SESP junior Kirstin Nordhaus knows which friends she wants to live with when she moves off campus next year.
Because of an Evanston ordinance banning more than three unrelated people from cohabiting, she also knows she may have to choose among them.
“It’s difficult figuring out how to split up our group of friends,” Nordhaus said.
Nordhaus’s dilemma could be resolved if Evanston landlords get their way. At a 5th and 7th ward meeting to address housing issues Thursday, landlords clashed with city officials over whether the ordinance unfairly burdens renters and property owners.
Pamela West, an assistant property manager for Raymond & Associates who was not at the meeting, said she has four-bedroom apartments that are difficult to market because she cannot rent them to groups of four students. Although she said the fine for breaking the ordinance compels her to obey it, she knows other landlords who illegally host extra tenants. Until recently, city officials turned a blind eye to such indiscretions, she said.
“It was a pretty open secret that it wasn’t well-enforced,” West said.
But at a meeting with landlords last winter, city officials said they would begin checking the number of people with a given address more carefully, West said. Since then, she has been extra vigilant about her compliance.
North Shore Apartments and Condos Inc. would also likely benefit from the elimination of the ordinance, managing broker Andy Scott said. But students are more likely than families to throw parties and engage in other activities that wear out houses, and paying for damage caused by such activities might offset the money he would earn from extra renters.
Without the ordinance, residential neighborhoods near campus would suffer from overcrowding, assistant director of property standards and housing rehabilitation Jeff Murphy said. Unrelated people living together often each have their own car, which clogs streets. Although opponents of the law have suggested residences with four unrelated residents would not lead to more traffic than those with three, Murphy often sees landlords trying to squeeze 10 or 11 into one dwelling, he said.
“It’s a safety issue,” Murphy said.
For the reasons Murphy cited, Ald. Jane Grover (7th) said she likely would oppose a proposal to eliminate the ordinance. Other cities have similar laws, and she thinks Evanston’s ordinance has been effective in controlling density, she said. She will make a final decision after researching the matter further.
Students such as McCormick freshman Daniel Senn, who lives on campus this year but will likely move off campus in the future, hope Grover changes her mind. Although the law would not deter Senn from looking for a residence with his friends, he does not look forward to grappling with it, he said.
“We’d probably find ways to make it work, but it might be inconvenient,” Senn said.
West suggested the law could at least use an update.
“It was probably formulated in a time where they were trying to prevent prostitution,” she said.
