2019 Northwestern University Text Amendment Proposals
2019 Northwestern University Text Amendment Proposals
Embedded Files
Abbreviations
Abbreviations
NU = Northwestern University
U2 or U2 District = the area in the 7th Ward which encompasses Ryan Stadium, Welsh Ryan Arena, and other NU athletic facilities
FOIA= Freedom of Information Act
U2 District
U2 District
Above is the U2 District map. Below is a map below that shows the properties that NU owns, tax free, in the City of Evanston.
The issue at hand
The issue at hand
In January of 2019, NU approached the City of Evanston to get help in drafting a proposal to host professional sports and for-profit temporary events in their U2 District. The current zoning ordinance governing the U2 District prohibits such events.
The current ordinance for the U2 District states that:
Community and cultural events of a nonprofit nature intended primarily for residents of the City and amateur athletics events shall be permitted.
Community and cultural events of a nonprofit nature intended primarily for residents of the City and amateur athletics events shall be permitted.
In all of their five different proposals to the City NU asks to eliminate the words "non-profit" and "amateur" from the ordinance.
NU wants to replace the above text with the following:
Community and cultural events intended primarily for residents of the City and athletics events shall be permitted.
Community and cultural events intended primarily for residents of the City and athletics events shall be permitted.
Additionally, each proposal also presented other changes to the ordinance.
The first proposal on February 22 stated:
The first proposal on February 22 stated:
Attendance at such events is limited to venue capacity
Attendance at such events is limited to venue capacity
and
No more than fifteen (15) such events shall be held in any calendar year
No more than fifteen (15) such events shall be held in any calendar year
The second proposal on April 12 added:
The second proposal on April 12 added:
Sponsors of the temporary event shall provide proof of event approval by the City Special Events Committee prior to obtaining a certificate of zoning compliance pursuant to Section 6-4-8-2 of the title.
Sponsors of the temporary event shall provide proof of event approval by the City Special Events Committee prior to obtaining a certificate of zoning compliance pursuant to Section 6-4-8-2 of the title.
A City Special Events Committee is not an elected body and it is not a public committee. There is no resident citizen input.
In the first two proposals, NU asked to host events at all venues up to the capacity of each venue. At the 7th Ward meeting on April 28 NU was asked about the attendance number of their suggested Bruce Springsteen concert at the stadium. NU answered about 40,000.
Due to the outpouring of residential disapproval, after the April 28 meeting, NU took a step back and amended its third proposal.
On May 3rd the City held a closed meeting between City officials and NU to discuss NU's third proposal. This meeting was attended by the City Manager, the assistant City Manager, the 7th Ward Alderwoman, the Evanston Director of Community Development, and NU's Athletic Dept representatives, Mike Polisky and Maureen Palchak., and NU's Executive Director of Community Development, Dave Davis.
The third proposal on May 3rd was:
The third proposal on May 3rd was:
Attendance at such events is limited to the capacity at Welsh Ryan Arena.
Attendance at such events is limited to the capacity at Welsh Ryan Arena.
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) event which could be a multi-day event (and which would require special permission from the City of Evanston) in any calendar year.
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) event which could be a multi-day event (and which would require special permission from the City of Evanston) in any calendar year.
Events can still be held at any venue, as long as they are not over 7039, and only the multi-day event requires any special permission, but what this permission would be was not defined.
The fourth proposal (published in the August 7th Plan Commission packet) was:
The fourth proposal (published in the August 7th Plan Commission packet) was:
Attendance at such events is limited to 7000.
Attendance at such events is limited to 7000.
and
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) event which could be a multi-day event (and which would require special permission from the City of Evanston) in any calendar year.
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) event which could be a multi-day event (and which would require special permission from the City of Evanston) in any calendar year.
and adds
The provisions in this text amendment will expire two years after its approval, unless the City Council affirmatively votes to renew this amendment.
The provisions in this text amendment will expire two years after its approval, unless the City Council affirmatively votes to renew this amendment.
The 4th proposal removes all references to the Welsh Ryan arena. Events still can be held in all venues.
Although a sunset clause is included, it is very inadequate. The proposal does not actually expire unless the City Council votes to reject it. Without an effective expiration clause which would require a brand new application followed by the process involving the Plan Commission, Plan and Development and City Council any citizen input would be limited to a few minutes at Council.
