A new plan will soon head to city council about historic preservation in Naperville.
At its Oct. 22 meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission recommended that city council officially review a plan drafted by Naperville Preservation Inc. and report any suggestions to the HPC.
Origins of the plan
In the plan “Progress Through Preservation,” Naperville Preservation analyzed Naperville’s measures to protect its historic structures against those of 29 surrounding cities.
Naperville Preservation concluded that “Naperville could do more,” its website reads. “Our analysis shows that Naperville lags behind many comparable cities.”
The initial review was conducted in 2022, and the plan was updated in 2026 to identify what improvements they’d suggest.
“This plan would not only help protect historic buildings that are currently eligible for landmark designation, but also establish policies so that, once a beloved building reaches 50 years of age, the process of having it designated as a landmark no longer seems so daunting,” the preservation website says.
The preservation plan aims to strengthen the policies, staffing and planning for historic preservation before the city celebrates its bicentennial in 2031.
The plan’s first step recommends increasing city staffing for historic preservation and funding training through the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions.
Historic Preservation commissioners support reviewing plan
Bill Simon, president of Naperville Preservation Inc., told HPC that the organization submitted the plan to the mayor and city council in the spring. They suggested bringing the plan before the HPC to see whether the commissioners would want to review it officially.
“We believe that you, as the Historic Preservation Commission, would naturally be the first body to review recommendations that come out of this plan that would be had. So we recommend that you, the Historic Preservation Commission, request city staff to report back to you with their recommendation for implementing the plan,” Simon said at last week’s HPC meeting.
Commissioner Kerry Malm supported reviewing the plan and officially sending it to city council for their suggestions.
“[Naperville Preservation] had some very good points about what we should be looking at for preservation of different things in Naperville, not just the historic district, but just in general. And it’s very well done, has worked very hard on it, so it should be given consideration to read it, come back with ideas, suggestions, recommendations,” Malm said.
Commissioners unanimously recommended that city council review the plan and report back to the HPC with suggestions.
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