'Aldermen' No More, Outgoing City Council Approves Packed Agenda

EVANSTON, IL — The final meeting of the 80th Evanston City Council was a busy one. Within two weeks, a new mayor, city clerk and four new councilmembers will be sworn in. On May 10, the new City Council will consider final authorization for the agenda items that received preliminary approval Monday.

The outgoing group of aldermen approved changes to the City Code to eliminate the city's Ethics Board and replace it with a new administrative hearing process, add "alderperson" and "City Council member" as acceptable alternative titles, tighten regulations on leaf blowers without banning gas-powered blowers outright, and relax the special use permitting process in commercial areas.

Council members also authorized staff to negotiate the sale of a former library, issued a request for proposals to relocate the Civic Center, and executed agreements with Northwestern University for use of the Robert Crown Community Center and Artist Book House for use of the Harley Clarke mansion.

ETHICS BOARD

By a vote of 8-1, the City Council voted to eliminate the Board of Ethics. Over the past four years, the board has heard 15 complaints against elected officials. In six of those cases, the board found it held jurisdiction and held hearings. In two cases, the board ruled against aldermen, although its rulings are not binding on the City council.

According to a memo from Deputy City Manager Kelly Gandurski, the city has spent about $32,000 reimbursing attorney's fees for aldermen who have been the subject of complaints and nearly $31,000 for special counsel fees since 2017 alone. Under the new system, taxpayers will no longer on the hook to pay for lawyers for accused aldermen.

Under the new system, when an ethics complaint is filed it goes to the newly created "Special Counsel," an independent attorney appointed by the mayor with council approval. That person is tasked with determining whether sufficient facts exist to constitute a violation of the Ethics Code. If there is no jurisdiction, the special counsel files a written report to the city manager and council. If there is, the new process calls for a hearing before one of the city's administrative law judges. That judge then issues a final ruling, which can be appealed to the courts.

Gandurski said the changes to the ordinance will eliminate the argument used in two circuit court cases challenging due process in Ethics Board proceedings. It will also bring the way the city handles ethics violations in line with the way it prosecutes other code violations.

GENDER-NEUTRAL TITLE

When the 81st Evanston City Council is sworn in on May 10, city staff will no longer address council members as "alderman."

Currently, state law defines council members of the legislative body in the managerial form of government as alderman, although a bill approved this month by the Illinois House and pending in the State Senate would change all statutory references to alderman and aldermen to alderperson and alderpersons and all references to congressman to congressperson.

The changes given preliminary approval Monday add a definition of "alderman" that says the terms "alderpeople" and "City Council members" will be acceptable for use as an alternative.

LEAF BLOWER REGULATIONS

Council members also unanimously voted to amend the city's leaf blower policy, although the changes stop short of heeding calls from residents — and the city's climate action plan — for a permanent ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.

The new changes shorten the season when leaf blower use is permitted by two weeks in both the spring and fall. Cuts weekday hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., changes weekend hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to noon to 4 p.m. and prohibits leaf blowing on holidays.

Instead of a $100 fine on a first offense, leaf blower use will be punished with a written warning, then a $50 fine, then a $100 fine on the third offense and a $150 fine on each subsequent offense.

The amended ordinance exempts employees and contractors of the city and Ridgeville Park District from penalties under the policy.

SPECIAL USE PERMITS

Changes to the zoning code are aimed at making it easier to open a business in non-residential areas. With the number of currently vacant spaces, city staff would need to process 40 to 60 special use permits this year.

"Instead, many of these businesses are questioning their decision to locate in Evanston and consider or actually choose neighboring communities that do not have $1,000 - $2,000 in application and mailing fees and a 90 - 120 day zoning process (with building permit obtained after for a total of a six-month process to open)," said Zoning Administrator Melissa Klotz in a memo to the council.

The existing process is "overly burdensome and unnecessary for certain common uses" that usually win approval and have the same operating conditions. Most incoming interested businesses are restaurants, fitness, financial or office uses, all of which require special use permits in nearly every district, Klotz said.

Under an amendment adopted in committee, the approved zoning code changes will be subject to a review.

LIBRARY SITE SALE

After the Evanston Public Library vacated the city-owned property on Central Street, the former location of the library's north branch, the neighboring business is seeking to expand next door.

