Evanston’s 5th Ward residents urge City Council to reject 33-unit affordable housing project

A group of residents in 5th Ward Evanston are fighting plans for an affordable housing project in their ward as it comes up for a vote before Evanston City Council on Monday.

Residents said they are not against affordable housing but they are against segregation and redlining while being for scattered affordable housing and homeownership.

“I’m all for affordable housing. My family and I have been providing affordable housing in Evanston for over 70 years,” resident Todd Smith said. “This is going to put a lot of pressure on landlords in the immediate area. So when we talk about keeping people in the area, this is going to force a lot of landlords out of the area because they cannot compete against these prices that are being provided for affordable housing.”

The full project would span half of the 1800 block of Church Street, with the housing complex hosting first floor retail space and 33 affordable housing units on three upper floors. Prices for the units will range from $600 to $800 for a one bedroom, $700 to $900 for a two bedroom and $900 to $1,100 for a three bedroom.

Richard Koenig, executive director of nonprofit Housing Opportunity Development Corporation which is building and managing the project, is hoping to give priority to Evanston residents for units, but this would require approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Because federal law bans discriminatory housing practices, it normally would not allow giving priority to any group.

Opponents of the project — which would see Mt. Pisgah Ministry relocate to the corner of Church Street and Darrow Avenue in a land swap with Housing Opportunity Development Corporation — have a laundry list of concerns including increased traffic, lack of available parking and the large number of affordable housing projects being placed in the 5th Ward compared to other parts of the city.

The corner currently houses an empty lot owned by the city that was previously a gas station, and since gas formerly contained lead, some environmental checks or remediation will need to be performed, various officials said. Developers for the Mt. Pisgah plan have stated the soil underneath the land is contaminated but will be removed and properly contained once the church collects the funding needed for the rebuild. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency will also have to sign off on the project once completed. There were concerns brought up during the March 13 Planning and Development Committee meeting as well that water has precipitated under the existing barrier that could impact the groundwater. Until new samples are taken, the amount and concentration are unknown.

Some residents have asked Councilmembers Devon Reid and Bobby Burns to recuse themselves from the vote, stating they believe the pair have a personal vested interest in seeing the project completed. Both have stated they will not be recusing themselves as they have no conflict of interest or personal connections to HODC and Mt. Pisgah.

“I encourage people to file an ethics complaint if they feel that I have a conflict on this issue,” Burns said. “I do not have a conflict. If I did, I would recuse.”

Councilmember Clare Kelly said she understands the concerns 5th Ward residents have about the number of affordable housing units in their ward and would like to see data on where affordable housing is throughout the city. A recent report by EvanstonNow stated the city’s 5th Ward does host more affordable housing units than the other eight wards, a choice which opponents such as Carlis Sutton have called “modernized redlining.”

Reid said affordable housing units need to be placed wherever the city can fit them, adding that zoning that restricts building to single-family residential units in other wards makes it difficult to build affordable housing there. Opponents push back against this saying city zoning can be changed.

“We wouldn’t say there’s too many grocery stores or open green space,” Burns said. “We wouldn’t use that same argument for anything other than something we think is undesirable and a nuisance.”

He agrees there should be affordable housing available all around the city and the way the city is hoping to accomplish this is by adopting a new comprehensive plan and zoning map that allows for more density.

“It’s going to take a mixture of public support and political will,” he said. “I think the political will is there. We need to see where the community is on it. Certainly, a majority of council members support it.”

City Council has named affordable housing as its top priority to tackle for 2023, and it has plans to address it by revisiting Evanston’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, increasing its affordable housing stock, fully funding a housing inspection program and providing funding to enforce the city’s fair housing ordinance.

Residents also say the lot is the only commercially zoned spot left available in the 5th Ward but Burns says the first floor retail included in the housing complex plan allows the chance for it to be filled with a business residents can be proud of.

One resident, Radica Sutz, would like to see the property stay available for a different commercial endeavor.

“We have spent years here planning this. This should be a place, possibly a jazz center to celebrate the history of Black people in this community. Maybe a coffee shop,” Sutz said. “I am highly urging that no one in a normal state of mind should give to any nonprofit organization any money unless they have a full financial disclosure.”

Opponents say homeownership would encourage residents to be more involved with the community rather than having a stream of move ins and outs at a large housing complex. They also worry with more residents the greater chance there is for the building to become a nuisance property. In city code, a property can be named a nuisance premises if it has documented one or more aggravated offenses — such as homicide, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and more — or two or more non-aggravated offenses such as manufacture or selling of controlled substances, disturbing the peace or noise violations, in a 12-month period.

Deputy City Attorney Alexandra Ruggie said it is very rare for a property to be deemed a nuisance premises by the chief of police. The city first attempts to work with the owner to abate the nuisance, whether that be through increased lighting and security or other means, and if it isn’t solved, the issue can go to court and result in fines.

“The purpose behind it is to really work with the owner, the landlord, to abate the nuisance and get them into an abatement program where they’re managing the building and the premise better,” Ruggie said.

Opponents point to another HODC-owned property in Evanston at 319 Dempster Street where they say there are documented cases of disturbance calls to the police. Ruggie said the property is one local police and property standards officials with the city keep an eye on but the building isn’t considered a nuisance premises.

Koenig said there are plans to devote one unit to an HODC representative to serve as the nonprofit’s eyes and ears in the building. There are plans for security cameras around the building and in the common areas to be used on the property along with a key card entry system for residents.

“I think there are a lot of housing needs and this can only address one of them. It’s hard sometimes to comprehensively look at what all the needs are and address them. This is just one potential solution to a variety of housing issues,” Koenig said. “We agree there should be homeownership. There should be more rental housing. We need all of that. We can’t do it all at once.”