439 East 1st - Code Enforcement's Sneaky "Emergency" Demolition

[sheclown]

[JaxUnicorn]

Last night the Urban Core CPAC voted unanimously to oppose demolition and support the HPC's October recommendation to remove the back porch and stabilize the structure.  In addition, Michelle Tappouni, SPAR Board President announced that SPAR supports the HPC's recommendation as well.  Good job UC CPAC and SPAR!

SAVE THE HOUSES!

[JaxUnicorn]

Interior photos of this structure....

[JaxUnicorn]

Aerial view of the roof

[sheclown]

from the survey done in 1985.

[strider]

Stephen, ask Alison about the appointed position the City is advertising for, you might find it interesting.

I also understand Bill Killingsworth is there.

[JaxUnicorn]

Joel McEachin is going thru the staff report.

[JaxUnicorn]

Angela Schiffinella just made a motion to approve staff recommendation to demolish!

[JaxUnicorn]

Now that they have a motion, they open it for public hearing.  Bryan Mosier, Acting Chief of MCCD is at the podium.

[JaxUnicorn]

Schifanella is now asking Mosier why they don't take the lower bid of $24k to remove the back porch.  Mosier is saying they don't want to take on that liability.  Wouldn't that be the responsibility of the contractor?  Yes.  But we don't want the house to fall on a child or something.

[JaxUnicorn]

66 unsafe structures taken down in 2015 per MIchael Chao.

[JaxUnicorn]

Barry Underwood asked if since the last time MCCD was here, has MCCD reached out to SPAR or anyone else about the property?  Mosier: No.

[JaxUnicorn]

Michelle Tappouni is up.  Reading SPAR's statement into the record.  Tom Goldsbury has moved himself up to the front row in an attempt to be the next speaker.

[JaxUnicorn]

Barry Underwood just asked Michelle if the ED of SPAR could make financial decisions on behalf of the Board if they didn't meet.  What???  Why is that relevant to this discussion???

[strider]

Sheclown informed me that the HPC stood up to the pressure and voted unanimously to support their original recommendation to only take the badly deteriorated rear addition and stabilize the main house.  This is good news, well good news to us preservationists, probably not so good news to MCCD and Ms Scott. The City had been willing to spend $37K to totally demolish the house.  That would have ended up with a empty lot with $40K of liens and having a value in the foreseeable future of maybe $20 to $25K.  This way they spend $24K and the house remains as a possible viable tax producer with a possible value of $25 to $30K.

I suspect that if the City stopped and rebid to people who knew something about these houses rather than just how to take an excavator to them, they could get a roof, the rear structurally fixed and give the area a real asset for less than the $37K they were willing to waste just tearing it down. Properties like this need to be taken and made attractive so they get sold and become tax producers but I'll take this save as a start.