Berteau Development Impetus for Review of Anti-monotony Policy

By Carol Kania Morency

While residents wait to see what will develop on the former Berteau Campus owned by Edward-Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, the hospital released a statement last week that it was evaluating multiple bids for developing the site. On Monday, the city's Development, Planning and Zoning Committee reviewed the anti-monotony policy, which seeks to stamp out the ability of builders to construct the same house over and over.

According to Building Commissioner Bruce Dubiel, the building boom between 1993 and 2003 resulted in about a thousand new homes, as well as the creation of a policy that required builders to change up the look and floor plans of homes in a neighborhood or risk forfeiting their building permit.

“Everyone seemed to like red brick with a black roof and a turret,” Dubiel recalled. 

But, he added, the city did not want to stifle creativity, so at the time it was kept at the policy level and not incorporated into the building code.

“It's like legislating art, and architecture is art,” he said.

Between 2004 and now—and another thousand homes—Dubiel said the threat of a stalled permit was only invoked a few times in order to get a builder to change a roofline, windows or type of brick used.

Although this is a policy, the building code on architectural design does say the design needs to be in keeping with a suburban community and allows any builder denied a permit to appeal to the architectural advisory committee.

Dubiel said he was confident developers do not want to build—and try to sell—the same home again and again. Plans he has seen for the former Berteau campus include many different floor plans and facades.

Also, a potential developer might want to do a land swap with the city, so this would get officials in on the ground floor, so to speak.

“I think we have a lot of control right now,” Dubiel said. Assistant City Manager Mike Kopp reminded the committee that because this is a subdivision over 1 acre, there will be a public hearing on any proposal.

Fifth ward Alderman Scott Levin said his concern was having something enforceable on the books. He wondered if the policy could be placed in the building code, as “insurance.”

Resident Deanne Mazzochi suggested a point system to rate features, with the city assigning extra weight to features it wanted to see. A point system would provide an objective standard, she said. Levin said the committee would look at the idea, but noted it would be a “quantum step forward” from what is currently in place.

Dubiel said the one concern he had about any development at the Berteau campus was the logistical problems that would come if many developers purchased lots and all started building at the same time. The committee acknowledged this, and noted builders cannot be refused permits even if they all submit at the same time. 

Staff will look at working policy into ordinance, and the committee will revisit the issue at its meeting Dec. 9.