Citing potential for damage, St. Charles to require city approval for downtown murals

While beautiful and poignant downtown murals often bring a community together, the St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission say they can actually pull the city apart — little by little.

Concerned with murals causing deterioration to downtown’s historic buildings, the city council has passed an amended ordinance requiring all painting or staining on masonry surfaces in the city’s historic districts to receive city approval first.

Businesses and building owners will have to receive a Certificate of Appropriateness with review provided by the Historic Preservation Commission. The commission says the new procedure will “minimize damage to historic buildings.”

The commission will not be allowed to review the color or design of any mural.

“With masonry being porous, paint can act as a sealant, trapping water and causing the masonry to crack or warp,” city documents state. “This effect causes buildings to look more deteriorated. Paint also requires more continual maintenance. Painting certain masonry materials can obscure the original texture and material quality, reducing the historical integrity of the building.”

Removing paint from masonry is extremely difficult and often damages the building, officials say.

The commission wants to work with owners to design a plan to mitigate damage to the buildings. Often staining, lime-washing or using highly permeable paint helps reduce damage for specific building surfaces.

The city said they looked at Aurora, which also has regulations in place for painting and staining murals on buildings. St. Charles officials said Geneva does not currently have any regulations, but is looking to adopt them. Batavia prohibits painted wall signs on any masonry surface of any building that is porous in nature, according to St. Charles city documents.