As Northwestern students with more than two housemates fretted over the possibility of kicking some out this week, Evanston officials issued this message: Fear not, at least until Spring Quarter.
The city will wait until the end of the school year to evict students who violate Evanston’s ban on more than three unrelated people cohabiting, said Jeff Murphy, assistant director of property standards. He said his office does not want to add to the stress students already feel during finals week.
“There’s concern among the students that the city is trying to force them out of their housing, and that’s not true,” Murphy said.
City officials decided to postpone enforcing the law after consulting with the dean’s office and the Office of Student Affairs, Murphy said. If the city finds students living in a dangerous situation, such as a basement or attic that might be inaccessible to firefighters, it will evict them immediately, but NU has promised to provide them housing, he said.
Assistant Dean of Students Betsi Burns praised the city for its sensitivity to student needs, adding she appreciates the openness aldermen have displayed at events like Tuesday’s Community Conversation meeting.
Burns has heard from many confused and upset students since landlords protested the ordinance at a 5th and 7th ward meeting on Oct. 28, Burns said. But the University has no plans to fight the current law.
“That’s not our place,” she said.
In a meeting with student group leaders Tuesday night, Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis said this is “nothing new” and “the city has not been investigating” houses and apartments.
After the city told Weinberg senior Emma Kerr she and her housemates might be evicted under the ordinance, she co-created a Facebook event urging students to protest at the Community Conversation meeting. As of Thursday, 555 students had responded that they were attending.
But Kerr has been very satisfied with the “phenomenal” cooperation between the city and the University in pushing back student evictions, she said. She understands the city’s point of view, she said.
“There’s really no right or wrong but a lot of gray,” Kerr said.
Dave Ahn, one of the landlords who has called the ordinance into question, disagrees. He said the law forces him and his fellow landlords to hike their rent, gouging the wallets of young tenants and their parents. NU should be more supportive of its students, he said.
“The University is just trying to make this problem go away,” Ahn said.
Dean of Students Burgwell Howard has said enforcement of the ordinance may eventually lead to students living farther from campus, which is “not ideal” but not a huge problem.
Other colleges in communities with similar housing laws have been able to reach compromises with their towns, Ahn said. He cited the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., which also had a three-person occupancy limit in 2009 but now lets landlords apply for permits to rent to four.
The Evanston City Council will discuss amending the law at some point in the future, said Ald. Delores Holmes (5th), whose ward includes many off-campus NU students.
Weinberg senior Josh Wasserman, who lives off campus, said he sympathizes with the frustration of residents forced to put up with loud student parties. Like Kerr, he appreciates the city’s decision not to act until spring.
“I was happy the Evanston residents and the aldermen were looking out for us,” Wasserman said. “They understand some people may have been cheated by the system.”
