More Student Housing, Not More Restrictions

As unique as it is, Evanston shares a problem with most other university towns--non-student households don't want groups of students living in their neighborhoods. The obvious solution would be to create physically separate housing options for students and non-students.

However, instead, the university expects the housing market to absorb the student population organically, regardless of the conflicts this is creating. On the other side, people in the single-family neighborhoods are desperately trying to establish rules that ban shared student housing, even if those rules restrict housing flexibility for anyone else in the community who needs to share housing.

Joining Forces feels that both sides are wrong. The real solution is to create enough rental housing and position it throughout the City so that different types of households can have a choice of housing that meets their needs without infringing on each other's lifestyles.

City/University Collaboration
​We believe the City of Evanston and Northwestern University should work together to identify sites for new apartment buildings that will not house students in the midst of single-family blocks of housing. They should acquire properties, solicit proposals from developers, and figure out how to help pay for development costs. We suggest , over the long term, planning buildings that, combined, provide housing for at least 1,000 students.

Reducing Restrictions
Non-student residents living near the university are currently trying to "zone" groups of students away from their neighborhoods. They are pushing to keep the current 3-Unrelated Rule and to disallow internal accessory dwelling units (like mother-in-law apartments) unless the owner lives on-site.

While such rules may dissuade some people from converting currently single-family homes into group housing for students, they will not relieve the pressure that causes people to consider such action. At the same time, such rules impose restrictions that make it more difficult for people throughout the community to use their buildings for purposes of affordability.

Facts about NWU and Housing

# of Campuses: 3 (one in Qatar). Most undergraduate programs are located in Evanston, not downtown.

Average Annual # of Full-Time, Undergraduate Students (over the last 3 years):

• 1st year students:    1,741 
• 2nd year students:   1,987 
• 3rd year students:    1,954 
• 4th year students:    2,471  
• Total:                               8,153

https://www.registrar.northwestern.edu/records/enrollment-graduation-statistics/

# of University Owned, Operated, or Affiliated Housing Units
Approximately 40%, or 3,261

# of Students That Live Off Campus
Approximately 60%, or 4,982 

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/northwestern-university-1739/student-life

How to Make This Happen
Joining Forces has several ideas for how the City and NWU can work together to start an effort to create more student-suitable housing:

• Ask NWU to make a really significant contribution to the City of Evanston that will focus on resolving the overall shortage of affordable housing for both non-student and student households. We are talking about something like the Harvard Local Housing Collaborative which has provided more than $20 million in loans for creation of more than 7,000 units of Affordable Housing. Source: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/harvard-recommits-20-million-to-create-affordable-housing-in-greater-boston/

​

• Make more student housing a requirement in the Comprehensive Plan that the City is embarking upon and incorporate student housing in any affordable housing plans that are developed.

​

• Use the post-pandemic period to evaluate land use both in the City and on NWU's Evanston campus, and set aside under-used land and buildings now to be developed into student and affordable housing.

In the Meantime
Increasing the supply of housing is a long-term project, and people living near the university are looking for solutions now. Here are some ideas we think should be considered as the long-term solution is being implemented--instead of keeping or imposing restrictive zoning:

• Establish and enforce maintenance standards for properties owned by absentee landlords.
  
• Consider requiring licenses for rental properties that can be revoked if property owners to not comply with standards

​​

• Fund staff to do more inspections and increase penalties on landlords who violate rules on property maintenance and certain nuisance behaviors

​

• Ensure that complaints about student behavior are addressed by both the City and the University.

Last, assuming that residents living near the university will continue to advocate for restrictive zoning, we hope that the City will make sure that any restrictions that are imposed are tied to a requirement that the City and NWU address the shortage of student housing within a given time frame and limit how long the restrictions can stay in place whether or not the student housing goals are met.​