Local: Preservation bullies drive off another one
My two cents: Peoria’s litter czar has called it quits. Steve Pierz is sick and tired, mostly tired, of the fight the city’s Historic Preservation Commisstt put him through over his wish to put vinyl siding on a house he owns. Preservationists hate aluminum siding. It violates their sense of aestetics. So, if they manage to get YOUR property declared “historic” — which doesn’t mean anything interesting happened there, it just means that your property is kinda old and can be described as an example of any particular architectural design, or you live in a “historic district”  – then they have the right to tell YOU how you can use your property.
Want to replace your windows? Gotta run it by them. If what they want is more expensive than you can afford, tough. Do it anyway. Case in point:
Earlier this year, Pierz and his wife, Leslie Paulson, petitioned the Historic Preservation Commission for the right to take down the existing aluminum siding on the 528 W. High Street home they are restoring and replace it with vinyl siding. Permission was necessary because the house is located in a historic district. The plan was for Paulson’s father to live in the house, which is just a couple of doors down from their own home.
In July the commission turned down their request, preferring that the siding be replaced with wooden siding similar to what had originally fronted the house. Pierz said the decision was arbitrary because the commission had approved similar siding requests on previous occasions, including one on the same street.
Well, they sued the city. Eventually the Peoria City Council settled and said they don’t have to put up the wooden shingles if it would cost more than $30,000. Since the wood shingles would cost $70,000, they are off the hook. But the estimate for the vinyl siding has gone up from $10,000 to $30,000.
Pierz got the message. He quit the city and he’s going to stick to doing public service through his church, which is probably a smart thing to do, considering he’s apparently made too many enemies by trying to clean up litter and take care of his properties.
I would almost suggest that Pierz punish the city by renting 10 drunken college students, but the people who attacked him have proven again and again they they don’t care about neighborhoods and the people who live in them as much as they do making sure that when they drive THROUGH struggling neighborhoods on the way to someplace better, they can look at older buildings without having their dainty sensibilities offended.
Members of the Historic Preservation Commission need to dissuade themselves of any notion they have that they are making the city better. They are not. Peoria needs people like Steve Pierz, and losing him and people like him is a predictible result of pushing people around simply because you have the power to do so.
“Oh, good heavens, dahling. Look at that crackhouse. The owner occupied home next to it has VINYL SIDING! Simply ghastly.
I agree Peoria needs historic preservation. So what happens when historic preservations colides with property rights? Where’s the line? I dunno, but these people have crossed it. They think their job is to take the city into a long legal battle to keep a homeowner from replacing aluminum siding with vinyl siding. They need to be reigned in. Peoria needs people like Steve Pierz fighting litter on behalf of older neighborhoods more than it needs the Historic Preservation Commission, especially if they keep doing dumb things like this.
I say disband the group, and replace them with people less prone to mission drift.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:55 am
They also are known to wait till the last minute before a sale of a property to want to declare it historic. Not all-old property is historic. They have waited till the eleventh hour to come in on a project. Case in point is the current special meeting of the 12th regarding the old AMVETS building on Monroe. Just prior to the sale, they have come in and want it preserved. In this case they are keeping a three to four million-dollar expansion from happening for the church to expand their worship area. The building is old, built in 1916 but it also has problems and anyone that purchases the building should tear it down and put a new building there. It is not ADA compliant and there is no way to make it so unless major expansion is done from the outside. The expansion would not be to the standards that the commission would approve. I love old buildings and homes but not to the point they are taking it. My home was built in 1856 and is old but not historic. They should be there to advise the owner not to dictate to them.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:58 am
They also never ask the owner if they would like it to be declared historic. They just let you know by mail a week before the meeting. The owner should have the right to not want a site declared historic before any process is planned.
November 10th, 2008 at 8:03 am
I agree with what your saying for the most part. I too live in a hundred year old home and can fully appreciate it’s history but I couldn’t afford to jump through hoops for any organization that want’s to make it hard on me. Improvements are just that, improvements and unless I’m attempting to install neon lighting or paint it bright purple they need to back off. It’s a moot point because I’m not in the historic district but you would think that by declaring it a historical site that would entitle him to some type of grants or special loans for improvements. Maybe a little discount at the local hardware? Something!
