Northwestern has six weeks to reach an agreement with Evanston City Council about how the university will provide parking for its new buildings.

At its meeting last week, the council’s Planning and Development Committee tabled an ordinance that would place further limits on parking for new buildings. The ordinance, introduced in November by Ald. Arthur Newman (1st), would amend zoning laws by requiring that any new buildings provide parking within 1,000 feet.

The committee will review the ordinance again at its March 12 meeting, when it is expected to have reached an agreement with NU.

Eugene Sunshine, NU’s senior vice president for business and finance, said he is satisfied with the olive branch, which will allow NU to present its case to the city.

“It was a major step in the right direction, Sunshine said. “These are not easy issues. Parking is not an easy issue to solve.”

The parking ordinance would ruffle NU’s expansion plans on South Campus, Sunshine said. Most of the university’s building plans do not accommodate nearby parking.

Instead, NU plans to build a large parking garage for staff and students on the site of the Engelhart Hall lot at Foster Street and Maple Avenue. That garage would exceed the maximum 1,000 feet distance from the new buildings.

Newman said he is willing to discuss the issue with Sunshine. “I’m encouraged that we can have a conversation.”

He said he crafted the ordinance so the university would have to provide more parking for students.

“My main goal is to make sure that students and neighbors around the campus on Sheridan Road have enough parking,” Newman said. “I don’t think the university has provided nearly enough parking.”

Newman said NU is past due in its parking obligations, pointing to a 1,800-space garage the university built downtown as an example that more parking is possible.

“It’s my job to encourage the university to provide more parking,” he said.

Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd), who chairs the committee, said the deferment of the measure was prompted when Sunshine met with her to discuss the issue. She agreed that the city and the university should work together to solve the parking problem.

Wynne referred to Sunshine’s comments at a Jan. 20 budget workshop, when he told the council that NU would like to work with the city to brainstorm solutions to budget problems.

Wynne said she also wants the university to work with the city on this problem.

“Northwestern is going to assess their parking issues and come up with real solutions,” she said.