Northwestern’s neighbors showed up at an Evanston City Council meeting Monday not to debate anything on the agenda but to protest student noise, rowdiness and desecration of property.
After the complaints held up the meeting for an hour and a half, the Evanston City Council also approved a 120-day ban on new building projects at the intersection of Main Street and Chicago Avenue and agreed to hold public hearings to establish a district for special development along Howard Street.
Many residents blamed NU for pushing students’ partying off campus. They also complained that NU administrators do not mandate a large enough police force to effectively enforce the law.
“They have an obligation because of their policy on alcohol to put the resources out on the street,” Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) said, adding that university officials have been unresponsive to his residents’ concerns.
Jessica Donnelly, who was attacked by two NU football players in her home Oct. 4 and is meeting with University President Henry Bienen, said she is not alone in asking the City Council for action.
“There was nothing more terrifying in my life than what happened that night,” Donnelly said.
Evanston resident Jane Evans supported Donnelly in her request that the council act on the matter.
“Northwestern has in fact become the neighbor from hell,” Evans said. “Many Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights you’ll see hundreds of drunken, rowdy students.”
Ald. Gene Feldman (9th) referred the issue to the Human Services Committee for investigation and action. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) suggested that Mayor Lorraine H. Morton call Bienen personally about the drunken students.
Morton said she would not “subvert the process” and call Bienen directly.
“No, of course not,” she said after the meeting. “You know I’m not going to be that stupid.”
Residents shouted from the back of the room while the mayor and aldermen responded to their complaints. Some said the council should take immediate action with the university to correct the problem, and others accused Morton of neglecting her duties.
Morton said the council was not ignoring residents’ concerns, but that members couldn’t respond unless residents came before them.
“Unfortunately we have not had citizens come before us like this,” she said.
Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd), whose son attends NU, said not all students can be blamed.
“No matter how many police officers you have out there,” Jean-Baptiste said, “you can’t change the behavior of those hard-core youths that want to destabilize the community.”
In other business, the council unanimously agreed to move forward in establishing a tax increment finance district along a part of Howard Street. Tonight’s decision does not formally create the district, but it does set future dates for public hearings on the TIF district.
A TIF district is a local tool for redevelopment in blighted areas.
The city caps property tax revenue when the district is created, and any additional tax revenue generated is directed to revamping properties within the TIF district. The proposed Howard TIF district would lie between Ridge Avenue and the El tracks.
Feldman said that the Howard Street area is particularly deserving of redevelopment funds.
“This, to me, is the capstone of our efforts and the one to me that seems the most promising,” Feldman said.
The Joint Review Board will meet to discuss the proposed TIF at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 30, followed by a public hearing at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 15. Both meetings will take place at the Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.
The council also approved a 120-day halt on new building projects near Main Street and Chicago Avenue. The area is currently zoned for high-rise business development, but problems of congestion at the intersection have drawn complaints from nearby residents.
The moratorium would give the Plan Commission time to study the area and consider whether it should be rezoned for less dense development.
“I’m really pleased we had unanimous support,” Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said. “This gives us time to make some changes on that corner.”
Residents also spoke in support of the moratorium.
“There’s so much traffic right now, and I worry about having more,” said Laura Bangs, a resident of the area. “It’s going to be a nightmare.”
The council also approved plans for the expansion and renovation for the Omni Orrington Hotel, 1710 Orrington Ave.
Greenfield Partners, the real estate investment firm that bought the hotel, plans to replace the adjoining McDonald’s Restaurant, 1700 Orrington Ave., with a more upscale restaurant. The firm also has plans to increase the current capacity of the hotel by 20 percent and add a conference center on the top floor.
“The hotel does pretty well on the weekends but it really struggles on weekdays and the down season,” said Greg DeStefano, senior vice president of design and development for the firm. “We’ve determined we should not be competing with the Best Western, but we should be competing with the other full-service hotels in the area.”
