Naperville easing Historic District requirements

Residents in Naperville's Historic District won't have to jump through quite as many hoops to renovate their homes thanks to the city council.

Councilmen have given preliminary approval to streamline ways in which residents make changes in the historic area and plan to shake up the composition of the group that oversees the process.

The Naperville Heritage Society, East Central Homeowners Organization, North Central College and city staff spent more than six months preparing guidelines to preserve the neighborhood's character while easing the burden on property owners.

"This group has done a tremendous job in getting issues on the table and mitigating those issues with this report to the residents of the historic district," resident Ann Hahn Baiyor said. "It's a great document."

In November, councilmen rejected a recommendation by city staff to eliminate the Historic District, opting instead to revamp the guidelines for the roughly 320 properties.

"We're presenting an ordinance we believe will work to the point property owners will continue to want to live in the historic properties because now they have a more streamlined, effective way to continue to improve their home without having to look at the drastic notion of a full demolition to still make it contemporary, comfortable," said Peggy Frank, executive director of the Naperville Heritage Society.

In the past, property owners in the district wanting to make modifications that could be seen from the street would have to get approval from the Historic Sites Commission if the changes didn't meet specific design guidelines.

Suzanne Thorsen, planning operations manager for the city, said the new guidelines "allow them to make functional improvements to their property without any additional process."

For example, homeowners no longer will need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the commission to construct a deck or detached garage. However, commission approval is still needed for attached garages.

Improvements such as windows and siding made of approved materials or replacing a porch or door with ones that look the same will only need the approval of city staff, not the commission.

Homeowners still would have to follow regular city permit requirements.

Under the new guidelines, if homeowners in another area wanted to create a new district they would need approval of 10 percent of the owners to start the process but there could not be 51 percent or more opposed.

In terms of individual homes becoming landmarks, owner consent remains preferable but the city will keep its ability to designate a home a landmark even without this consent. City attorney Margo Ely said the city has this power as long as it provides due process to the homeowner.

Mayor George Pradel also will appoint new commissioners to what now will be called the Historic Preservation Commission, though the group will remain at its current size of nine members. Commissioners will be responsible for implementing guidelines for the district and also will help with community outreach efforts.

Councilman Kenn Miller suggested creating very specific job descriptions and expectations to avoid some of the conflicts commissioners have had in the past.