Amid some frustrations regarding the ongoing teardowns of local homes and structures deemed to have some historic value, the Village of Glencoe is considering some changes in its preservation policies.
At the Committee of the Whole Aug. 17 meeting, Glencoe Preservation Commission Chairman Peter Van Vechten formally presented the Village Board with a series of recommendations intended to stem the flow of razing Glencoe homes and further preservation efforts.
Van Vechten said over the last 20 years, Glencoe by percentage has had the highest rate of demolitions of all North Shore communities. Moreover, there have been 835 demolitions starting in 1980 when the village starting tracking the figure through 2022 and 25% of the village’s overall housing stock has been replaced since 1990.
“The landmarks and the significant homes are also disappearing,” Van Vechten said.
To combat this, the Preservation Commission is seeking fresh approaches. Under the village’s historic preservation ordinance, Glencoe currently offers both Certified and Honorary landmark designations.
Honorary designated properties are, according to the city website, recognized for their special character, historical, cultural or architectural significance or its value as part of the development, heritage or culture of the Village, State of Illinois or the United States and as such is worthy of preservation, restoration or rehabilitation. Homes can be nominated by the owner, a commissioner, or 50% of those within the area. If nominated by someone other than the owner, they will be notified in writing.
The Certified designation requires a more detailed application but can benefit the homeowner with potential tax benefits. If the owner of a Certified property wants to make changes to the property, an application for a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Preservation Commission is required, which can be denied.
The commission can stop a demolition of a Certified landmark, which is not the case with the Honorary designation.
Van Vechten said there are 11 certified landmark properties in Glencoe and 84 honorary landmark properties, but 20% of honorary landmarks have been demolished since 1990.
“The process today is not altering what’s happening,” Van Vechten said. “It’s continuing. This is not by design, it is by market forces.”
The Preservation Commission recommendations include incentives for homeowners including reducing permit fees for restorations and renovations on both Certified and Honorary Landmarks. They also suggest requiring an owner or authorized representative to attend a Preservation Commission meeting ahead of that body issuing a demolition permit.
In addition, the Preservation Commission is suggesting lengthening the village’s current demolition permit issuance delay from 180 to 360 days for Honorary landmarks. Glencoe has a shorter issuance delay than many of its neighboring communities, according to village documents.
Finally, the Commission correspondingly recommended an incentive to create a more nuanced zoning approach between projects affecting existing structures and potential new home construction.
Following Van Vechten’s report, the Village Board appeared open to the suggestions.
“We’ve identified the issue and these seem like modest, sensible ways to fix it,” Village President Howard Roin said.
Former Glencoe Village Manager Peter Cummins expressed some reservations about the proposal as a local real estate agent for over 20 years.
“It is a well-intentioned idea but the economics of it and the lifestyle demands of Glencoe’s new and future residents make it a noble cause, but I am not sure there are enough incentives the village can provide to alter the process,” Cummins said after the meeting. “The fact is renovation and preservation costs more than to build new and at the end of the day, you are more likely to have a home that will the needs of today’s buyers. Local governments can only do so much to stop the economic turns of the world.”
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The Village Board is now expected to formally direct zoning-specific related matters tied into the recommendations to the village’s Zoning Commission for further evaluation. Village Board Trustees will have additional discussion at a future meeting before any formal action would be approved.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.