Hinsdale Home Demolitions Upset Officials

HINSDALE, IL — Too many historic homes are being demolished in Hinsdale and something needs to be done to slow the pace, the village president said Tuesday. He suggested a six-month moratorium on demolitions while the village drafts regulations that would place more hurdles.

In a meeting Wednesday, the village's historic preservation commission is set to vote on the demolitions of three large, older homes — 716 S. Oak St., 419 S. Oak St. and 641 S. Elm St.

Village President Tom Cauley said the village probably can do nothing to stop the demolitions of the three homes, but he said officials can encourage the owners to change course. Residents, he said, are buying lots with older homes with the intention of tearing them down and building new ones.

"I want the board to know about this," Cauley said at the village board's regular meeting. "When all these homes are gone, they are gone. There's nothing we can do to bring them back."

He suggested the village set more rules to demolish homes, as he said the North Shore suburbs do. He recalled walking by one of the houses set to be demolished when he first came to Hinsdale, adding the village "truly loses something when we tear down those homes."

"I'm not saying to never demolish a historic home. They have property rights," Cauley said. "But there have to be some obstacles, not insurmountable."

Jim Prisby, a member of the historic preservation commission, said the entity has no enforcement powers, but he said the village could provide more education to owners of historic homes. As for the three on Wednesday's agenda, he said, "There's nothing we can do to prevent them from coming down."

Another commission member, Alexis Braden, said a moratorium would be a good place to start.

"I want to see these homes preserved. I live on First Street, and we are seeing a real gem come down," she told the board. "The longer we wait, we're going to lose more homes."

Village board members suggested the homeowners at least consider keeping the homes' facades — an idea that Cauley said he liked.

While Cauley suggested focusing the moratorium on the Robbins Park Historic District — where many of the demolitions are taking place — others said they village should look at other neighborhoods as well.

The historic preservation commission is set to meet at 6:30 p.m Wednesday at Memorial Hall, 19 E. Chicago Ave. The packet of information on the demolitions is on the village's website.