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Land Use Commission unanimously recommends City Council clarify 'temporary' use definitions in zoning code
Summary
Commissioners voted 5–0 to forward a city‑initiated text amendment to the City Council that tightens and resolves conflicting language on 'temporary' and 'use, temporary' (defining 'temporary' as less than 30 consecutive days and aligning temporary permit allowances), a change prompted in part by a proposed Chicago Stars use at Ryan Field.
The Evanston Land Use Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council adopt a text amendment to Title 6 of the zoning ordinance clarifying how the code treats temporary uses.
Staff told the commission the amendment removes ambiguous language that previously described temporary land uses both as an enumerated list and as any use lasting less than 90 days, producing an internal conflict. The proposed revision makes the list of permitted temporary uses in section 6‑4‑8‑3 the authoritative set of permits staff can issue and introduces a separate definition of the word “temporary” to mean uses lasting less than 30 consecutive days unless otherwise specified.
Commissioners said the change will help staff administer permits for pop‑up events, festivals and other short‑term uses and will allow some temporary uses to be considered through unique or special‑use procedures where appropriate; staff noted the referral was prompted in part by a prior application related to Ryan Field. After limited discussion, the commission voted 5–0 to forward the recommendation to the City Council.
What happens next: The City Council will review the recommended text amendment and determine whether to adopt it into the zoning ordinance.
