Aldermen could amend city code at the Evanston City Council meeting at the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave., tonight to allow aldermen to call in their votes by phone.
Council members would be restricted to one “electronic” vote per year for use only in the case of absences due to serious illness or disability, business or other emergencies. A quorum of the City Council – six members – also must be physically present.
Aldermen have voted by phone in the past, but there is currently no city code addressing such circumstances. However, phone-in voting is used by several other municipalities and is allowed under state guidelines, Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st) said.
Wollin voted by phone in March on the development of 309 senior living residences at the site of The Georgian hotel and Mather Gardens, at the corner of Hinman Avenue and Davis Street. The development had been heavily debated for more than 2 years, but Wollin was out of town when the council came to a vote.
“We have to grow with modern technology,” she said. “It’s an option we should keep for emergency situations.”
The council will also continue discussion on the inclusionary housing ordinance, which could force new developments of 25 or more units to include affordable units.
Aldermen suggested at the April 24 council meeting that 15 percent of units be set aside for families earning less than 100 percent of Evanston’s median family income.
Developers may be able to opt out of the set-aside by paying a fee per affordable unit required.
Wollin said Sunday she would like to see the fee set at $100,000 per unit so affordable units can “realistically” be built somewhere else.
Other aldermen criticized the proposed ordinance for potentially creating a greater gap between rich and poor neighborhoods, because affordable units created using the opt-out fees would have to be built in the cheapest parts of Evanston. Ald. Edmund Moran (6th) said they should not try to solve all problems in one ordinance, but should try to take small steps.
“This is a step on a rung of a ladder,” Moran said on April 24. “Going from not owning a home to owning a home, multi-unit development or not, is probably the biggest step a family can make. We’re offering a promise, or a hope.”
Reach Jenny Song at [email protected].
