Naperville may ease Historic District guidelines

Residents of Naperville's Historic District eventually may have less stringent guidelines for renovating their homes.

Councilmen this week rejected a proposal to eliminate the district, saying they would rather revamp the rules for rehabilitating historic homes while retaining the character of the area.

The district, which is east of downtown, consists of about 310 properties including parts of North Central College. Currently, property owners in the district who want to make modifications to their home that can be seen from the street have to get approval from the city's Historic Sites Commission if the changes don't meet specific design guidelines.

But residents of the district have complained about the strictness of the guidelines and in a recent survey, 53 percent said they are being applied inconsistently.

The survey also found that 43 percent say their primary reason for purchasing property in the district was its location, above appearance of the neighborhood or wanting an older home. In addition, 51 percent feel the primary objective of the district should be to preserve historic appearance rather than historic materials and workmanship.

After several public hearings and a review by the city's plan commission, city staff recommended Naperville no longer regulate the Historic District as a whole but instead designate historically significant buildings as local landmarks if their owners consent.

But more than a dozen people spoke out against that proposal at Tuesday's city council meeting.

"We feel strongly the designation has brought a sense of identity to our town," said Chris Birck, president of the Naperville Heritage Society. "The district brings a small-town charm to a very busy and vibrant city."

Steve Grosskopf, president of the East Central Homeowners Organization, said members were "astonished at staff's recommendation."

"No group or plan is perfect but to abolish this district and lose this gem ... is unforgivable," Grosskopf said.

The Naperville Heritage Society, East Central Homeowners Organization and North Central College jointly came up with a proposal of their own that would create new guidelines to allow residents to replace architectural elements of homes within the district as long as the improvements fit with the character of the district, rather than requiring the use of authentic historic materials.

In a memo to the city council, staff said this recommendation does not solve many of the problems residents identified and regulating the character of homes is not a city function.

However, city councilmen ultimately balked at the idea of eliminating the Historic District.

"I don't understand how we got to this extreme," Councilman Doug Krause said. "If there's a problem with the process, work on improving the process."

Councilman Richard Furstenau said he was stunned by the staff's position.

"I can tell you I grew up in a neighborhood that looked somewhat like that for awhile and I don't believe if you change what we're doing it'll ever come back over there. It'll look like the rest of these neighborhoods, kind of a hodgepodge," he said.

The council voted 8-0 to have staff work with interested groups and return within 90 days with recommendations on how to improve the process and guidelines.