Historic preservation to be revisited in Libertyville

The original owner of the Libertyville home at 212 W. Maple Ave., was said to have been a cattle buyer, director of the Lake County Fair and a one-time village board member.

But those footnotes had little to do with why the home, built in 1900, will be spared, as the village has no rules on whether or how much historic relevance matters in such cases.

Instead, residents successfully argued that replacing it with a parking lot would change the character of one of the village's older neighborhoods to a point from which it could not recover.

While there were other factors in play besides the age of the home, the resulting compromise with the First Presbyterian Church, which owns the home, rekindled an interest in seeing what can or should be done with such structures.

The outcome could have an impact beyond the First Presbyterian neighborhood.

Incoming Mayor Terry Weppler says he will revisit the subject of historic preservation to determine whether guidelines are needed to deal with older structures.

"I think it's an overall concern. Libertyville has a very deep history," Weppler said.

An ad hoc committee is expected to be assembled to examine the issue, but it won't be the first time community activism sparked such interest. A lengthy grass roots effort culminated several years ago with a proposed historic preservation ordinance, but village leaders never acted on it.

"Can we do it? If so, what do we want to put in it so we don't restrict property owners' rights?" Weppler said. "I'm going to be sensitive from the standpoint of forcing people to preserve a home."

Though several buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and a neighborhood west of the downtown is unofficially designated as a heritage area, Libertyville does not regulate renovations, alterations or teardowns specifically based on historical considerations.

Fearing that century-old buildings in the downtown area could be torn down without considering those aspects, members of MainStreet Libertyville, a volunteer group, spent hundreds of hours about six years ago researching the issue.

"We tried to head it off at the pass before that happened," said Mike Kollman, a Libertyville resident and architect who led the effort at the time.

A proposed historic preservation ordinance was submitted, but it essentially died for lack of interest. The suggestion included a special commission to review projects based on federal and local standards.

"As far as what's worth saving and what isn't, that's what the commission would do," Kollman said.

Village leaders contended there was no need for another layer of bureaucracy. The size of replacements for tear downs, for example, could be dealt with by changing the village code. That hasn't happened either, however.

How the new review will play out remains to be seen.

"It can be designed so it has as much teeth or as little teeth as we want as a community," said Joan Suzio, chairman of MainStreet's design committee, who has been asked to be on the panel.

Suzio also runs the group's self-guided historic house tour. The sixth annual event is scheduled for May 16.

"You can be an advisory board or a board that says, `No, you can't demolish a house.' Whatever the will of the village is."

She added the proponents would like to see more control over what gets torn down and what is put in its place.

Weppler noted his downtown office dates from the mid-1800s, but has been altered beyond recognition.

"Just because a house is old doesn't make it historical," he said.