The 5th proposal was published in the August 28 Plan Commission packet. This Plan Commission meeting never discussed the issue, because at the very start of the meeting the chairman continued the issue to September 11.
The 5th proposal published in the August 28 Plan Commission packet was:
The 5th proposal published in the August 28 Plan Commission packet was:
Attendance at such events is limited to 7000.
Attendance at such events is limited to 7000.
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) multi-day event (not to exceed seven (7) days in duration, and that would require special permission from the City of Evanston) shall be held in any calendar year.
No more than six (6) single-day events and a seventh (7th) multi-day event (not to exceed seven (7) days in duration, and that would require special permission from the City of Evanston) shall be held in any calendar year.
and
Free University parking is available and is provided in the U2 district to all persons attending events (as defined in this ordinance) until all car parking spaces are full.
Free University parking is available and is provided in the U2 district to all persons attending events (as defined in this ordinance) until all car parking spaces are full.
The current ordinance specifies:
Adequate university parking is available and is provided to all persons attending the event.
Adequate university parking is available and is provided to all persons attending the event.
The word "adequate" is stricken from the current ordinance. Note that NU has only 1359 parking spaces left of the over 4000 spaces it once had. NU lost these parking spaces due to construction and renovation of venues in the U2 District.
NU also adds:
No activities related to special events shall occur between 10:00 p.m and 7:00 a.m. from Sunday evening to Friday morning, and between 11:00 p.m and 7:00 a.m. from Friday evening through Sunday morning; with the exception of event setup and breakdown procedures which shall not exceed thirty minutes before and or after the aforementioned times.
No activities related to special events shall occur between 10:00 p.m and 7:00 a.m. from Sunday evening to Friday morning, and between 11:00 p.m and 7:00 a.m. from Friday evening through Sunday morning; with the exception of event setup and breakdown procedures which shall not exceed thirty minutes before and or after the aforementioned times.
Thus NU asks for an extension beyond the permitted Noise Ordinance, to conduct noisy activities in all their venues between 6:30 am and 10:30 pm, and on Fridays and Saturday until 11:30 pm.
When were neighbors told about any of the proposals?
When were neighbors told about any of the proposals?
The neighbors were not notified at all about the first two proposals. Only Freedom of Information Acts (FOIA) revealed to us the negotiations between NU and the City.
The actual third proposal was only revealed to neighbors in the middle of May. The 4th and 5th proposals were published on the City's site in draft form, only 2-3 business days before the Plan Commission meetings .
The public notice of the June 12 Plan Commission Hearing (which was then postponed by NU) was published on May 23 by the Evanston Review, a newspaper only available to paid subscribers.
There are two main issues if the proposal is passed:
1. The harm to the neighborhood surrounding the U2 District.
2. The setting of a precedent.
If passed, the proposed text amendment will fundamentally alter the U2 zoning ordinance, setting a legal precedent that will allow further text amendments for the permanent events, which are part of the same single U2 ordinance, for more parking exemptions, and noise ordinance changes. It also facilitates the incremental increase in capacity for the temporary events. Plans are in the works to rehab the Stadium. What changes would there be?
The issue of precedent and its legal consequences can be seen in the historical sections of our site. See:
May 14, 2019 - Alderperson Eleanor Revelle's email
May 14, 2019 - Alderperson Eleanor Revelle's email
"Attached is the amendment application as revised to focus just on events at Welsh Ryan arena. It shows you the format used to propose an amendment, basically pulling out the sentences of the current zoning code that are to be revised and giving the proposed new wording side-by-side with the existing language.
This format won’t work for the current concept, however, because it would involve much more than changing a few words. The zoning code would need to have one set of conditions for Welsh Ryan and another set of conditions for Ryan Field. So, if NU wants to continue to pursue an amendment to the zoning code, the language of the proposed amendment will look quite different from this."
May 15, 2019 - Resident's email to us, in response to what Eleanor Revelle wrote above
May 15, 2019 - Resident's email to us, in response to what Eleanor Revelle wrote above
"This is complete back door map zoning change which would require commercial or business use for these events.
