West Dundee settlement calls for razing 169-year-old church parsonage
A decadelong battle over a West Dundee church's historic but deteriorating parsonage has ended in a settlement to raze the building and create a public parking lot.
Village officials have been fighting for years to preserve and restore the 169-year-old house at 310 W. Main St. because of its historical significance. But First United Methodist Church leaders have contended the structure is beyond repair and proposed instead to tear it down and offer more parking for their congregation.
After six years of litigation, the church will get its wish - but it will have to relinquish control of the property.
In a settlement agreement approved last week by the village board, West Dundee will pay the church $95,000 to acquire the property. The village has agreed to tear down the parsonage by March 30 and construct a new public parking lot, which can be used by the church, by next fall.
"Both parties worked together to find a mutually beneficial solution," village and church officials said in a joint news release. "While the village hoped to preserve the property, regrettably the parties recognize that due to the passage of time that property has deteriorated too much to be preserved."
The agreement also calls for the village absorbing the roughly $750 cost of surveying the site, while the church will pay $1,700 for the title policy.
Built in 1849, the parsonage is the second-oldest house in West Dundee. It once belonged to Alfred Edwards, one of the village's co-founders, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The church purchased the site in 1954 and used it as a parsonage for 50 years before vacating it because of its poor condition.
A request from the church to demolish the building was shot down by West Dundee officials more than a decade ago. In 2012, the village filed a lawsuit seeking to place a lien on the church for repair costs - an estimated $600,000 - after the church refused to remedy several code violations.
The church's countercomplaint argued the repairs would be "financially devastating" for the congregation of about 100 families.
After additional back-and-forth litigation, West Dundee sent a letter to the church late last year indicating its desire to acquire the property through eminent domain. Village officials had hoped to include the parsonage's restoration in their long-term plans, Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said.
"But because so much time had elapsed and the property had not been maintained, it really didn't allow for the opportunity for restoration on a cost-effective basis," he said.
Though church leaders are pleased to have more parking options, handing over control of the property limits the church's potential for future expansion if necessary, said Tom Sullivan, the church's attorney.
"That's one of the things we had to give up. But parking was the priority, so I think it was a good compromise," Sullivan said. "It just took far, far too long for the village to accept the fact that the building was beyond repair. ... We're happy the village finally did the right thing."