Tenants living at 718-724 Simpson St. must wait a month for another building inspection to learn if they will be evicted based on charges that the apartments were overcrowded.
The Simpson apartments on were inspected for over-occupancy April 4 after officials received complaints of excessive foot traffic in the building.
Based on the findings of the two investigations, the city ordered another inspection, which is scheduled for the beginning of May, but because of the short amount of time left on the lease agreements, officials said they don’t expect to evict any of the tenants in the Simpson apartments.
The last violation of this particular code occurred about six months ago when city officials found a building on the 2400 block of Ridge Avenue to be over-occupied, officials said. A $750 fine was levied, but the owner of the building appealed the decision in court and the fine was dropped.
None of the tenants was evicted.Neither Cameel Halim, owner of the building and of Wilmette Real Estate Management & Co., nor his tenants have received official notice of the next inspection.
An Evanston zoning ordinance prohibits more than three unrelated people from living in a rented residence at one time, regardless of the number of bedrooms in the unit.
The law was established in 1993 after a comprehensive review, said James Wolinski, the city’s director of community development.
The law defines one type of family as “a group of not more than three unrelated persons living together as a single housekeeping unit in a dwelling.”
The zoning code was changed in order to prevent overcrowded neighborhoods, Wolinski said.
“Over-occupancy is not a healthy situation,” he said, adding that it leads to excessive noise, garbage, and parking and traffic problems.
Kipp Davis, a Weinberg junior and resident of the Simpson Street apartments, said he is not buying this explanation. Davis said the ordinance is just another way that the city is “biting the hand that feeds it.”
Because of Evanston’s high rents and limited housing options, Davis said the entire situation is “ridiculous”.
During last Thursday’s inspection, residents in two units admitted to having more than three people living in their apartments, and the inspector found indications of excess tenants in two other units, Wolinski said. A previous inspection had already revealed too many names listed on the building’s mailboxes, he added.
