Moratorium On New Accessory Dwelling Units In Evanston Considered

EVANSTON, IL — A City Council committee Monday considered a temporary ban on construction of new internal accessory dwelling units at the request of a trio of alderpeople. The proposed moratorium would only apply to units not occupied by their owners.

An accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, is defined as a smaller, independently habitable home on the same lot as another residential building, according to amendments to the Evanston City Code adopted in September 2020 to expand options for affordable housing.

According to the draft ordinance, Evanston has since experienced a "surge of construction" and applications for interior renovation, particularly in neighborhoods around Northwestern University.

"[M]odified single family dwellings that have already been constructed for student housing purposes have caused numerous damaging effects on families residing nearby, including loud music, unruly parties, confrontations with neighbors, late night disturbances, and a disruptive atmosphere, all of which effects constitute a nuisance to the community," the ordinance says.

It suggests the "disruptive atmosphere may be exacerbated by the existence of absentee landlords, who own the converted single family residences, but do not live in the residences, and thus may not have a vested interest in the wellbeing of the community."

Single-family houses modified to become rental properties for Northwestern students have been especially disruptive on Orrington Avenue and Lincoln Street, according to a memo from a city attorney.

---

Out of the 71 permits for interior renovations and additions issued by the city since last year's update to its coach house regulations, only one has been for an internal ADU, Assistant City Attorney Brian George told the council.

Ald. Clare Kelly, 1st Ward, Ald. Bobby Burns, 5th Ward, and Ald. Eleanor Revelle, 7th Ward, suggested the moratorium last month, and Kelly suggested suspending City Council rules to allow for it to take immediate effect, according to the memo, which recommended that the ordinance first be considered by the Plan Commission to "ensure legal compliance" by holding a public hearing.

"Failure to do so could lead to an applicant for an ADU challenging the moratorium in court, either seeking injunctive relief or a writ of mandamus," George warned, citing a 1958 case involving the denial of a permit to a Park Ridge gas station. In that case, a state appellate court found local governments cannot suspend valid zoning ordinances by an ordinance or resolution.

Kelly said last year's ADU ordinance had unintended consequences that make housing less affordable, with student housing rental rates driving up costs for local families. She said a moratorium will allow for amendments to the ordinance to better achieve its goals.

"Councilmembers Revelle, Burns and myself have joined forces with residents in our respective wards to seek solutions to rein in the proliferation of homes turned into mini-dorms by absentee non-Evanston resident landlords who have all too often demonstrated a lack of regard not only for our City Codes but for our neighborhoods and for the students who occupy their properties," Kelly told Patch in an email.

"With the addition of the relatively new and unrestricted ADU ordinance passed in October of last year, we are going to attract yet more predatory absentee landlords, by absentee I mean non-Evanston residents, who rent poorly maintained housing using questionable leasing practices to fairly indiscriminate students."

Alderpeople on the Planning and Development Committee voted 5-2 Monday to send the ordinance to the Plan Commission for an expedited hearing on whether to impose a 90-day moratorium on internal ADUs. Ald. Devon Reid, 8th Ward, and Ald. Cicely Fleming, 9th Ward, voted against.

"Those of us in the neighborhoods close to Northwestern are feeling there's a tremendous amount of pressure, homeowners receiving regular postcards and phone calls encouraging them to sell their homes because now the price is right," Revelle said during the discussion. "There truly are these investors eager to snap up more houses and, if they can create an internal ADU and legally have six students as opposed to only three, I think we're justifiably concerned."