With real-estate developers seeking to expand in northwest Evanston, the city has decided to limit growth by withholding city construction permits for the area.

Area residents consider some recent construction in the area too dense for the neighborhood, which is on Central Street between Bennett and Marcy avenues. City staff have re-examined the neighborhood’s zoning and have put in building restrictions for the area.

The temporary moratorium, which prohibits the city from issuing building permits on the commercial stretch of Central Street, could create uncertainty among investors and discourage development, business leaders said.

Under current zoning, businesses there can occupy as much as 20,000 square feet, but rezoning would likely lower this number.

The district might also be rezoned to require that all new construction there be residential, said Ald. Edmund Moran (6th), whose ward includes the area.

The city has implemented a 60-day restriction until it decides what to do with the area. The restriction was adopted by Evanston City Council in March and is set to expire in June, but a proposal to extend it by 90 days will come before the City Council May 23.

“What we’re looking for is to reduce the maximum permissible building height and possibly look at other issues related to the density of infill development,” Moran said.

Jonathan Perman, executive director of the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, said he wished the city government would act faster. Ninety days is a long time for developers to be unsure about potential investments, he said.

“Get it done; do the analysis and then make a decision,” Perman said. “Even if the answer is to down-zone, that’s better than being in this period when you don’t know which direction it’s going to go.”

Moran said “there has been a lot of investor interest” in the area within the last year, although he declined to name any specific developers because plans are not yet concrete.

Sixth Ward resident William Doughty, who lives near Central Street, said the city needs to address some of the recent development in the area.

“We need some ways to make it a more human- and user-friendly environment,” Doughty said. “I would like to see more space for pedestrians.”

Earlier developments in the area were required to be built to the lot line, typically the sidewalk, although new restrictions require greater setbacks. But there is still a need to check growth, and restrictions should not dampen investment, Moran said.

“The intent is not to discourage developers but to adopt a different approach that would be more compatible with the historical context there,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why developers might necessarily be discouraged because it’s a very attractive area.”

The council previously placed a moratorium in the area around Main Street and Chicago Avenue in October 2003, prompting a lawsuit from a developer. The moratorium expired before there was a ruling in the lawsuit, city lawyer Jack Siegel said.

Siegel said he successfully defended Evanston moratoria in court about 15 years ago, when the city temporarily prohibited condominium conversions. Courts tend to support moratoria in places where changes are being discussed, he added.

“If there is a problem which requires rezoning, you don’t want the cat to get out of the bag or the horse to leave the barn before you take action,” Siegel said. “You only impose the moratorium if you expect there’s a change and you want to head off people going under the wire.”

Reach Greg Hafkin at [email protected].