Evanston’s Zoning Board of Appeals Tuesday is scheduled to review two requests to convert existing buildings to include more dwelling units.
In one proposal owner Angie Radman wants to convert a single family home at 1943 Sherman Ave. into a three-unit apartment building.
The building, constructed about 1900, is in an R5 multi-family zone and is surrounded by a mixture of large apartment buildings and structures built as single family homes that have since been converted to apartment use.
A staff report indicates the property has been cited for zoning violations in the past for having more than three unrelated occupants and property standards violations for exterior maintenance issues.
Radman has said she can’t afford to make needed repairs if only three tenants are allowed to live in the building.
Original plans for the project called for paving much of the back yard to add parking spaces that would normally be required for the extra units under the city’s zoning code.
But neighbors objected to the added paving, so the current proposal calls for no additional parking.
The plans call for converting the building so it would have two two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit.
348 Custer Ave. (Google Maps photo)
In the other proposal up for review Tuesday, owner Graciela Lopez wants to add a basement apartment to the two-flat building she owns at 348 Custer Ave.
The change requires variations because the lot is undersized for a three-unit building in its R5 zone and has room for only three parking spaces where four would normally be required.
The basement of the building suffered fire damage last year, and Lopez, 64, says she needs the extra income the third unit would bring in to help support herself and her mentally disabled adult son.
The ZBA will make recommendations to the City Council, which will make the final decision on whether to approve each of the projects.