Evanston residents angry about legal move by city to bypass public discussion on Northwestern stadium project

In a move that could affect Northwestern University’s plans to renovate its football stadium, the city of Evanston has asked a judge to remove the stadium’s parking lot from consideration by a special committee that discusses disputes over the school’s land use.

Resident committee members said they were shocked the city’s lawyer would make such a proposal, which is against their wishes, and without public notification, and said they plan to go to court to stop the action.

It’s the latest point of contention to arise at Northwestern since a hazing scandal broke this month in which student athletes claim sexualized and racist abuse in the football, softball, volleyball and cheerleading programs. Opponents are pushing for the university to postpone its plans for a new football stadium while it deals with the controversy.

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The court request involves a parking lot next to the existing Ryan Field. The lot itself may not be a significant issue, since it likely would remain intact if a new stadium is constructed on the site. But residents have used the site as a springboard to voice other concerns about traffic and noise.

At issue is a court-ordered consent decree from 2004 that established a committee of Northwestern and city representatives to address disputes over the school’s land use. The committee does not have authority to take action, but offers a forum for public discussion.

The stadium zoning is not under the committee’s purview. But the consent decree gives the committee authority to discuss land zoned T1, which includes the parking lot. The city’s legal request states the committee should be limited to discussing properties in the city’s historic district, which doesn’t include the stadium or the parking lot.

Residents have raised objections to the project at committee hearings, but university representatives have said the committee is not the appropriate forum for such discussions and did not attend the most recent committee meeting in June.

This would be the first amendment to the consent decree since it was created 19 years ago. Northwestern sued the city in 2000 to invalidate its historic district but dropped the suit and paid $700,000 as part of the settlement that led to the consent decree and committee.

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What makes the requested change more unusual is that it came not from the university but the city.

The local Most Livable City Association, which opposes the stadium, only learned of the legal filing through the Freedom of Information Act and court documents.

Dave DeCarlo, co-founder of the association, said he’s still in disbelief the change was proposed with no public notification.

“It calls into question, whose side is the city on?” he said. “Are they going to represent residents and businesses that have concerns, or have they already decided this project is going to be approved?”

[ Northwestern football hazing fallout brings calls to halt $800 million Ryan Field rebuild ]

Evanston Ald. Clare Kelly, who presides over the committee meetings, said she asked in May for the city corporation counsel not to act on the parking lot issue because the committee was discussing it, but the motion was filed anyway in federal court May 1. A court hearing is set for Tuesday.

“I am completely stunned,” said Kelly, who found out Saturday the city filed the motion. She said no clarification of the consent decree was needed.

Kelly and committee member and attorney Dave Schoenfeld said they plan to file notice with the court Monday of their intent to file a motion to intervene to stop the change.

Schoenfeld, who has been on the committee since its inception, said he’d like to see a stadium proposal that would satisfy residents and the school but called the city’s action to limit discussion “pretty radical.”

“To go to court just to avoid talking to neighbors ought to send off all kinds of warning bells,” he said. “I’d like to see something that works for the city and the university, but the way Northwestern is going about this is rightly going to trigger a lot of skepticism.”

Evanston corporation counsel Nicholas Cummings said he doesn’t believe the committee has jurisdiction to discuss the stadium, but he worked with Northwestern’s lawyers to resolve an impasse over the issue by asking the court for a clarification.

“I just want it to be clear,” Cummings said.

The proposed stadium would hold 35,000 fans, smaller than its current capacity, but would be updated to include premium boxes and design features meant to limit light and noise pollution. City staff members are reviewing Northwestern’s traffic and noise studies for the proposed stadium for an Aug. 23 hearing before the city’s Land Use Commission.

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Residents have objected primarily to the university’s proposal that the new stadium would host up to 10 annual concerts in addition to football games, noting it is a commercial enterprise run by a nonprofit institution that doesn’t pay property taxes. Some have called for a community benefits agreement or payment in lieu of taxes to compensate the city.

Ultimately, the proposed stadium would be decided by the Evanston City Council.

A Northwestern spokesman issued a statement that the purpose of the legal request is to get further clarity on whether the consent decree covers all of Evanston or the historic district that borders Northwestern’s lakefront campus.

The consent decree and committee were established to discuss specific topics related to Northwestern properties bordering Sheridan Road, spokesman Jon Yates wrote to the Tribune.

“The University agrees that properties outside this area, such as the Ryan Field Stadium, are not appropriate for discussion by this committee,” he wrote. “This distinction has always been recognized in the past, and there have been ample opportunities for residents concerned about the Ryan Field Stadium project to voice their concerns publicly.”

Evanston resident Schoenfeld said the committee has discussed similar properties and issues previously, and that it’s important to hear residents’ concerns about traffic and noise early in the process.

“The point is for the community to express concerns it has about land use in advance,” he said, so they (city officials) can take that into account.”