The City of Evanston is freezing all new building construction on Main Street from Hinman to Sherman avenues for approximately five months so the Evanston City Council can have the opportunity to look closely at growth in the three-block area.
The council is considering reforms to the area’s zoning to protect property values and prevent a feared “canyon effect” of towering offices and retailers turning the street into a narrow corridor of shadows and wind.
Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) said the situation closely relates to the moratorium placed on parts on the First Ward during discussion of the historic district.
Newman said in both cases the council simply responded to the concerns of the neighborhood groups. Newman spoke out at both the April 17 and April 23 meetings about the “canyon effect” he said was beginning on the block.
At the April 23 meeting, several residents of the area came out in favor of the moratorium, citing the damage taller buildings have on the value of neighboring homes.
The moratorium will put a hold on construction of buildings taller than 67 feet to the east of the Metra tracks and taller than 45 feet to the west of the tracks.
In the mean time, the Planning and Development Committee will discuss possible reduction to the area’s 12-story height maximum for buildings.
Concerns about the area’s current zoning also include the lot-line construction that lets buildings stand close to the sidewalk and the parking and traffic problems that follow.
At other sites in the city, developers have responded to the needs of the community. Neighbors of the development at 1208 Chicago Ave. said the builders voluntarily provided more sidewalk space for the neighborhood at cost to the company.
The city council passed the moratorium last week, but only after it was sent back to committee for review and amendments. Originally, the ordinance called for a moratorium of 180 days and prohibited construction of buildings taller than 60 feet east of the tracks, and 35 feet to the west of the tracks. But discussion of the freeze’s impact and lobbying from a pair of developers led the committee to settle on a 150-day hold at the greater heights.
One project in the pipeline came under the moratorium: a plan to construct a 125-foot retail and condominium building at the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Main Street.
The developers came before the council because they were already well-invested in the project at the time the moratorium was to be imposed.
Newman said the moratorium was shortened because the city could perform the review in less time.
