Likely Teardown Of Hinsdale House 'Tragic': Leader

HINSDALE, IL — The Hinsdale Village Board decided this week to eliminate some red tape in the proposed teardown of a nearly 100-year-old house. In doing so, the village is bypassing a historic preservation review. The village president called the likely teardown "tragic."

In 2017, the homeowner sought a "certificate of appropriateness" for a proposed replacement house at 444 E. Fourth St, but the village's Historic Preservation Commission denied it. At the time, the owner did not obtain a demolition permit, officials said.

Now, the owner is going through the process all over again. Trustee Luke Stifflear said it would be a waste of everyone's time to go through the review when the owner could proceed with the plan no matter what the advisory commission does. He said it didn't seem reasonable to make the owner to go through the process again.

Village President Tom Cauley said the owner tried to sell the home, but was unsuccessful.

"The overriding purpose of (the village's) regulations is to try to slow down the process to see if there is an opportunity to restore homes," Cauley said. "Sadly, this doesn't seem like this is going to happen with this home."

He added, "It's really tragic that someone doesn't want to restore it."

Stifflear said the proposed teardown has received a lot of attention.

"Of any home within the village of Hinsdale, this home has gotten the most press that I've seen in the past five years," he said.

He said given the scrutiny the property has already received, it made no sense to continue the process.

Trustee Scott Banke was the only one to vote against waiving the historic preservation review.

The board had been considering a six-month moratorium for teardowns, but rejected the idea at this week's meeting.