November 4, 2008 was a historic day for our country. . . . but many things were decided at the local levels as well. In both Kenilworth and Winnetka, the property rights of owners trumped the preservationists attempts at getting more control over building and zoning laws. My earlier post at(http://activerain.com/blogsview/767471/Kenilworth-Winnetka-Consider-Historic-Preservation-Referendum-on-Nov-4) describes the details of all three measures.
The Kenilworth referendum was defeated with 928 voting against and 531 voting yes. In Winnetka, Referendum #1 was defeated 3734 to 2366, and Referendum #2 was defeated 4903 to 1342.
I'll say it again - as a realtor I'm really torn on this issue. I have seen enough "historic" homes to know that it usually means "outdated." Ten years ago buyers were hot to buy these older properties and restore them, but as the new construction craze took hold in this area I've also seen buyers tending to prefer them over older homes. Full basements with high ceilings, new windows, fully computer wired, dazzling kitchens, and walk-in closets galore - who wouldn't love it. More and more buyers look at the older homes and see money going down the drain with no end in sight.
It just hit home (no pun intended!) with me yesterday. I have an older home requiring updating in Kenilworth that has been on the market for over 2 years (I am the 3rd broker.) A well-known North Shore builder contacted me because he's giving some thought to buying it and rebuilding. Four years ago Kenilworth instituted a 6-month moratorium on tear-downs (ostensibly to research the history of the home); that was increased to nine months with no possibility of submitting plans for permit until the time was up. That was disconcerting to him - did he really want to deal with that? Well, I called the Kenilworth Village Hall and discovered that the moratorium had been increased once again - to 12 months!
I don't think there's a chance that he'll want to wait that long to build. Simply put, the house will continue to sit on the market because the only interested buyer is a builder in a town that discourages them. That's frustrating for me, my sellers, and the community - particularly because this is not a home with any historic value. While I applaud the attempts to preserve some homes with real historic value I know that putting them all under the same umbrella will certainly cause problems in the future.
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