Geneva council to discuss Pure Oil demolition Monday

The Geneva City Council Monday will consider an appeal to overturn the denial to demolish the former Pure Oil service station at 502 W. State St.

The council meets as a committee of the whole at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 22 S. First St.

The building’s owner wants to demolish the building, which now houses a garden shop, to make way for a bank drive-through. He also wants to tear down a house to the south on Fifth Street, to make a parking lot for a potential bank client.

The Geneva Historic Preservation Commission denied the requests in February.

A two-thirds vote of the council is needed to overrule the commission.

Officials from Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley have circulated petitions, online and on paper, asking the council to uphold the commission’s decision. The online version has almost 1,100 signatures.

The building’s owner has argued, however, that repairs to the building, including bringing it up to current disability-access requirements, are not economically worthwhile.

The Pure Oil station, with its distinctive blue tile roof, opened in 1937.

The committee of the whole packet can be found on the Geneva website, geneva.il.us, under “Living in Geneva-Elected Officials.”