What difference does a year make in the demolition of houses?

[iloveionia]

The meeting times are difficult.  I agree.  You can get on the list to receive emails of HPC agendas.  You know how to do this?  Then you could write letters/emails.  That is something.  

They meet weekly?

[sheclown]

Show up at the meetings if you want to make a change. Don't depend on other people or groups to do it for you,  jeeesh

Isn't that the hard truth learned here!

[02roadking]

Uptown, write a little something and I'll read it to them. I will take a little, or more, time off to pursue this. I think it's too important in this particular time of Springfield's history to let it just happen. Too much has already fallen,  It's time for the whole neighborhood to be heard. For or against, just be involved.

[iloveionia]

roadking,
do you get the HPC minutes emailed to you? 

[sheclown]

Uptown, write a little something and I'll read it to them. I will take a little, or more, time off to pursue this. I think it's too important in this particular time of Springfield's history to let it just happen. Too much has already fallen,  It's time for the whole neighborhood to be heard. For or against, just be involved.

I'm there with ya.

[uptowngirl]

Uptown, write a little something and I'll read it to them. I will take a little, or more, time off to pursue this. I think it's too important in this particular time of Springfield's history to let it just happen. Too much has already fallen,  It's time for the whole neighborhood to be heard. For or against, just be involved.

I can do that, I can take SOME time off but not a lot :-( I am also going to start writing some letters and making some calls to the state and national preservation groups.

[02roadking]

Not the minutes now. I only receive the the COA info after their decision is made

[strider]

In my travels today, I heard a little from a couple of people involved in this issue and involved in different ways.  I realized that some things were being said or at least implied that should not be.

To begin with, the Historic Department that is headed by Joel McEachin is small, always has been understaffed and has always struggled.  It is important to remember that in the early years of this past decade, a small department of four here in Jacksonville did like ten times the number of COA’s that were handled by much larger Historic Departments in cities like Atlanta and San Francisco.   These few people are not the highest paid, not the most loved by other city departments and yet they still show up everyday and actually do their best to protect the historic fabric in Jacksonville.   Not just in Springfield, but all of Jacksonville.

I point this out because it is evident that they can not do the job alone.  They have not the resources nor the authority to do it alone.  Joel McEachin and Lisa Sheppard were actually criticized by SPAR Council in the past for trying to make the demolition of houses harder and going up against the wishes of Code Enforcement and Louise DeSpain.  Joel and Lisa with the rest of the Historic Department are very much on our side in this fight. They just have needed the community’s support and have not been getting it.  That means US going to meetings and sending off letters and e-mails to them the HPC and City Council.

This brings us to the Historic Preservation Commission, a different thing all together.  These folks are Mayor appointed volunteers.  The give up their time freely to do this.  None of the existing people sitting on the board currently were around  when the city offered a choice to demolition.  They only know this Formal Track to Demolition and when the Executive Director of the local preservation organization gets up and speaks FOR demolition, When Code Enforcement officers get up and spout off how bad these houses are just to clear them from their files, what do you expect these volunteers, who do not really know our community, to do?  They really have no choice but to believe the “experts” from the city and SPAR Council. There is a sitting board member who should know better and should have been fighting this harder and not agreeing at times,  but…well, I’ll leave you all to ask her about this issue yourself and will not speculate on the reasons myself.

The bottom line here is that the Historic Department is our friend and will support all of us in pursuing ways to save these houses.  The HPC needs to be taught that saving and protecting these houses can be done and that SPAR Council nor the city’s Code Enforcement department know what they are taking about and should be put on ignore.   We simply need to go help them figure out that saving these houses now is the way to a richer future.

[sheclown]

HPC, Joel's office, Code enforcement.  None of these are the "enemy" IMHO.  The enemy is the policy change in 2007 which forces code enforcement's hand in this matter.

[uptowngirl]

Take a walk down E 3rd St, or Market, or Hubbard, or a block of Silver and you will see what has been allowed to happen in Historic Springfield. Every historic district is bound to lose a few ladies, and hence you have infill. But blocks and blocks (I am speaking of whole blocks, or close to whole blocks) of infill? That is no longer infill. Or in the case of E 3rd to Walnut- one house and the rest of the block is vacant lots??! On another street we lost a lovely old lady for which a new pool, garage, and pergola are being added in it's place, well I guess it is better than the vacant lots lining Ionia listed for 50K (50K really???!!). HPC, Joel's Office, Code Enforcement, SPAR, and yes even you and I allowed all this to happen on our watch.

[iloveionia]

Yeah, watching with eyes closed.