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From the

Chicago Sunday Tribune

JANUARY 23, 1949

VILLAGE CODE ALLOWS ONLY HAPPY HOMES

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Zone Law Strict in Westchester

BY RAY ELLIS

(One of a series on land use, home, building, and municipal problems of the suburbs.  This is the second of two stories on Westchester.)

“A happy home owner means a good citizen,” said William C Riley, president of the village of Westchester, “and Westchester wants and needs both.”

The 24 year old village numbered 621 persons occupying approximately 150 buildings in 1940.  Today its residents total more than 3,000 in 877 living units, a growth of nearly sixfold in the last third of its existence.  More than 100 residences are under construction.

Investment in Happiness

“Young persons must put u most of their life savings in the majority of instances, when they buy a home,” Riley continued, “and Westchester recognizes that.”

“If their home doesn’t meet the standards they thought they were buying, they’re going to be disappointed and angry.  They’re going to try and find a home somewhere else.

“We believe a home should be bought to live in and not to sell so we have adopted a building code which will let both the village and the buyer know what he is getting.”

How well the village is succeeding may be determined from builders who are active in the community.  One pointed out village building code specifications exceed nation-wide standards established by FHA.

Is He Surprised!

Another said the building inspector frequently drops in to a builder’s office to tell him he is running out of certain materials even before the contractor is aware of it.

Recently a builder attempted to install inside oil storage tanks in the yard of a home he was constructing.  He was promptly stopped and had to wait several weeks before he could get delivery on the required types.

Village officials have a ready answer to any complaints of builders.

Willing To Modify

“Our code is based on standards,” Riley said, “rather than arbitrary specifications.  Though many code sections list specific materials or types of construction they are subject to modifications.  If the board of trustees can be shown some other method is as good or better.”

This was done, he explained, in the case of a builder who wanted to use dry wall construction rather than lath and plaster.  Trustees conducted a three months’ investigation which included analysis of reports from building commissioners throughout the country, questioning of manufacturers, and a laboratory report from the bureau of fire underwriters.  The dry wall type was approved.

Another provision recently modified was that calling for full basements.  This is primarily a health measure, Riley explained, to insure warm floors for small children.  When a builder proposed to erect home on slab but with radiant heating in the floor this automatically eliminated any objections.

Solid Construction

Other building provision include 1 by 2 foot footings, 12 inch foundation walls extending to 1^st floor joists, steel “I” beam cross-span, 2 by 10 inch floor joists, and steel lintels over windows.

One story, 4 room homes must have a minimum of 900 square feet, 5 rooms, 1,050 square feet, and 6 rooms 1,200 square feet.  A 2 story home must have a minimum of 600 square feet per floor.  A 1 ½ story home is required to have 840 square feet on the 1^st floor and 2d floor dormers must be installed and utilities roughed in.

As a health measure the village also requires the bedroom in a 1 bedroom home be a minimum of 160 square feet and in a 2 bedroom unit one must be at least 140 square feet and the other 120.

Explains Stand

Village officials deny the code is unreasonable.  FHA standards are based on nation-wide averages but our home must stand the rigors of warm summers and cold winters, one said.

Among hindrances to construction in the village in the ‘30s and early ‘40s were deed restrictions covering virtually every piece of property in the community, the majority running to 1970.  These in effect were zoning and building ordinances.

They set minimum dollar values for construction and also specified the type of structure to be erected.

The dollar values first were upset by falling building costs; later by rising costs.  Changing public opinion which preferred homes to apartments also rendered the building type restrictions impractical.

Adopts Zoning Law

To remedy these situations the building code was enacted in the late ‘30s, amended in 1945, and revised in 1946.  In 1942 a zoning ordinance was adopted which ignored deed restrictions.

Whereas deed restrictions set aside more than half the community for apartment and business use with only about 40 per cent for single family residences, the new ordinance completely reversed the situation.

Approximately 88 per cent of the village was zoned single family residence and the remainder set aside for 2 family residences, 2 to 6 family apartments, office residential, business, and light industry.

Village Forced To Act

“We had no alternative,” said Ralph H Allison, former zoning board of appeals chairman who served on the committee which drew up the zoning ordinance with co-operation of the Chicago Regional Planning association.

“The village was hamstrung by deed restrictions which were private contracts between individuals and not enforceable by the village.  There was quite a discussion on whether the ordinance would be valid.  So far there has been no litigation and areas which for years were barren now blossom with homes.”

The village also adopted an ordinance prohibiting single family homes on lots of less than 50 foot frontage.  This ordinance has been copied by several other Chicago area communities including Lincolnwood, Morton Grove, Skokie, Winthrop Harbor, and Park Ridge.

Make Few Exceptions

The ordinance permits building on lots of less than 50 feet only if the owner posses the lot at the time the ordinance was enacted and cannot reasonably acquire additional frontage.

Subdividers must install streets, curbs, gutters, sewers, sidewalks, and trees.

The village also has a street ordinance requiring new installations be of superior construction with a bond guaranteeing work done to specifications.

The village inherited from its founders a complete dual sewer system with sanitary sewers averaging 10 inches and storm sewers 12 to 15 inches.  The village is in the sanitary district which last year installed additional pumping facilities tripling the capacity.

Storms Cause Trouble

Occasionally during bad weather storms sewers back up but village officials say this is because Addison creek, the sewers’ outlet, needs dredging.  The state began to dredge the creek last year at request of Proviso township municipalities but work was halted with the change in administration, officials say.

Early in the ‘40s the Westchester Home Owners association was formed with any property owner eligible for membership.

Recently the association protested when a builder announced plans to build only one story houses in one block.  As a result the builder has agreed to build one 1½, and two story houses in the blues.

Village Pays Way

Village leaders are thankful for the foresight their leaders showed early in ‘40s when they requested the state’s attorney to institute foreclosure proceedings.  At the time more than 5,000 parcels of land were delinquent in taxes and special assessments totaling between 6 and 7 million dollars.  There were judgments against the village.

By 1945 the delinquencies had been taken care of and the property was back on the tax rolls.

Westchester stood ready to welcome the post-war builder.