Faced with a likely denial, developer Paul Harb agreed Tuesday night to scale back his proposal for a 15-unit apartment building at 2211 Maple Ave. in Evanston.
Harb had gained support for the five-story development from owners of all the large apartment buildings that surround the site, but faced opposition from some residents of single family homes to the south.
The 40-foot-wide lot currently contains a two-unit rental house.
Harb’s attorney argued that the 15-unit building was appropriate in the context of the adjoining properties and stressed that Harb was including two on-site affordable units in the plan — more that would be required by the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance.
But in a letter, Alderman Robin Rue Simmons, whose 5th Ward, includes the site, said she supported the project — but only if two or three units were trimmed from it.
Zoning Board of Appeals members at the Tuesday hearing suggested they were inclined to reject the project, unless Harb requested a postponement to redraw his plans along the lines of what Rue Simmons suggested, and so Harb opted to return to the ZBA on Aug. 27 with revised plans.
The ZBA Tuesday also:
- Approved plans for a special use permit that would see Lock Chicago, a commercial indoor recreation facility, move from its current location at 820 Davis St. to the former Hack Studio site at 2510 Green Bay Road.
- Approved plans for the renovation and expansion of a small vacant home at 1000 Florence Ave.
- Recommended that the City Council deny plans to add two additional apartment units to a two-flat building at 1321 Brummel St.
Related stories
Maple plan gets backing from apartment owners (7/15/19)
ZBA postpones vote on Maple apartments (6/19/19)
Two affordable units planned on Maple (5/30/19)