Evanston committee approves some vacation-rental licenses, directs staff to pause new applications while ordinance is updated

At its July 28 meeting, the Evanston Planning & Development Committee approved several vacation-rental licenses, denied others and directed staff to stop accepting or returning additional non-owner-occupied applications after the 60-day notice period expires while the city prepares an ordinance change to be considered at the committee's August 25 meeting.

The move came after roughly an hour of public comment and debate about short-term rentals and their effect on neighborhood housing stock. Melinda Schenck, a resident who identified the property she discussed as 2222 Gray Avenue, told the committee she was "concerned about affordable housings are being purchased and then turned into vacation rentals." Janine Martin, who lives directly south of the same property, asked the council to deny the license and warned that granting licenses to properties actively listed for sale "invites speculation and suggests that the license may be used as a marketing tool." David Becker, who described using an owner-occupied accessory unit for short-term rentals, said the extra income "is allowing us to keep the rent of our long term tenants upstairs ... without having to raise their rent."

Staff told the committee they sent notices in June to about 200 properties identified by software contracted by the city to locate short-term rentals. Andrew San Roman, who the committee identified as the staff lead on the effort, said the city gave operators a 60-day window to register without additional fees; tiers of fees would apply after 60, 90 and 120 days. Committee members reported staff is tracking applications and identified 63 applications to date, 17 of which staff said are non-owner-occupied.

Committee action on individual items followed the packet and staff recommendations. The committee approved the vacation-rental license for 806 Main Street (Item P1) by roll call. It denied the license for 2124 Seward Street (Item P2) by a 4–2 margin. An application for 2015 Emerson Street (Item P3) was withdrawn after an applicant clarification that the property was owner-occupied and therefore handled administratively. The committee denied the renewal at 2222 Gray Avenue (Item P4) by a 6–0 vote after several neighbors raised complaints.

On process, Council member Ailes and others asked the committee to stop allowing a late flurry of non-owner-occupied applications while the city updates the ordinance as part of an "Envision 2045" referral. Corporation Counsel Reggi advised the committee that the city may direct staff not to bring applications back once the 60-day notices have expired but that a formal moratorium resolution would need to be prepared and returned in compliance with the Open Meetings Act. Committee leadership asked staff to prepare a moratorium resolution or similar ordinance language and signaled intent to consider it at the August 25 meeting; in the interim the committee directed staff not to process new applications beyond those covered by the original 60-day notice.

The committee did not change the existing approvals or denials recorded tonight; rather, members directed staff on how to handle applications going forward and asked for a prepared ordinance text at the next meeting for formal consideration.