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Wicker Park Couple Loses Battle With City Over Staircase Removal

By Kelly Bauer | August 6, 2015 6:00pm
 George Menninger in front of his home at 1937 W. Evergreen Ave. in Wicker Park.
George Menninger in front of his home at 1937 W. Evergreen Ave. in Wicker Park.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

CHICAGO — A Wicker Park family lost a long battle with the city to have a staircase outside their home removed, but say they may continue to fight for the removal by campaigning to change building codes.

George Menninger and Ann Cheeseman fought the city for months to remove the staircase, which they say is "dangerous," but the Landmark Commission shot down their proposal in a unanimous vote on Thursday. The family needs the commission's approval to remove the stairs because the home is in Wicker Park's Historic Landmark District.

Commission member Mary Ann Smith served as hearing officer, listening to testimony and reviewing evidence during the hearings over the staircase. At Thursday's meeting, she recommended commissioners not approve Menninger and Cheeseman's request to remove the staircase, saying it would be damaging to the home's and district's historical character and would not be in line with the Secretary of Interior's Standards, which are guidelines for preserving and rehabbing historic properties.

The commissioners did not ask questions and there was no discussion before the commission's vote.

Now, Menninger and Cheeseman plan to work with the alderman to change building codes so the stairs are not allowed, which would kick off another battle over the stairs with the city, Menninger said. Those plans are tentative.

The wooden stairs are nearly 10½ feet high and 6 feet wide. They are not original to the home, having been added when the workman's cottage was lifted and made into a two-flat in the early 1900s, but during a July 15, six-hour hearing that Smith described as "Monty Python-like," the city argued they are a significant historic feature. They lead up to a door that is being used as a window.

Cheeseman and Menninger wanted to remove the stairs but preserve the window's appearance of a door to avoid damaging the home's historical character. They had the backing of Ald Joe Moreno (1st) and eight members of the Wicker Park Committee's Preservation and Development subcommittee.

During the July 15 hearing, architects Wayne Zuschlag and Sam Marts testified that removing the stairs would not damage the home's historical character and explained that the stairs are not original to the home, but were added in the early 1900s. Zuschlag also said the stairs were "dangerous" since they are wide, steep and the railings wiggle.

James Peters, an architect who has specialized in preservation and planning and who has worked for the city, testified that removing the stairs would have a "tremendously adverse effect" on the home's historical character based on accepted preservation criteria like the Secretary of Interior's standards.

Menninger said the family expected the commission's Thursday decision because the city's lawyers were better prepared during the hearings and his attorney was not allowed to discuss the safety of the stairs or the fact that three homes in the area have had their outside staircases removed.

At Thursday's meeting, Smith advised Menninger and Cheeseman to work with the city to address the staircase's safety.

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