River Forest homeowners who have sat through two commission meetings and mailed dozens of certified letters just to get approval for an exterior paint color or a new garage door may eventually get a break. The Historic Preservation Commission is rewriting the village's 2016 landmark ordinance to create a faster, simpler review process — but three sections remain unfinished and no Village Board vote has been scheduled.

The biggest change under the proposed rewrite: most Certificate of Appropriateness applications would be handled by a new two-member Architectural Review Subcommittee instead of requiring a full commission meeting. Under the current ordinance, homeowners must attend two commission meetings held a month apart, creating a 60-day minimum timeline that has drawn open complaints.

The frustration is not abstract. At the commission's April 30 meeting, homeowner Vito Ippolito of 236 Keystone told commissioners that his garage demolition application required approximately 90 certified mailings at a cost of more than $1,000. He called the notification requirements "unduly burdensome." A separate applicant withdrew their application over the same concerns. Commission Chair David Franek told Ippolito that if the amendments were adopted, many of those notification costs may no longer apply.

The commission voted 6-0 on April 30 to recommend the rewrite to the Village Board in principle, pending final review by the village attorney and Franek. Commissioners continued refining language at their June 25 meeting, where the draft still showed three unfinished sections highlighted in yellow. Demolitions of principal structures and landmark properties would still require full commission review under the proposed rules.

The commission has worked through successive drafts across at least eight meetings since September 2025. The Village Board must vote to adopt the rewrite before it takes effect. No hearing date has been announced.

Residents can submit written comments on Historic Preservation Commission agenda items by emailing Deputy Clerk Luke Masella at [email protected]. Meetings are held at Village Hall, 400 Park Avenue, and are accessible via Zoom at Meeting ID 854 5693 2628.