Planning panel approves 90-day moratorium on new vacation-rental applications, moves several pending licenses to council

The Evanston Planning and Development Committee voted unanimously to approve a 90-day moratorium on the acceptance of new vacation-rental license applications, and in the same meeting approved three pending vacation-rental licenses while denying a fourth after a neighborhood complaint. The committee approved a resolution as amended that bars the city from accepting new vacation-rental applications until the city’s code is revised. Director Flax told the committee that owner-occupied vacation rentals are currently processed administratively but said the moratorium will apply to applications not already submitted: “Anybody who has not already submitted an application, we won't accept them,” Flax said. The moratorium was advanced so staff and the council’s housing and community development review body (HCDC)…