Regardless… running off decent home owners will only make it impossible to rebound from what this city has allowed themselves to become and that is a haven for the socially inept, dependent on public housing and other welfare programs. They keep pushing and they are going to run out of people to push around. Bravo Council members… bravo
November 10th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Billy says: “I would almost suggest that Pierz punish the city by renting 10 drunken college students,” …….
or perhaps just “one drunken city council member.”
November 10th, 2008 at 9:38 am
How can the cost of vinyl siding go up 50% in a matter of months?
November 10th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I take a much less hard line approach when the property is declared historic after the owner has possession. But 528 W High was sold on 10/1/2007 and the West Bluff historic district has been on the National Register of Historic places since 1976. He knew what he was getting into. If you don’t want to play by the rules of the community, don’t buy in. You want the benefit of living in an area with tightened restrictions, but you don’t want to do your part. That is not very neighborly.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Mitch says the AMVETS building was built in 1916 and “is not ADA compliant.”
Name me any building that old that is ADA-compliant (without modification) by today’s standards. If only ADA-compliant old buildings can be preserved, we’ll never preserve anything.
However, I agree with you that the timing of the AMVETS historic preservation request is a problem.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am
beancounter,
did you miss the part where the story outlines the same siding he requested was used in the same neighborhood? in that context, he was not asking for anything that the “rules” AS THEY WERE ADMINISTERED allowed.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Who are the members of the Historic commission? Who appoints them?
November 10th, 2008 at 10:23 am
*clap*clap*clap*
Spot on, Bill.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Heck, in this town of Caterpillar, anything and everything should be torn down, right?
Peoria has no sense of history. If we had kept our historical buildings through the years, the Museum Square would not have even been brought up. I mean, that beauty of a Becker building sure beats the sh*t out of the Palace Theatre, right? Any charm and individuality that Peoria ever had was flushed straight down the crapper over the past couple generations… but, like I said before, you don’t sell a whole lot of tractors when you remake and remodel historic buildings.
Tractors KNOCK DOWN buildings, of course. Gotta keep that big Yellow Giant happy… so more union jobs can be sent to China.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Let’s knock down all the old buildings and make paved parking lots or prefab buildings. Then Peoria can change its name to East Peoria II or Creve Coeur II. Oh, oops, we already have that look. It’s called University at War Memorial. How charming! Draws tons of tourists from Europe, slumming of course. Kind of like we urban dwellers might take a day trip to certain parts of Mason County.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Elaine:Did you even bother to readthe post or the article. No one is knocking down anything.
Historic preservation is one thing, but in the end buildings exist to serve people, not the other way around.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Steve has done a great job on the litter matter . I’m sure the neighborhood people hate to lose him. I have seen a huge different in the city wide litter issues . However i feel the neighbors who have been fighting the litter will keep on doing the great work they have all done before Steve came into the mix of it all. But he did an awesome job and i thank him .. Our Mayor also has been there to support Steve . I’m sure some one will step up and carry on the fight.. Good luck Steve, and keep in touch , you did a great job..
November 10th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Mamma Hen: We cannot keep driving away people with all this nonsense and keep expecting someone to comealong and pick up the slack. Peoria has to stoppunishing people for wanting to fix up their properties because the way they want to fix them up doesn’t comply with well-connected clique’s rarified sense of style.
It’s not a chose between vinyl and wood shingle siding. It’s a choice between vinyl and no improvements at all.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
No, it’s a choice of never moving into the house, if you know that you’re gonna have to own up to the rules. Steve-o decided that the rules shouldn’t apply to him, and the city caved in for him. If you can’t deal with the rules, don’t buy the DAMNED HOUSE.
And, Billy, someone WILL knock down the Amvets Building if the historic folks don’t grant it historic status. We ARE talking about knocking things down now, aren’t we?
November 10th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Why did vinyl go up in price? That siding is made from oil. Oil skyrockets, so will vinyl at some point.