Following unanimous City Council approval, the owners of Lush Wine and Spirits, 2022 Central St., will negotiate with the city for the purchase of the former library space at 2026 Central St.

The proposal for the restaurant and wine shop's expansion was greeted favorably by residents at a 7th Ward meeting, according to city staff. Once a sale price is agreed, city staff will return to the City Council for final approval.

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CIVIC CENTER RFP

In the case of another city-owned property, aldermen voted to issue a request for proposals to hire a consultant to conduct a study about the feasibility of relocating the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.

City Manager Erika Storlie raised a number of issues with remaining in the existing civic center, including upward of $10 million in needed repairs to the HVAC and electrical systems.

The existing building, used as a Catholic school until the city took it over in the 1970s, is not ideal for office use, Storlie said. Security in the building has been an issue for many years, with little control over building access. Safety concerns have been heightened during the pandemic due to the lack of control over access to offices.

"Unless a person has previously visited the office that is their destination, they often cannot find it without assistance," the city manager said. "Staff are frequently interrupted by people who need directions to get to the right place within the building. Community members will often have a concern and will drop-in for a discussion without an appointment. These interruptions adversely affect staff productivity."

The planned feasibility study will also consider the potential cost savings of consolidating the Civic Center and the headquarters of the police and fire departments into a single facility.

NORTHWESTERN CROWN CENTER DEAL

Aldermen voted 7-2 to overrule an effort to delay the authorization of a deal with Northwestern University to pay about $630,000 over the next two years for the use of an ice rink and other facilities at the Robert Crown Community Center through August 2026.

The payments will be made in addition to approximately $370,000 that the university already contributed to the project through the nonprofit Friends of Robert Crown group as part of a programmatic partnership agreement first announced in February 2017.

Storlie said the initial contribution had been "perhaps, the community service component of this, whereby Evanston residents will be receiving the programming that they'll be providing at this center." The rest of the money could be considered buying ice time.

"Friends of Robert Crown is selling our ice time, as a city, in exchange for a $1 million, not receiving a contribution, which is how [Northwestern officials] are presenting this," Ald. Tom Suffredin, 6th Ward, said ahead of the vote.

"There's no reason to turn this down. There's no reason to wait. What I don't want to do is to jeopardize the agreement," said Ald. Don Wilson, 4th Ward. "If you start pushing back and acting irrationally, people are going to question whether or not they want to do this. We already lost a $500,000 donation from [Beacon Academy] in the past year and a half or so."

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HARLEY CLARKE LEASE

Just over three years since the City Council voted to reject a lease to a different nonprofit group, aldermen Monday granted preliminary approval to a lease with Artist Book House for the Harley Clark Mansion and Coach House.

Artist Book House plans to operate the site as a venue for teaching creative writing, along with space for art, a cafe, classrooms and a bookstore.

The city would continue to maintain the site for two years, and the Artist Book House, a nonprofit organization founded by Evanston resident and author Audrey Niffenegger, must raise $2 million every year until the site opens to the public in 2026.

If the nonprofit fails to meet fundraising benchmarks, the city has the right to terminate the lease or arrange for an extension.

NEW COMMITTEE AND OLD COMPLAINTS

Aldermen also approved the first-ever nominations to the recently formed permanent Reparations Commission, which were jointly selected by outgoing Mayor Steve Hagerty and Mayor-elect Dan Biss.

The commission will be chaired by 2nd Ward Ald. Peter Braithwaite and include four community members:

Calre McFarland Barber, the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Elder Law and Wellness Initiative; Bonnie Lockhart, a former Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Aging Commission and Evanston History Center board member; outgoing Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, who chaired the now-dissolved Reparations Subcommittee; and Carlie Sutton, a 50-year Evanston resident, teacher and member of the Citizen Network of Protection of Evanston.

The appointments were approved along with members of other boards and commissions by a vote of 8-1, with 9th Ward Ald. Cicely Fleming the lone vote against. She declined to comment on the reason why.

An end to the city's multi-year legal battle with Skokie village officials over wholesale water prices was approved on the consent agenda without discussion.

Records provided by the city show taxpayers paid nearly $45,000 in legal fees to an outside firm in 2018 and 2019 to defend Skokie's federal lawsuit before it was dismissed.

Likewise, the $100,000 settlement payment to resolve a federal lawsuit over a gun charge that was dismissed after a judge ruled a search by Evanston police had been unconstitutional also passed without discussion.