A vote for a special use permit for the Margarita Inn as a homeless shelter had to be removed from the Evanston City Council’s Feb. 13 meeting agenda after a court ruled that the city’s Land Use Commission will need to hold an additional meeting on the project.
According to a news release from nonprofit Connections for the Homeless, which runs the housing program, the ruling came after Cook County Judge Neil Cohen said a lawsuit by Cameel Halim, owner of the Halim Time & Glass Museum next to the inn, merits an additional hearing of the Land Use Commission. Once Halim has the chance to speak before the commission, it will revote on the permit submitted by Connections and send the matter on to the Planning and Development Committee and City Council.
“Navigating the waters of City Council and zoning over the last 10 months has been challenging, but resilience is a core value of this agency and we strive to embody that value in everything we do,” read a release from Connections sent after the ruling Friday night. “We are confident that we will cross the finish line and ultimately the much-needed services we provide at the Margarita Inn will become a permanent solution.”
The Inn has served as a shelter since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when a shelter-in-place order was issued and housing the homeless became even more urgent. Connections has since been trying to make the shelter a permanent fixture in Evanston while working alongside the community to create a Good Neighbor Agreement outlining the responsibilities of the shelter, its neighbors and the city.
In the agreement, Connections agrees to be responsive to community concerns and provide clear communication with residents. A 24-hour hotline, 224-422-7969, and email will be provided so concerns can be addressed as quickly as possible. The city promises to provide community education about the Margarita Inn and assign a representative from the Health and Human Services Department to serve as a liaison to the Good Neighbor Advisory Council. The council will be comprised of up to 16 members with representatives for the Inn, city and neighbors to ensure that the agreement is being upheld, with plans for quarterly meetings.
The Good Neighbor Agreement was officially signed by Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and Connections for the Homeless Chief Executive Officer Betty Bogg last week, concluding one piece of the overall puzzle to keeping the Margarita Inn open. Along with the special use permit, a licensing agreement needs to be completed which would include guidelines around operation, staffing, inspection and other requirements at the inn.
City Council is looking to update the city’s ordinance around lodging establishments and shared housing situations, including dorms, hotels and apartment hotels. This would also cover the Margarita Inn. Updates would require housing of this type to be inspected by the city for licensing, create and abide by an operating agreement and allow the city to revoke the license if the agreement is not followed.
“Rather than trying to write one set of rules for a bunch of different types of housing, this allows us a customized approach via that operating agreement to write appropriate requirements for whatever future applicant might want to apply,” Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma said during Monday’s Planning and Development meeting.
The ordinance update was approved by City Council during the Feb. 13 meeting, moving it to a second reading for approval at the Feb. 27 meeting. Councilmember Clare Kelly was the only no vote as she said she felt that the matter had been rushed.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss sent out a letter on Feb. 9, before the court ruling, in support of the project. He said that by approving the special use permit, Evanston can live up to its values.
“A successful downtown Evanston is one that brings our community’s values to life,” Biss wrote. “That means understanding that every unhoused or mentally ill person or panhandler on the street is first and foremost a human being in need, and establishing services that address that need in a humane and constructive way.”
The next meeting of the Land Use Commission is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. An agenda for the meeting will not be available until Feb. 20.
“The homelessness crisis is here, and turning Connections away won’t change that,” Biss said. “It will simply diminish our ability to address it in a compassionate and responsible way.”