In December 2014 the Downers Grove Village Council voted
5 to 2 to
approve the Special Use for a multi-family residence to be built at
936-942 Maple Avenue. This vote was preceded by extensive
community efforts aimed at perserving the historic Edwards House, which
was located at 942 Maple and subsequentally demolished. Please click here to read
background information about efforts to preserve the Edwards House.
The Village Council, reacting to our loss of the
historically significant Edwards House, directed its
Staff to prepare
for a Council discussion of potential amendments
to the Zoning Ordinance and Historic Preservation Ordinance.
The Staff drafted a recommended schedule for
the Council's consideration of these potential changes through
October 2015. January
20, 2015, the Council discussed the proposed scope and
recommended
schedule for considering potential amendments to
the Historic Preservation Ordinance
and
Zoning Ordinance.
February 3rd the Council
(Click
here for agenda.) continued its discussion and considered
changes to the Historic Preservation Ordinance as recommended by the
Village Staff.
July 7th the Village Council discussed proposed changes to the
Historic Preservation Ordinance and a proposal to appoint an ad hoc Committee to review changes
to the Historic Preservation and Zoning Ordinances.
A resolution to establish an ad hoc Subcommittee of
the Architectural Design Review Board, a proposed amendment to the
"Purpose of the Comprehensive Plan" and several proposed text changes for
the Zoning Ordinance were given their first readings on July 14th.
Several significant actions were
taken on July 21st.
In addition to approving ordinances to amend the Comprehensive Plan and
the Zoning Ordinance, the Council adopted a resolution
establishing the ad hoc
Subcommittee of the Architectural Design Review Board (ADRB) to review changes to the Historic
Preservation. The Council also approved Mayor Tully's appointments for the seven members
of that Subcommittee.
The working group's initial meeting was held Wednesday, August 5th. You can click here for an audio podcast of this
initial meeting, which lasted just under 3 hours. Click here for the agenda of this initial meeting, which included three separate
opportunities for public comments. You can click here to download the 288 page agenda
packet for this initial meeting from the Village website. Click here to read the ad hoc Subcommittee's powers and
duties.
The second meeting of the ADRB with its ad hoc Subcommittee on Historic
Preservation was held Wednesday, August 19th. You can click here for an audio podcast of this second
meeting, which lasted just under 3 hours. Click here for the agenda of this second
meeting, which included two opportunities for public comments. You can click here to download the 128 page agenda
packet for this second meeting from the Village website.
The third meeting
of the ADRB with its ad hoc
Subcommittee on Historic Preservation was held Wednesday, September 2nd. Please click here to read minutes of this meeting. You can click here for an audio podcast of this third
meeting, which lasted just under 2.5 hours. Click here for the 12 page agenda
packet for this third meeting.
The fourth meeting
of the ADRB with its ad hoc
Subcommittee on Historic Preservation was held Wednesday, September 16th. You can click here for an audio podcast of this fourth
meeting, which lasted just over 2.25 hours. Click here for the 4 page agenda
packet for this fourth meeting.
The fifth meeting of the ADRB with
its ad hoc Subcommittee on
Historic Preservation was held on Wednesday, October 7th. You can click here for an audio podcast of this fifth
meeting, which lasted just over 2 hours 40 minutes. Click here for the 42 page agenda packet for this
fifth meeting.
The ADRB and its ad hoc Subcommittee on Historic
Preservation
finalized their report and recommendations about historic
perservation efforts in Downers Grove at their sixth meeting on
Wednesday, October 21st. Click here for the 17 page Final
Report and Recommendations and
the 100 pages of supporting attachements, including minutes for the
groups' six meetings. You can click here for an audio podcast of the
October 21st meeting, which lasted just under 18 minutes.
The Final Report and Recommendations were presented to the
Village Council on Tuesday, November 3rd and are expected to
be discussed in some detail in December. Please click here
to read the comments of Ken Lerner, Chair of Pierce Downer's Heritage
Alliance on the October 21st Draft Final Report &
Recommendations.
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