St. Charles woman wins fight with landmark group

A St. Charles woman's fight to keep her house from becoming a historic landmark came to an end Friday with the city's lead preservationist backing down.

Steven Smunt, chairman of the city's historic preservation commission, issued a public apology to Annshirley Bowie along with a letter withdrawing paperwork nominating her house, 405 S. Seventh St., as a landmark.

Smunt said controversy over the nomination -- opposed publicly by Bowie -- had done more harm than good for the cause of historic preservation, and it was time to move on.

"No matter what we do, the perception is big city government against the poor widow homeowner," Smunt said. "In the eyes of the public, it made us look bad. It made me look bad. It made historic preservation look bad."

Smunt, a local dentist, has been the subject of public criticism since July, when he nominated Bowie's house, which was built by a former alderman and is in his neighborhood, as a city landmark.

The nomination came after Smunt learned Bowie planned to sell the 1890s-era Queen Anne home to a developer who wanted to tear it down.

Bowie's family suggested that Smunt -- after years of trying to talk the homeowner into pursuing landmark status -- intentionally waited until her husband, Thomas, died July 23. Smunt said the timing was an unfortunate coincidence.

Regardless, Bowie said the pending designation kept her from selling the house because the developer would be prevented from demolishing the structure if it became a landmark. She did not take up the city on offers to help her market it to potential buyers interested in preserving it.

On Friday, Bowie's son, Tony Myles, said the developer still is interested in the property and is "anxious to see if there's a possibility this deal can happen again."

He added, though, that the situation has left Bowie, who wants to retire to Ohio, struggling with mounting bills from the past two months.

Myles said the family would consider legal action against the city only as a "last resort" if Bowie is unable to get back on her feet.

"While we're very grateful to God and to Dr. Smunt for withdrawing this nomination, it really shouldn't have happened to begin with," he said.

"This story really isn't over until my mom gets in a moving van."