Incentives Eyed For Owners Of Hinsdale Historic Homes

HINSDALE, IL — The Hinsdale Village Board is looking at new regulations for historic homes that the village president describes as offering plenty of carrots and just one stick.

Earlier this month, the village's Plan Commission took input from the public on a proposed six-month moratorium on demolitions of historic homes while the village considers the new rules. The village took notice of the issue because preservationists became alarmed about the pace of destruction of historic homes.

At the Plan Commission meeting, many residents opposed a moratorium, saying it would impact their property rights. They said they should have the right to tear down their homes. Others contended new regulations were needed to protect the town's historic character.

At last week's Village Board meeting, Village President Tom Cauley noted some moratorium proponents said when their parents move out of the old homes, they want to get a return on their investment.

"That's their family fortune," Cauley said. "They are concerned about their property rights and rightly so."

At the board meeting, the village looked at a proposed ordinance to change historic preservation regulations. Trustees had been considering the idea of a moratorium, but they now appear to want to avoid such a measure and simply draft new regulations.

One of the main features of the changes is a property tax rebate for those who get historic designations for their homes. The village, Cauley said, would return its portion of the property tax bill — about 8 percent — to the homeowners.

Under the proposed regulations, the village also would relax floor area ratio requirements and setbacks for owners of historic landmark homes who build backyard additions, Cauley said. Regulatory processes for landmark homes would be sped up under the proposed rules.

The one stick would be that the village could delay a demolition of a home for six months while it encouraged homeowners to consider other options.

When one trustee said public input was nearly evenly split between proponents and opponents of the moratorium, Cauley said a tie should go to those concerned for their property rights.

"It's easy for others to say that I want my neighbor to keep his house and I don't care how that financially impacts him," Cauley said.

Another reason why many people want to tear down homes, he said, is that the interiors are rundown in many cases.

Trustee Gerald Hughes said he liked the focus on incentives.

"We're going down the right path," he said. "Is it enough? That is something I've struggled with for a long time. Do we have enough in this basket of incentives to make a difference?"

Cauley responded said he couldn't think of anything else that the village could offer the owners of landmark homes.

Village officials said they were months away from a vote on new historic preservation regulations.