Hinsdale resident Howard Dean recently sold his family home to escape what he calls a “monstrosity” that was built next door, an overlarge house that he said dwarfed his and diminished his property’s value.
So, he took drastic, expensive, measures to protect his investment in his new house on South Oak Street when the house next door went up for sale.
“I bought the home myself,” he said. “I’m the proud owner of two homes. I lost 30 percent off the original asking price on my last home because of that huge house next door. I didn’t want that to happen again.”
Buying two homes is not a common way to combat “teardowns,” the phenomenon of small, older homes being torn down and replaced with larger, more expensive homes.
At a recent, packed village Plan Commission meeting, Citizens of Hinsdale Advocating Responsibility in Teardowns proposed zoning changes they believe will control the practice.
The practice, they say, affects infrastructure, property values and community character, and impedes socioeconomic diversity by pricing people out of the housing market.
The group, which has more than 700 members, pushed through zoning changes in 1995. Its newest idea is to reduce the allowable ratio of the size of the house to its lot.
The group’s proposal is to use a graduated formula to determine house size. For example, current zoning requirements allow a 10,000-square-foot house to be built on a 30,000-square-foot lot; the proposed graduated rate would allow a 6,750-square-foot house on that lot.
“We don’t believe the one-size-fits-all standard works,” said Calvin Brown of the citizens group. “Our formula wouldn’t allow for the construction of institution-size homes but would create substantial, marketable structures.”
The group also proposed reducing minimum house size to 2,600 square feet from 2,900 on Hinsdale’s smallest lots, and reducing the minimum house height on the narrowest lots to 30 feet from 34. Under the proposal, houses could still be built to a maximum height of 40 feet.
Planner George Kisiel told the commission that hiring a planner and developing a comprehensive plan would provide for changing needs, such as increasing school enrollment.
The group also suggested applying compatibility standards to residences as well as businesses.
“Why don’t we have the same compatibility standards for homes that we do to the Shell station on Ogden Avenue?” asked Dale Kleber, the group’s chairman.
In the last decade, 571 homes have been demolished in Hinsdale.
Kleber said some suburbs are patterning their communities after “neo-traditional” areas such as Hinsdale, where there is a mix of housing on small lots surrounding parks and playgrounds, and where shops and public transportation are within walking distance.
“This is a quality-of-life issue,” said Kleber. “It’s not just about bricks and mortar.”
The Plan Commission is hearing input on teardowns as part of a review of zoning laws and will make a recommendation to the board in January.