Sorry but I have little sympathy. We have been through this before. Vinyl does degrade the visual appearance of a neighborhood and will impact home values over the long term. The $70,000 figure also seems inflated. One wonders if Mr. Pierz would put vinyl on his own home; a very nice flemish design which is stone/brick. The costs of tuck pointing is very very expensive and heaven help him if he needs to replace some of the stones/bricks. Would Mr. Pierz or even the other readers here find the vinyl to improve his home? I think not.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I live in an older home that has been “upgraded” to vinyl. At one spot I can see the beautiful old wooden siding. If I had the money I would tear down the vinyl. It looks like crap. It cracks. It doesn’t fit snugly. It covers up architectural details. The preservation committee is doing it’s job by denying it. Just because previous allowances have been made from vinyl and aluminum doesn’t mean the mistake should continue.
November 10th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
A couple of things I learned from Frank Lewis….after the fact:
1. have someone help you with and test the ratio of silicate sand, portland cement and dye on your mortar;
2. buy your own sets of scaffolding (Biljax) from a rental place for $100 a section and then sell it for the same price when you are done finished with the project. You will get your money back in full and you will actually enjoy the work because you can safely set a chair or stool on the scaffolding;
3. rather than painting wood siding, scrape it and stain it. It will fade and weather, but never peel. That way you won’t ever have to worry about tickets from the city and scraping paint ever again. If you don’t like scraping, you can just scrape the loose stuff (USE A CARBIDE BLADE rather than steel – they cost 3 times as much, but are worth every penny) and stain over it. Over the years, more of the old paint will loosen up to where you can brush it off.
4. never use vinyl or metal siding. It traps condensation and any leaks behind it and rots out the wood, also attracting termites.
Communities benefit collectively from the historical exterior of homes. But the costs are born individually. The owners of such home need the shared expertise of people like Frank Lewis and the collective elbow grease to get the jobs done. I purchased scaffolding and shared it with a number of home owners. Frank Lewis and Gary Sandberg owned scaffolding also and shared theirs too.
November 10th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
He’s covering aluminum for crying out loud. If nothing else a variance should be available in such situations.
November 10th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
you will actually enjoy the work because you can safely set a chair or stool on the scaffolding;
Chase,
You are right. Painting (or staining) holds an intrinsic pleasure. It puts one in touch with nature’s cycle of decay and renewal. The strokes of the brush or roller are relaxing and satisfying as one watches the fresh, bright medium being spread over a dull, corrupted surface. Vinyl and aluminum, I’m glad you point out, trap moisture and encourage pests. Our vinyl sided house has had termites recently. These fabrics also presents a false sense of permanence, something that doesn’t exist in nature.
November 10th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Yes, oil did sky rocket. Now it apparently fizzled, down from $140 a barrel to $60+. About the same as Caterpillar stock prices. Skyrocketed and fizzled.
CEO Bryant said Methodist will wait for prices to come down in construction. Mark Johnson says “build the museum now as costs have already risen 15%, and will keep rising”.
Interesting contradictions when both are on the museum committee.
November 10th, 2008 at 11:26 pm
Elaine…..please don’t insult my favorite “parts” of Mason County. I love it down there. They have lots trees that hopefully will never be bulldozed by a Maloof developer, they have a larger lagoon where you can fish and not have to worry about getting threatened or robbed, where kids actually walk on the side of the road and dont call you a cracker mother****** when you pass by them and down there they seem to be less pretentious and arrogant than the typical urban dweller. Dont be afraid to leave the comfort zone of Peoria and tour Mason county.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:14 am
[deleted]
November 11th, 2008 at 6:51 am
The craziness continues! At yesterday’s City Council meeting, Barbara VanAukin pushed through the designation of a strip of grass on Hamilton Blvd. as an historic landmark, despite the disaproval of the neighborhood, local church and business leaders. The Historic Commission is full of people who are drunk with their own authority and have a need to push their ideas down YOUR throat. The councilmembers are willing to play along for votes, and we keep electing leaders who don’t care much for the typical working person. Too bad for the average voter who can’t afford this stupidity.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:43 am
In before the lock!