Blight committee ponders razing sound structures --

[strider]

[strider]

[strider]

[Kay]

This is so not the way to build and improve community.  Disheartening.

[sheclown]

Three issues:

1.) property rights

2.) sustainability (and loss of affordable housing stock)

3.) historic preservation -- while it claims not to affect historic structures the last page states:

"Property owners of non-emergency condemned properties that are locally designated or listed on the National Register of Historic Places shall be notified of the OPTION to mothball their buildings and be given 60 days to respond.  The city will hold in abeyance enforcement or corrective measures until that 60 day time period expires."

All Tarpon properties are toast.  Including the properties in Springfield.

[sheclown]

and since we know that the city cannot use federal funds to do this:

----------------------------------

2014-380

ORD Approp $1,060,040.10 ($699,757.72 from Nuisance Abatemt Liens, $123,581.63 from Interest Sanitary Assessmt, $80,556.33 from Demo Assessmt & $156,144.42 from Code Violation Fines) to the Nuisance Abatemt Lien Spec Rev Fund for Nuisance Abatemt Contracting to remove Propty Code Violations City-Wide; Auth Funds Carryover to FY 2014-2015; Request 1-Cycle Emerg Apv. (BT 14-66) (Shaw) (Req of Mayor)

Public Hearing Pursuant to Chapt 166, F.S. & CR 3.601 - 6/24/14

1. 6/10/2014 CO Introduced: R,TEU,F

[iloveionia]

Historic Springfield should be exempt from this ordinance.   A different approach should be taken: the city mothballs, the city revisits the auctions or another means of revitalizing the neighborhood.   We stand to lose over one hundred homes. This on top of the over five hundred lost since designation in 1987.

[thelakelander]

I take it that Jax's historic black neighborhoods (ex. Eastside, Durkeeville, New Town, Mixontown, etc.) will be impacted negatively the most?

[thelakelander]

Also, does the 24 months of abandonment begin with the passage of this legislation, meaning the earliest demo would occur in 2016? Or does it mean everything already empty longer than 24 months is immediately game?

[iloveionia]

All is immediately game.

[avs]

When are they voting on this?

[sheclown]

Has not been introduced yet.

This could have great impact on the downtown structures as well.

[sheclown]

I take it that Jax's historic black neighborhoods (ex. Eastside, Durkeeville, New Town, Mixontown, etc.) will be impacted negatively the most?

absolutely, along with downtown.

[strider]

Parts of this ordinance are geared towards circumventing the protections afforded the landmarks and historic districts. Code Compliance does not like those protections and hates it when they run up against them.  Part of our fight to save the houses has always been fighting against the creative ways Code comes up with the circumvent the system and the fact that the City supports Code no matter what.  Most recently, we won Mothballing and gave the city the loss of the easy use of Federal Funds.  Now they have this ordinance.  The fight continues.

We do have to ask ourselves why.  Why does Jacksonville, a growing city, want to behave towards it's urban core and the poorest among us like it is really Detroit?  Why take house after house and spend millions doing it when streets constantly flood and sink holes appear almost daily?  We need to find the profit they are looking for to understand this and then perhaps we can stop it. 

[mtraininjax]

The issues surrounding this all lead back to the void of real leadership in the Mayor's office.