Court backs homeowner, slaps Geneva over historic district rules

An appellate court has sided with a Geneva homeowner who fought city hall over the use of vinyl windows on his 1940s-era house.

The 2nd District Appellate Court recently issued a ruling reversing a previous court decision that said Walter Stackman, the homeowner, should have applied for a building permit before replacing eight wood windows at his home on the 400 block of South Sixth Street in 2006.

Stackman sued the city after the Geneva Historic Preservation Commission ruled he needed building permits that would have required him to prove the old windows could not be saved or replaced with a similar-looking, wood style because the house is in a historic district.

But the appellate court ruled July 14 that the city failed to be clear about what work necessitates a permit, and also allowed the historic commission to overstep its bounds. The ruling reversed a previous decision by Kane County Judge Michael J. Colwell that sided with the city.

"At best, it appears that Geneva is inconsistent in its interpretation and application of its building code," the court wrote. "Because the replacement of windows that did not necessitate widening the window hole did not normally require a building permit, and there is no statutory authority to require such a permit when the same work is done in the historic district, we conclude that (Stackman) was not required to obtain a building permit in this instance."

Mayor Kevin Burns said Monday he had not yet read the full opinion and couldn't comment on specifics. "We were surprised," he said. "We will collect our thoughts as to what, if any, next steps we'll contemplate."

Stackman's lawyer, Peter Storm, said his client was "very happy" with the ruling.

"This decision, I think, is helpful to homeowners and contractors because it clarifies what I believe a lot of people thought to be the law all along, even if the city took a different approach," Storm said.

Stackman has never been charged any fines, Storm said, even though it was "repeatedly threatened" by the city.