The City of Evanston said in a statement on its website Wednesday that the city will not change its approach to the “brothel law.” The statement denied that the city will begin enforcing the law more strictly on July 1.
“The City has no plan to change its enforcement strategy today or in the future,” the statement said.
The law prevents more than three unrelated people living in the same dwelling. Although long-standing on the books in Evanston, the law became a point of controversy Tuesday after The Daily Northwestern reported that city officials had confirmed Evanston would begin pursuing violators more aggressively — possibly resulting in hundreds of evictions from off-campus student residences.
After the story was published, about 500 students attended a town hall meeting on off-campus issues Tuesday night — many to voice their questions and anger at the news.
The city’s statement said that Evanston has “enforced these laws regularly through the years and will continue to do so to protect the safety of occupants and neighborhood residents.” It references specific violations of the law that required city intervention in the past year.
The city ended the statement refusing to comment further at this time.
More information to come.