City of Naperville Historic Preservation Commission met Jan. 27.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
A. CALL TO ORDER:
B. ROLL CALL:
Present: Franczyk, Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Kelly (non-voting), Sack (non-voting), Urda, and Wills
Absent: Fawell, Fessler, and Ory
A motion was made by Commissioner Urda and seconded by Commissioner Garrison to allow Councilman Kelly to attend the meeting by electronic means due to personal illness as allowed under the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Section 2-1-9 of the Naperville City Code.
Aye: Franczyk, Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Urda, and Wills
Nayes: None
C. PUBLIC FORUM:
Dorris Wood spoke in opposition to the proposed Landmark
Designation request during public forum.
D. OLD BUSINESS:
E. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS
1. Conduct the public hearing to consider a request to designate the property located at 34 South Washington Street (Kroehler YMCA) as a landmark in accordance with Section 6-11-3 (Designation of Landmarks) of the Naperville Municipal Code - HPC 21-4482
Becky Simon, Jane Burke and Joe McElroy presented as the
Applicant and representatives of Naperville Preservation, Inc. They presented on topics including why the subject property should be a local landmark, the history, architects, landmark criteria, prior local cases of adaptive reuse, prior publications on the subject property, and other adaptive reuse YMCAs.
Commissioner Urda asked why criterion 2.2.2 (That it has a direct connection to an important event in national, State or local history) was not included.
Becky Simon responded that this was an error.
Allison Laff, Deputy Director of TED Business Group, asked why criterion 2.2.4 (That it represents the notable work of a builder, designer or architect whose individual work has substantially influenced the development of the community) was excluded from the presentation.
Becky Simon said excluding this criterion was also an error.
Scott Day, attorney at Day & Robert, PC representing the Property Owner, requested that six new exhibits be entered into the record.
Day also asked Becky Simon if Exhibit 1 was sent from her through Naperville Preservation, Inc.
Becky Simon responded that it was Naperville Preservation. Inc.’s letter.
Scott Day asked the Applicant if any of the other Naperville examples shown were forcibly landmarked and if any of the YMCA adaptive reuse properties.
Jane Burke responded that Old Main and Old City Hall were too old to be landmarked at the time of reuse and that Old Nichol’s Library was not landmarked by the owner.
Becky Simon responded that they did not know of any of the YMCA adaptive reuse examples that were forcibly landmarked.
Commissioner Urda asked if Scott Day knew of any forcibly landmarked YMCAs.
Scott Day responded that he did not know and that he was concerned with the economics of adaptive reuse. Day also noted that the Commission can still recommend denial if the criteria are met.
Allison Laff noted Section 6-11-3 describes procedures for owners that are not the applicants.
Scott Day, Day & Robert, P.C., Basil Fitzsimons, Vice President Real Estate and Facilities at the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, Jeffrey Lietz, Vice President of Commercial Architecture at Charles Vincent George Architects, and Laura Visher DeSimone, Vice Chair for the Board of Advisors at Naperville YMCA presented representing the Property Owner. They discussed topics including the reasons they request denial of the landmark designation, deferred maintenance, the RFQ process, architectural features of the building, prior studies done on historic buildings in Naperville, an appraisal done on the property, and the impact of YMCA on residents.
Commissioner Urda asked if the Kroehler YMCA resembled other YMCAs visited by Jeffery Lietz.
Jeffery Lietz responded that the Kroehler YMCA was not similar in style to other YMCAs visited.
Commissioner Urda asked why the additions to the building were shown in the cost estimates.
Jeffery Lietz responded that the 2013 estimates were done to show the costs for renovation of the building for a YMCA use.
Chairman Jacks asked if anyone has expressed interest in saving a portion of the building.
Scott Day noted that the three finalists were not looking for adaptive reuse.
Commissioner Urda asked for clarification on the deferred maintenance.
Basil Fitzsimons responded that the costs shown are over the lifetime of the building which was done in 2019 and that the costs would be more today, but the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago has done some maintenance on the building including the roof.
Commissioner Urda asked for further information about the environmental contamination on the site.
Basil Fitzsimons noted the site will need to be remediated, but the extent of how far the contamination has traveled on the site is unknown.
Marilyn Schweitzer asked what Scott Day meant by “recreate” the YMCA and if there will be another YMCA added.
Scott Day responded that the term “recreate” was used because the request would require landmarking only the original structure resulting in returning to the original structure which is different than what exists today. Day also noted he was unsure if there will be another YMCA, but that the revenue from the sale will go back to fund the YMCAs mission.
Philip Buchanan asked if any developers specialize in adaptive reuse.
Scott Day was unsure if there were any developers specialized in adaptive reuse.
Public Testimony:
Marilyn Schweitzer spoke in support of the landmark request.
Bill Simon spoke in support of the landmark request.
Philip Buchanan spoke in support of the landmark request.
Peter Fissinger spoke in opposition of the landmark request.
Tim Messer spoke in support of the landmark request.
Signe Gleason spoke in support of the landmark request. Signe also read a statement from Karen Solomon in support for the landmark request.
Scott Day provided closing comments and requested the landmark designation be denied.
Becky Simon provided closing comments and noted that the request meets the criteria and should be approved.
A motion was made by Commissioner Urda and seconded by Commissioner Franczyk to close the public hearing for HPC 21-4482.
