ABSTRACT
Facade rebate programs have become popular in American communities as a way of encouraging the rehabilitation of older business districts as a stimulus to economic revitalization. The basic test for securing rebates is compliance with the design guidelines of the program. These guidelines, established before the program goes into effect and intended to lead participants in design decisions, are constantly tested and reworked as projects progress. In effect, design review becomes a continuous process of questioning of the original meaning of the guidelines, how the guidelines are being applied in specific projects, and what the guidelines may mean in the future. In order to better understand the dynamics of this process, the facade rebate program in Wilmette, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, was studied over a three-year period, from inception to expiration. This study examined facade rebate programs in Chicago and other suburbs for comparison of design guidelines and program organization. Interviews were conducted with participants in the Wilmette program. Project material in the files of the Wilmette Economic Development Department and the minutes of the various review boards were reviewed. This study has suggested several conclusions as to the nature of design guidelines and the design review process. First, architects often complain of the controls placed upon them by guidelines and review boards;(I) however, this study indicates that design professionals are often in full control of the process from the writing of the design guidelines to preparing preliminary designs to interpreting guidelines to chairing design review boards. Second, both architects and design review boards will use or revert to using historic precedent to establish a fixed point of reference for acceptable design; if no such precedent can be applied, then reduction to the simplest design is standard practice. Third, property owners - at least those involved in facade rebate programs - are relatively uninterested in design issues unless project cost is affected. This is not to say that property owners do not care about good design, but that their highest priority is the project budget.
