Just a few highlights for Wednesdays meeting:
D. Condemned Properties
1. 125 East 3rd Street
2. 1320 North Ionia Street
3. 1971 Phoenix Avenue - Landmark
4. 1325 N. Laura Street â€" Removed at Request of Code Enforcement
I. New Business
1. Street Name Change â€" Alltel Stadium Place to Everbank Field Place
2. Street Name Change â€" A Terrace to Druid Street
3. Brick Streets in Springfield
J. Information
1. National Preservation Institute Professional Seminars
2. Commissioners Bio’s for Web Site
K. Design Issues
1. Use of Brick Pavers in Driveways.
2. Use of Alternative Materials for Porch Flooring
L. Old Business
M. Addendums
N. Adjournment
August 25th. 3:00 P.M. Conference Room 851, 8th Floor, Ed Ball Building
214 N. Hogan Street Jacksonville, FL 32202
What time does today's meeting begin?
6:15
A couple of condemned properties and the brick on 4th Street. Looks like an important meeting to attend.
Clarification:
HPC Sub-Committee on Condemned Structures is tonight, 8/23, at 6:15 p.m.
HPC General Meeting which includes 2 condemned Springfield properties and the brick on 4th Street is 8/25 at 3 p.m.
Just for reference:
East Third Street, from Main to Clark, has lost over 50% of its historic fabric.
I count 32 original homes and 71 lots.
If anyone wants to double check my figures, that would be great.
No matter what, when you drive down the street and look around, you see a lot of emptiness and new builds.
125 E 3rd was bought in 2007 for 50K, is 4193 square feet living area, and according to the MLS has never been listed for sale. The owner's address is a Springfield address.
1320 Ionia is banked owned since 2007 and also has never been listed in the MLS for sale as far as I can tell.
1971 Phoenix appears to have been owned by the same person, with a Jacksonville address, since 1997, when it was bought for $100. Again, no evidence of having been for sale.
1325 Laura has been on the market but it appears it was during the boom times, so not recently at all.
My point is that if the owners are not planning on taking care of the properties AND they are not attempting to sell them, then I think the city should have the right to step in, take them by right of abandonment (if there is not such a law then there should be) and sell them at auction.
Until they are on the market at "fair market value" we don't know that someone would not buy them and fix them up. But sitting there rotting and allowing the owners to do that to them just frosts my - "eyeballs".
From what I am being told, the city has no interest in taking these properties (for whatever reason).
We need to contact the owners and help them make the right moves either by offering incentives, encouragement, advice, buyers with sound offers...whatever it takes, short of becoming adversarial.
Most people are reasonable. Why would they want to do this? Let's help them in any way we can.
I'm not the best student, although I took all the classes, properties where the taxes are deliquent for 2+ years and into the 3rd, are considered abandoned by the owner. Every state varies.
Jacksonville dumps things in a big black notebook called "Lands Available." But I don't know after what time period.
Someone out there correct and clarify me please.
And sheclown, you are correct, and I agree. Owners need support, guidance, and help.
Quote from: iloveionia on August 24, 2010, 02:52:01 PM
I'm not the best student, although I took all the classes, properties where the taxes are deliquent for 2+ years and into the 3rd, are considered abandoned by the owner. Every state varies.
Jacksonville dumps things in a big black notebook called "Lands Available." But I don't know after what time period.
Someone out there correct and clarify me please.
And sheclown, you are correct, and I agree. Owners need support, guidance, and help.
They take them for back taxes under certain circumstances. That's quite different (I believe) from taking them for not paying punitive fines.
I have been told by people in the city that it simply is not going to happen. The city is not going to take properties in this manner -- for better or worse.
I do not agree- Some of these owners are very unreasonable- they won't sell, or they want an outrageous price, all of which is perfectly fine if they keep up the house, when they do not it should be considered abandoned and sold to someone who will.
Uptown. You are correct. Plenty of deadbeat and unreasonable owners out there. Including the bank folks.
I had a VERY long conversation with a homeowner this morning about his condemned property. It was angering, sad, and hearbreaking all at the same time. He is NOT a deadbeat owner. He was beat up by a system of policies that does not support people trying to do the right thing.
So I am in the optimistic mood having talked to this owner.
Now if it was on the day I spoke face to face with the old Pool Hall owner? Different mood.
Kids............from my viewpoint, maybe you should consider a booklet with some of the in's and out's and maybe some suggestions on how to deal with the City/SPAR Council and HPC? Just a thought IMHO! I mean you all have dealt firsthand with these issue's ......why not print it or at least produce a copy,DVD or whatever media will get that information out to those who could use some guidance? SPAR Council has another agenda and maybe this will get their attention on what they should be doing rather than what they are doing?
I think that is a great idea. It could be a resource tab on our work in progress website.
This afternoon, the important information to make clear to the HPC is that East 3rd Street has lost over 50% of its historic fabric and Ionia sits at 30% loss.
If they approve these two houses for the Formal Track, they are endangering the National Historic Designation, plain and simple.
We are looking into the percentage, but it is either 75% or 80% of historic fabric needs to be intact. As soon as we get the correct and accurate data, we'll post it.
In the meantime, anymore demolitions is insane.
Glorious Johnson is working with us and we'll have more info on that shortly as well.
Brick streets- cost more at the beginning, but last for 100 years pretty much without maintenance. Save existing streets. Maybe mention that machine Orlando is using to restore their brick streets that have been blacktopped over. But, most importantly, save what is left.
Can someone post a summary? I got there late, found out they deferred the two condemned properties, and then left right after.
I did hear that Brenda spoke loudly and clearly that SPAR was 100% for preservation (YES!) and that is good. I also heard that Kim spoke as did Crissie. Apparently there is a structural engineer's report out there claiming that Ionia is structurally unsound. We'll need to get our hands on that and look for ourselves. Sometimes these things just depend on who paid for it -- if you catch my drift.
It would be awesome if the HPC could move the condemned property discussion to the end of the meetings. I mean, really, who can make it at 3:00 in the afternoon? This disables the neighborhood from speaking at the meeting, and it leaves folks feeling mighty frustrated about it.
But, all in all, great news. A reprieve.
I don't know about moving it to the "end" of the meeting. When we left at almost 10:30 last night there were still several items on the agenda!
You're right. 1320 Ionia was deferred after a bunch of discussion. Only the exterior was inspected and the concern is that one wall is in danger of collapsing. But the HPC seemed encouraged that both SPAR and Preservation SOS are becoming so pro-active in looking for solutions other than demolition so I sensed relief that now they have alternatives themselves to putting more properties on a demolition track.
Another property got a "stay of execution" on Phoenix (out of our area) when the owner showed up and it appears they are doing all they can but have been lost in a sea of bureaucracy.
Then lots of properties with COA issues that required lots of discussion, but educational for a newbie like me.
Long, long, long discussion on the John Gorrie school project and all the myriad of details involved in the tax credit.
At that point the board seemed surprised at the number of people still there and when they realized we were all there for the brick conversation they bumped us up ahead of street name changes and other stuff no outsiders were there for.
Dan Wright and Will and Chris Farley kicked serious butt with all their data. I think the board was really impressed with all the work that was evident in their presentations. Brenda asked for a subcommittee to address the brick streets in historic districts and it looks like they will agree, but not till they get some other stuff off their plates first. The rest of us also put in our two cents (having waited for 6 1/2 hours we had to make it count).
All in all I came away pumped up!
I'm sorry I didn't join you at 8pm last night when I got off work.