Also a zoning map change provides different rights for residents and vote by council. The U district is educational-collegiate and non profit and tax exempt "
5th proposal (August 28 - p.3) and relevant pages (transcribed and numbered sequentially by Spotlight)
5th proposal (August 28 - p.3) and relevant pages (transcribed and numbered sequentially by Spotlight)
p. 4. (8) Proposed amendment
Please describe the reason for the proposed zoning ordinance text amendment.
NU answer: Northwestern University is submitting an amendment to ordinance 6-15-7-2 in order to host event at the existing Northwestern Athletics facilities. Northwestern has been consistently approached to host events that would benefit not only the University but also the City of Evanston and members of the community. The revenue generated through the amusement tax, parking tax, and ancillary benefits to restaurants and hotels has great potential to create long term benefits.
Any claims of economic benefits to Evanston were debunked in 1996 at City public meetings when NU proposed a special use and text amendment to allow the 7 day Ameritech professional tennis tournament at McGaw Hall . Monetary benefits to NU, a non-profit organization, are the driving force behind the 2019 and the 1996 proposals.
P.4. (9) Standards
The amendment process is not intended to relieve particular hardships nor to confer special privileges or rights upon any person, but only to make adjustments necessary in light of changed conditions or changes in public policy (6-3-4-1 of City Code). the Zoning Ordinance establishes standards that "the City Council should...consider, among other factors." (6-3-4-5)
Explain how the petitioned amendment relates to or satisfies each of the following standards.
(A) How is the proposed amendment consistent with the goals, objectives, and policies of the Comprehensive General Plan [1], as adopted and amended from time to time by the City Council?
NU answer: The proposed changes are consistent with the distinct character of the Evanston community. These changes would make Evanston a more vibrant and attractive destination for visitors and bolster Evanston's reputation as a regional entertainment destination. Additionally, these changes would build on Evanston's unique physical, economic, and cultural strengths, thereby enhancing the quality of life for all residents in Evanston.
These claims were refuted in 1996. Commercial events are not consistent with the predominantly residential character of the community surrounding the U2. Moreover, tennis is not a cultural, but a sports event.
p. 5 (B) In what ways is the proposed amendment compatible with the overall character of existing development in the immediate vicinity of the subject property?
NU answer:
NU does not answer the question!
p.5 (C) Will the proposed amendment have an adverse affect [sic] on the values of adjacent properties and why?
NU answer: The proposed amendment will not have an adverse effect on the values of adjacent properties because the [sic] will be no structural changes to the property or land, and the facility will be used for family fun events that are consistent with the mission and values of the University.
The issue is not a matter of renovation but a fundamental change in the type, frequency and intensity of events allowed in the U2 District.
The mission of NU is that of an academic non-profit institution, not that of a commercial entertainment and pro-sport enterprise.
Many residents would not describe the professional and commercial events that have been suggested by NU as family fun events, since what has been proposed so far would in fact negatively impact the residential quality of life that made people choose Evanston over other communities. Moreover, the ordinance change would allow for any type of commercial or pro sport event with very little or no City restrictions in place.
p.6 (D) what change to existing public facilities and services, if any, will be required to serve the effects of the proposed amendment?
NU answer: There will be no changes
The inadequate parking alone would require changes.
The City is poised to sacrifice the safety and quality of life of a large residential community, and the economic interests of a large number of businesses in both the 6th and 7th ward. The residents and business affected negatively by the amendment are taxpayers, while NU is not. Cultural benefits are the same as those touted in the past. Alleged economic benefits are even less substantiated than in 1996 when N.E.W. proved they were over-inflated and at times false. In fact, in 1996 IMC and NU did present some data, now the university has not presented any data at all.
Evanston City officials in 2019 have disregarded NU's past ulterior motives. They are ignoring how Legal Precedent repeatedly has been used to attempt to subvert the U2 City ordinance, and how difficult, protracted and costly legal battles with NU are.
NU's presentation at the August and September Plan Committee meetings was inadequate. NU was not able or willing to specify exactly what events they would host and whether those events would conflict with current City events. NU presented contradictory and incomplete statements on projected revenues to the City, on who would attend the events, on what NU would do regarding noise issues or traffic issues and even on what type of food is offered at the venue concessions. NU did not once submit any economic, traffic or safety impact data.
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