About 500 Northwestern students, outraged by Evanston’s impending enforcement of the ‘brothel’ law, packed into Norris University Center’s McCormick Auditorium Tuesday night for a town hall meeting featuring University and Evanston officials.

The Associated Student Government has started a petition to repeal the law.

The so-called ‘brothel’ law, a zoning ordinance the city plans to enforce beginning July 1, prohibits more than three unrelated people from living in an apartment or house. The law’s enforcement will possibly evict hundreds of NU students from their off-campus residences. Though the law has been on the books for years, the city has not regularly fined violators.

The change in policy is an “indirect consequence” of conflict between students and Evanston residents, who complained of heavy student partying in the fall, Dean of Students Burgwell Howard said.

A moratorium on enforcing the ordinance has prevented the city from sending out more than 50 violation letters that have already accrued. Those letters will be sent July 1.

The meeting, which began at 7 p.m., drew so many students that some, unable to enter, chose to turn away at the door. A brief discussion of impending Chicago Transit Authority changes was quickly interrupted, setting the tone for the rest of the event.

“Are we going to talk about how we don’t want this to happen, or are you just going to tell us how we can’t live in groups of more than three?” a student asked.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Howard responded sharply.

The meeting quickly turned into a heated question-and-answer session. When asked how the city of Evanston will respond to a possible “exodus” of students from off-campus housing in violation of the ordinance, Jeff Murphy, Evanston’s division manager of building and inspection services, said he did not know.

“We’ll have to see it happen,” Murphy responded. When asked how students who have already signed leases for the next year should respond to the news, Murphy said those students should try and get out of their lease.

He said “a lot of things are complaint-driven” when a student asked if fall partying was the cause of the change.

NU is not currently looking into purchasing more off-campus housing, Howard said. Students expressed concern for personal safety as well as affordability of housing. At one point during the meeting, more than 40 students were raising their hands to ask questions.

“Why isn’t Northwestern challenging this law?” one student asked.

NU is “scrambling” to try and solve the problem, Assistant Dean of Students Betsi Burns said. Murphy directed students to city council.

“Go to … city council,” Murphy said. “Make your voices heard. That’s all I can really say.”

Howard and Burns will meet with city officials tomorrow, though Burns said there “is a limitation” to what they can do.

When asked what Howard and Burns plan to say at that meeting, Burns said she will ask why four students won’t be allowed to live in a four-person apartment, as well as inform city officials of the overwhelming student opposition to the ordinance.

“You guys are all making some really good points,” Burns said. “I will tell the city that the students don’t want this. We are your voice. We’re working on it.”

Later, though, Howard said the two will not ask the city to change its plans of enforcing the ordinance.

“The University has a voice, and the University has more strength than it sounds like it’s using,” one student replied.

Check back tomorrow for complete coverage of the off-campus town hall meeting and a full follow-up story in Wednesday’s newspaper.

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