a hard-and-fast rule in state regulations that prevents such expansions.
Wants to get an earlier review by the city — instead of waiting until after the state approval.
Fiske says wants to get a firm hand on where the public/private land boundary is along the lake.
Gerdes says many of the plots of survey may defind the boundary as “at water’s edge” — which of course varies.
Deputy City Attorney Michelle Masoncup says there’s very little litigation on the issue in Illinois — apparently because the state has relatively little lakefront land.
Alderman Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, says once the city has more information should have a meeting with the lakefront property owners.
Wynne says should also have a citywide notification for discussion on it.
William McGrath, 943 Edgemere Court, says he’s enthusiastic about the process of city review. Says need to develop a process for making the decisions. Says favors limits on how far reventments can be built.
Staff says will bring back a proposal for action in January
Meeting adjourned at 8:31 p.m.
City Council meeting to start at 8:40 p.m.