City Council delayed action on the proposed 30-unit housing development at 1103-1105 Emerson St. at its Monday night meeting, amending the resolution in response to community feedback.
The proposed development by PM Properties LLC would replace two older residential buildings, more than doubling the lot’s number of units. Council gave preliminary approval of the development at its May 11 meeting but tabled a final vote at its May 27 meeting. Council unanimously amended the resolution Monday night, postponing a final vote to its July 13 meeting.
Some residents expressed concerns during public comment about the development’s potential impact on the block, particularly the effect on neighboring Ebenezer AME Church, Evanston’s historic first Black church.
Rev. Deborah Scott from the Ebenezer AME Church, located at 1109 Emerson St., spoke about the need to protect the church’s congregation and historic status.
Scott said she has appreciated the willingness of developers to work with herself and congregants. Still, she expressed concern about new project renderings depicting the large scale of the proposed development next to Ebenezer AME Church.
“This heightens our concerns that the building will overwhelm Ebenezer,” Scott said.
Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd), who said she grew up going to the church, expressed worries about the effect the development may have on the neighborhood, particularly its Black residents.
“As we see in the world right now, we are disregarding Black churches, Black people, Black communities,” Harris said. “Does this add to that?”
Scott also urged Council to consider comments from the city’s Preservation Commission on the proposed development. The commission’s May 13 report expressed concerns about the scale of the project and the “strong contrast” between the exterior facade of the proposed development and the church.
Ald. Bobby Burns (5th) said the applicants met with the Preservation Commission to hear its recommendations, and he said they focused on the commission’s recommendation to “introduce additional horizontal and vertical articulation and facade modulation at both the south and west facades.”
Melissa Klotz, a former zoning administrator for the city and representative for the developers, told Council that while the “skin of the building has changed” in response to community and Preservation Commission feedback, the square footage and walls remain the same.
Burns acknowledged the concerns of neighbors and highlighted conversations he has participated in between developers and community members. He also emphasized that the proposed development would include what he called “deeply affordable” units targeted at people earning 40% of area median income.
Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) echoed Burns, saying he was ready to move forward with the action, considering the high demand for affordable housing.
“We need housing to be built, and this particular project represents the kind of project that should not take this long,” Nieuwsma said. “This is a simple housing project. It should not take this amount of brain damage to get a project like this built.”
Burns proposed an amendment adding three items to the resolution: a “good neighbor agreement” ensuring developers’ commitment to cooperation with residents, additional language promising that developers will work with city staff to finalize exterior building materials and colors and updated elevations that mirror the building’s latest rendering.
“To the question of scale, just height, I mean, we can’t ‘good neighbor agreement’ our way out of somebody feeling uncomfortable about the height of the building,” Burns said.
He added that based on his communications with Ebenezer AME Church representatives, they appeared ready to support the development with the additions articulated in the amendment.
The amendment passed unanimously. With no motion to suspend the rules, Council did not vote on the resolution as a whole and will revisit the proposed Emerson Street development at its July 13 meeting.
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