History gets new look in Libertyville

Preserving the past will get a fresh look in Libertyville.

Ideas for a historic preservation ordinance, considered but left to languish several years ago, are expected to be an integral part of a new group established earlier this year.

The historic preservation committee will hold its first meeting at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the village hall, 118 W. Cook Ave.

At the initial meeting, members will elect a chairman, review its responsibilities and set future meeting dates. But the ultimate work is what preservation supporters have been seeking.

"I'm happy that they're doing this," said committee member Mike Kollman, an architect who was extensively involved in researching the subject about four years ago.

At the time, MainStreet Libertyville, a downtown revitalization group, organized public forums and speakers to consider the issue. A draft ordinance was created, but no action taken.

"Our research showed all the mature communities on the North Shore had preservation ordinances of some kind," Kollman said.

The interest has not waned for some, like Lorelei Anderson, whose 1896 Victorian at Route 176 and Stewart Avenue is a favorite for photographers.

"I would want to know if someone did buy my house there would be an ordinance in place to protect it," said Anderson, who also was appointed to the committee.

"I feel it should be a real priority for the village (with) all the teardowns, the village character really changes."

Consideration of the matter was rekindled last spring, when residents objected to a proposed expansion of the First Presbyterian Church near downtown.

A compromise was reached but the reaction was taken to heart by then candidate Terry Weppler, who was elected mayor.

The committee was formed essentially to determine whether or in what way the village would regulate historic elements for new buildings, renovations or additions, which are not covered by current rules.

"We crafted our own (ordinance) from all the research," Kollman said. "The purpose now is to reanalyze and determine if that's the right thing to do."

MainStreet became involved because there are no protections for historic buildings in its centerpiece shopping district along Milwaukee Avenue, meaning that an owner theoretically could demolish one without review.

The idea isn't that every old structure needs to be preserved but that in certain designated areas, changes would have to be appropriate.

"It depends on how the ordinance is worded," said Pam Hume, a committee member and interim director of MainStreet.

"It can be as strong or as loose as a community decides."