'Emasculating' Process For Hinsdale Historic Panel

HINSDALE, IL — A Hinsdale committee this week rejected a request to demolish a historic house on Elm Street, with members asking why the home was allowed to fall into such disrepair.

But the Historic Preservation Commission is merely advisory and involves a process that its chairman called "emasculating." The owner can now get a demolition permit from the village.

The Italianate house, bought by the Callahan family, is at 720 S. Elm St. in the Robbins Park Historic District. It's part of a trend of tearing down homes in the district to make way for new, larger structures.

On Wednesday, commissioners noted a real estate agent's Facebook video from two years ago that showed the home was inhabitable. Commissioner Sarah Barclay said she walked through the house at the time as a potential buyer and described the home as in good shape.

According to a village timeline, a pre-demolition sale was conducted last July. The home, built in 1927, was stripped of its furnace, water heater and fixtures, among other things, the village said.

Around the same time, utilities were cut off and a second-floor window was left open, according to the village. Utilities were restored about a month later.

Hinsdale has received a request to demolish the Italianate house at 720 S. Elm St. It was built in 1927. (Google Maps)

On Jan. 10, Julie Laux, owner of Hinsdale-based J. Jordan Homes, which is expected to build a new house on the lot, emailed the village about the existing home.

"Sadly, the home is in a state of disrepair," Laux said. "No routine repairs and maintenance have been handled at the home for many, many years, causing it to deteriorate into a desperate state."

She encouraged commissioners to walk through the house to see for themselves. Some did.

On Jan. 28, the local fire department conducted a drill at the house, but was called off once the village was made aware. J. Johnson was told to hold off all such activities until a demolition permit was issued.

Days later, a subcontractor dug around the house for a couple of days. After the first instance, it received a warning. The next day, J. Jordan was issued citations.

At the meeting, Commissioner William Haarlow said it was hard to square the July 2020 listing of the house with the home's condition less than two years later. He said it was apparent that the property was intentionally allowed to deteriorate.

"I think we also have encountered issues with J. Jordan in the past, including the stripping of the slate tiles from another home in the historic district," Haarlow said.

In response, Laux said her company told the previous owner that it was unacceptable to strip the house.

"They wanted to sell windows and doors and all kinds of things," Laux said. "This has nothing to do with the Callahans or J. Jordan."

Laux said she had no idea why the window was left open. As for the digging, she said the subcontractor made a mistake.

As for the slate tile roof at 641 S. Elm, she said it was removed before the demolition so that it could be installed on the replacement house. She said her company was cited for removing the roof.

"I was publicly called a criminal, which is a little disturbing," Laux said.

After Laux spoke, the commission's chairman, John Bohnen, asked for a motion on the request for a demolition permit. No one did so.

Under village code, a demolition can proceed only after the commission makes a decision, whether for or against.

Bohnen said the Callahans were not at fault. But he said the commission sees many instances in which the community doesn't show sufficient concern or adherence to the historic preservation code.

"We have the impression that because we are an advisory board that no matter what we say, people say, 'Thank you for the decision,' whether we approve it or not. And they run downstairs and get the demo permit. And it's a little emasculating for us frankly to have to go through that," Callahan said.

He said it was "abusive" for people not to respect historic structures, be coercive with builders and architects, and find every way to get around the code.

"It's not the way we want a town like Hinsdale to behave," Callahan said.

Owner Kevin Callahan and his architect, Michael Abraham, objected, saying the commission should make a decision one way or the other.

Commissioner Jim Prisby said he was upset because he saw the disrepair during a walk-through, which he said was unlike what the earlier video showed.

"It has a lot of things torn out, flooring missing, holes in walls, ceiling and water issues," Prisby said. "Then it surfaced that there was this Facebook video of the house two years previously in what looks like terrific condition. I will tell you it made me angry more than anything else."

But Abraham said the Callahans should not be punished for issues outside their control.

Prisby said later in the meeting that it was unfair to hold up the Callahans.

"They seem like good people who went to the trouble of hiring a good architect," he said.

Haarlow agreed. He moved the commission reject the request for a demolition.

The commissioners voted unanimously for denial, then approved the construction of a new house.

Commissioners Alexis Braden and Shannon Weinberger did not attend.