Aye: Franczyk, Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Urda, and Wills
Nays: None
All Commissioners agreed that structure sought to be landmarked is at least 50 years in whole or in part.
The Commission noted that there was little discussion or evidence presented related to this criterion found in Section 2.2.1 (Does the evidence that has been provided show that the structure sought to be Landmarked was owned or occupied by a person of historic significance in national, State, or local history?).
Commissioner Urda agreed that 2.2.1 was not met.
Commissioner Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, Urda and Wills found that the criterion in Section 2.2.1 was not met.
Commissioner Urda mentioned that evidence has shown that criterion in Section 2.2.2 (That it has a direct connection to an important event in national, State or local history) is met including numerous references to local events and that Naperville is the first community YMCA outside of Chicago.
Commissioner Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, Urda and Wills found that the criterion in Section 2.2.2 is met.
Commissioner Garrison did not believe the architectural style of the building was distinctive in response to Section 2.2.3 (Does the evidence that has been provided show that the structure sought to be Landmarked embodies the distinguishing characteristics of an architectural period, style, method of construction, or use of indigenous materials?).
Commissioner Urda agreed that it was a difficult point, but he would support that the criterion in Section 2.2.3 is met based on the graphics provided by Marylin Schweitzer showing a consistent YMCA architectural style.
Commissioner Franczyk found that Section 2.2.3 was not met with this case.
Commissioner Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, and Wills found that the criterion in Section 2.2.3 was not met.
Commissioner Urda found that the criterion in Section 2.2.3 was met.
Commissioner Urda found that the subject building is a notable work of architects for the YMCA building in response to the criterion found in Section 2.2.4 (Does the evidence that has been provided show that the structure sought to be Landmarked represents the notable work of a builder, designer or architect whose individual work has substantially influenced the development of the community?). Commissioner Urda did not have concerns with partial demolition as that happened with the Little Friends building.
Commissioner Franczyk agreed that the Naperville YMCA is consistent with the general YMCA architectural style. However, she noted that the Naperville YMCA is the most lackluster of all examples shown. She had concerns with tearing down a portion of the building and what may remain. She did not find that the criterion found in Section 2.2.4 was met. She does not like the idea of tearing a building down; however, she supports the greater mission of the YMCA.
Garrison noted that the Commission needs to keep the bar high. He did not feel that the petition provided evidence in support of 2.2.4.
Commissioner Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, and Wills found that the criterion in Section 2.2.4 was not met.
Commissioner Urda found that the criterion in Section 2.2.4 was met.
In response to discussion about the criterion found in Section 2.2.5 (Does the evidence that has been provided show that the structure sought to be Landmarked is included in the National Register of Historic Places?), staff confirmed that the property is included in the National Register.
Commissioner Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, Urda, and Wills found that the criterion in Section 2.2.5 was met.
In response to a prompt to discuss whether the Property Owner has responded to the Landmark Application and the nature of the response Commissioner Urda noted that Scott Day presented a detailed case and will get a good hearing before the City Council.
Donna Sack noted that “re-creation” is a commonly known term in preservation. Naperville’s example is the Pre-Emption House at Naper Settlement.
The Commission did not make any other Findings of Fact relevant to the Application for Landmarking.
Commissioner Franczyk noted that landmarking this property sets a dangerous precedent. She does not agree with landmarking.
Commissioner Urda noted that the HPC is only a recommending body; the City Council will make the final decision. He supported the landmarking as history is important. Commissioner Urda noted support for a recommendation of approval, as the criteria were met.
Commissioner Garrison noted that he was hard pressed to recommend designation of this structure. His opinion was that the facts presented only meet the minimum standard, which made it hard for him to support.
Chairman Jacks stated he struggled to recommend this building.
Chairman Jacks noted that after demolition, there is little historic structure left. He has not heard a lot of great feedback about the re-use of the Old Nichols site; the commercial space has also been difficult to rent. He doesn’t believe the outcome was great and should be considered when reviewing this request.
A motion was made by Commissioner Garrison and seconded by Commissioner Franczyk to approve HPC Landmark Designation Request 21-4482 to designate the property located at 34 S. Washington Street (the Kroehler YMCA) as a Historic Preservation Commission Meeting Minutes January 27, 2022 landmark in accordance with Section 6-11-3 (Designation of Landmarks) of the Naperville Municipal Code.
Aye: Urda
Nays: Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Franczyk, and Wills
F. REPORTS
1. Approve the minutes of the July 22, 2021, Historic Preservation Commission meeting
A motion was made by Commissioner Garrison seconded by Commissioner Urda to approve the meeting minutes of the July 22, 2021, Historic Preservation Commission meeting.
Aye: Franczyk, Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Urda, and Wills
Nays: None
G. NEW BUSINESS:
H. ADJOURNMENT:
A motion was made by Commissioner Franczyk seconded by Commissioner Garrison to adjourn the January 27, 2022, Historic Preservation Commission meeting at 10:48 pm.
Aye: Franczyk, Garrison, Chairman Jacks, Urda, and Wills
Nays: None
https://www.darien.il.us/getattachment/fa84eb4d-9005-4b67-9394-f8582eab53f1/Darien-City-Council-Meeting-March-7,-2022.aspx
Alerts Sign-up