The City of Champaign approved a special use permit to allow a four-unit apartment building at 919 W. Hill St. despite ongoing concerns from several residents in the neighborhood. 

According to a report prepared for the plan commission by Bruce Knight, the city’s planning and development director, Amy Wong applied for the permit and is married to property owner Farhad Kazemi, who had the property transferred over to him by his father via a Quit Claim Deed on April 26, 2024. 

“The prior landlord lived locally and allowed this property to deteriorate to its present state,” longtime neighbor Nancy Sivertsen said in an email to the city on Feb. 19, 2025. “I don’t see how having an absentee landlord assuming responsibility for the property will provide sufficient safeguards for local residents.”

For months, residents had expressed frustration, distrust and concern over the proposal at city meetings, thinking they had made themselves clear.

“We have watched this property become more derelict in the last 15 years,” neighbor Kimberly Wurl said in an email to the city on Feb. 4, 2025. “Looking at a house that is boarded up is not pleasant.”

The ordinance was approved by city council on June 10, 2025. The special use permit is for the approved operation of the four one-bedroom units in the multifamily building, as it has historically been used in the early-1900s structure.

Following public response, city officials modified parts of the permit’s conditions of approval to address some concerns like parking, but said in the ordinance that multifamily use “will not be unreasonably injurious or detrimental to the district or public welfare due to its historical precedence, neighborhood context, and proposed property improvements.”

According to the report from Knight, the building was indicated as being “grandfathered” as a multifamily property into the zoning district for single- and two-family housing.

Last year, the property was vacant for more than six months and was then classified as abandoned, which meant it lost its multifamily status. The report said no repairs to the four-unit building may proceed “until the land use issue is resolved.” This led the owner to submit a request for a special use permit to continue operating as four one-bedroom units.

“To clarify, this is not a request for commercial use … the building has historically operated as a multifamily residence,” Daniel Saphiere, associate planner at the City of Champaign, said in response to multiple emails on Feb. 7, 2025. “This permit would not exempt any property maintenance code requirements, building code standards, or City inspections of this property.”  

Despite some neighbors’ vocal disagreement prior to the ordinance’s passing, other neighbors said in November they haven’t noticed much of a difference at all in the community. 

“It’s as if I didn’t read about it, I wouldn’t know about it,” a neighbor who preferred anonymity said in an interview. “I think since the ink has dried and the dust has settled, people realize it is not that big of an issue.”

Maintenance, troublesome tenants among neighbors’ concerns

Residents living on Hill Street and around the block raised key issues with the proposal: neglected maintenance and troublesome tenants, along with the belief that the four rental units would disrupt neighborhood character on a quiet, family-oriented street. 

“I am very concerned about the future of the building,” Linda Larson, a longtime neighbor, said in an email to the city on Feb. 12, 2025. “The most recent owner abandoned maintenance and rented to disruptive and possibly criminal tenants.”

The report from Knight said “data from the Champaign Police Department (2020-2025) shows the property averaged 18-20 calls per year.” 

Parking and traffic were also discussed as major issues. The property has only two off-street parking spaces, and residents have raised the concern that the two rental units might result in additional cars on the already-narrow neighborhood streets. 

Parts of the special use permit addressed these concerns.

“Removal of the informal gravel parking from the right-of-way will improve street conditions by reeducing dust, improving drainage, and lower maintenance needs. On-site parking will be formalized and a condition of the approval requires four parking spaces—exceeding the two spaces required by Sec. 37-359.2,” which is the city’s parking space ordinance.

According to the report to the city council, “the current owner seeks to renovate the building for continued multifamily use while addressing Property Code violations, building updates, and parking arrangements.”