Conditional Moritorium on Demolitions

[strider]

At tonight's HPC meetings, Mr. Killingsworth announced a conditional moratorium on all demolitions in Historic Springfield.  This may not be able to include those demolitions already let out for bid, but will stop 95 % plus of the demolitions of the houses put onto the formal track. 

Mr. Killingsworth said this moratorium is to allow the city and the preservation groups to come up with a plan to mothball these at risk houses. While it may be that Springfield is the pilot program, this is an issue that potentailly effects all of the communities of Jacksonville and so what is done here now will be used to help protect not just the houses in the historic districts but all of the neighborhoods.

Some ideas are to have Board and Secure permits and partnering with a non-profit to mothball and monitor houses. 

Thanks must go out to Lisa Sheppard, Joel McEachin and the rest of the Historic Preservation Department for the research and ideas they have helped us with.

A special thanks also to Nicole, Gloria and all the rest of Preservation SOS for the hard work these past few months.

The biggest thanks to Mr. Killingsworth and all those in his departments, including Kimberly Scott, the city council and the Mayors office for not only hearing us, but taking action.

Yeah Springfield!

Sheclown asked me to post something, but she is still at the meeting and I am sure will have more details.

[CS Foltz]

strider...........a hearty "Boo Yah" to all involved! A long time in coming but you and everyone have done their part! Maybe now Johnny will have a Legacy to be proud of and he should take pride in this one!

[uptowngirl]

This is FANTASTIC news!!!

[samiam]

Hurrah!
Good job!

[Jumpinjack]

Each of you has good reason to feel proud. You walked the walk and talked the talk. At the end of this day you succeeded in slowing this craziness. Take a bow and then make this program work.

[JaxResident]

Congrats everyone!

You guys rock!

[Debbie Thompson]

The work is just beginning.  Keep checking in to see what will be needed.....

[Springfielder]

It was great meeting and talking with Mr. Killingsworth yesterday, and he clearly 'gets' it. I also offer my gratitude to the HPC committee for understanding and working with us. This is indeed, just the beginning of great things for Springfield.

[sheclown]

Well, Bill Killingsworth never used the word "moratorium".  He did say that code enforcement has agreed to not bring any actions on Springfield properties, except those houses that have been put out to bid.

He was AMAZING tonight.  

He spoke about board and secure permits, the benefits to the neighborhood and to the city.  He spoke about working to make Springfield a pilot program on mothballing.  

He also said we shouldn't demolish buildings "for social reasons."  According to him "every effort needs to be made to maintain the historic fabric."

I almost lost it right there in the second row.  Cryin' like Nicole.

[iloveionia]

Haha sheclown.  Now you know.
The man is magical, isn't he?

I'm still a bit dumbfounded.  But excited as hell. 
Holy Crap!!!

[sheclown]

Stay of execution on the 139 condemned properties.

[JaxResident]

Fantastic! Simply amazing!

Progress and full steam ahead.  Great job to everyone involved.

Best Wishes,

Scott (your Riverside friend)

[ChriswUfGator]

He also said we shouldn't demolish buildings "for social reasons."

Well then, this guy clearly gets the root of the problem and realizes what's been going on.

Bill Killingsworth sounds like a real asset to COJ, as he's the first person involved with Code Enforcement who appears to understand the issues and what's really been going on "behind the scenes" here. Over the past several years, David Roe, Kimberly Scott, and that horrible Greco guy ran around destroying almost a third of a designated historic district by falsely finding that structures were dangerous to public safety and formal-tracking them, often because of SPAR's habit of having it's members man the telephones to call in dozens of bogus C.A.R.E. complaints.

These properties may have been unsightly, with broken windows, peeling paint, or unkpempt yards, but by and large there was little structurally wrong with them. Yet they were routinely labeled structurally unsound and hazards to public safety, and the owners were ordered to immediately "RESTORE OR DEMOLISH" the entire structure in order to regain compliance and stop fines from running, despite it being obvious that the property was not unsound.

When the gentleman on Walnut Street tried to challenge one such finding by having 5 different contractors inspect the property (and all of them said it was structurally sound) Kimberly Scott actually threatened him with legal action, telling him that he had no right to be on his own property or even to allow contractors to look at it in order to refute her findings, because she said so.

These people should have worked with the neighborhood to allow property owners sufficient time to conduct repairs, which with these large old homes is a process that can take many years, not just days or months, and they should have accepted mothballing as a proper substitute for complete renovation. This neighborhood has for the past two decades been slowly overcoming deep-rooted economic and social challenges, and given the circumstances, Code Enforcement should have worked with property owners instead of allowing themselves to be used as a tool for harrassment by the whopping 39 people at SPAR.

Gentrification is not an overnight process, as anyone who remembers Riverside in the 1990's is familiar with. You can't have all these mini-napoleons running around demolishing historic structures for no good reason, or there will be nothing left when the neighborhood finally turns around.

What happened in Springfield is really a travesty. What has been lost is now lost forever. But at least this stops the ongoing damage. So props to Bill Killingsworth for stepping in on this issue, it's been really bad since about 2003 and I'm glad to see it come to an end. I hope, moving forward, that COJ re-trains its Code Enforcement employees that it is not appropriate to take out personal grievances on historic properties, and nor is it appropriate for Code Enforcement to allow itself to be used as a harrassment tool to settle neighborhood politics.

It is also not appropriate for Code Enforcement to be combative and rude with everyone they encounter. They aren't police, and we aren't criminals. Bruce Chauncey is a good example of an effective code inspector, he is impartial, fair, and genial, and works toward a solution without becoming part of the problem.

[sheclown]

Chris, there has been a lot of pain inflicted on the residents of Springfield for the last 10 years.  I know, I had that particular bull's eye painted on my butt a couple of times. 

Code enforcement reacted to what the local preservation organization wanted them to do.  Kimberly Scott is not a preservationist -- never claimed to be.  What she wants is public safety.  If she is told that these buildings are a threat to public safety, her department is going to clean up this town.

But that was yesterday.  But that is also how we got into this jam.

Today... there is every indication that code enforcement is going to whole-heartedly follow and even support this plan.  There is also every indication that the HPC is going to put its foot down and once again become the protectors of our historic fabric.

We are seeing the seeds of new policies and great leadership.  We can't fail.

[uptowngirl]

You nailed it SheClown. It is the right thing to do to preserve our history, but also fiscally responsible. With the economy they way it is, it is also visonary and something the other depts in the city can use as a pilot too. Govt is going to have to start working with the public in partnership to get things done, not only mothballing, but park maitenance, crime watch, the list goes on and on.