The clock starts ticking next week for Evanston landlords to begin a speedy rehabilitation of the city’s boarded buildings, some of which have been vacant for more than a decade.
Aldermen passed an ordinance Jan. 26 that puts pressure on property owners to restore their now-abandoned buildings within six months. If the requirements are not fulfilled by an August deadline, the buildings can be torn down.
“Abandoned buildings can be a habitat for crime and homeless people,” said James Wolinski, director of community development for the city. “We want to cut down on the amount of these buildings.”
The city will mail letters to landlords within the next two weeks detailing the new requirements for rehabilitation. The ordinance requires landlords to provide proof of insurance along with a detailed plan to fix up the property. The policy also calls for the city to complete an inspection of the buildings.
Buildings are boarded by the city when they become a threat to a neighborhood and when there is considerable fire damage or other violations, Wolinski said. Landlords often leave these buildings boarded with no intention of restoring them, he said.
“There is such a thing as the ‘broken-windows theory,'” Wolinski said. “Once a neighborhood starts to show deterioration, people leave it alone. It’s a snowball effect.”
The deterioration of boarded-up houses can send criminals the wrong message about a neighborhood, said Deputy Chief Dennis Nilsson of Evanston Police Department.
“They signal to criminals that residents do not care, even if that’s not true,” Nilsson said at a Jan. 12 meeting of the council’s Planning and Development Committee. “It’s an attractive nuisance for graffiti and an attractive nuisance for vandalism.”
At the same meeting, Evanston fire department Chief Alan Berkowsky said the houses represent a fire hazard as well.
“As firefighters we have no idea what to expect in a boarded-up building,” he said.
Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) spearheaded the initiative to get the plywood off of boarded buildings in the city. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The Fifth Ward, located west of Northwestern’s campus, has the largest number of boarded buildings, Wolinski said. Ald. Joseph Kent (5th) said he estimates that there are more than 20 such buildings in his ward.
“A lot of these buildings were bought by citizens without any concern whatsoever for the community,” he said. “Some are bought just to milk the property.”
Kent disagreed with the tear-down policy that the city enacted and alternately proposed that after six months the buildings should be turned into affordable housing set aside for low-income families. However, he does see the ordinance as an improvement to the old policy.
Vacated buildings have been a problem in the Fifth Ward since he moved to the city more than a decade ago, Kent said.
“We have very few boarded or abandoned buildings that the owners keep in good shape,” he said. “It brings down the mood of the community.”
The Daily’s Chris Kirkham contributed to this report.
