HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-01-08 1409 email Emergency Demolition 72-hours 1019 South Rock Street1
Minyard, Brian
From:Minyard, Brian
Sent:Tuesday, January 08, 2019 2:09 PM
To:Overton, Shawn
Subject:RE: Emergency Demolition (72-hours)| 1019 South Rock Street
Will you give me the dates when your legal notices run in the daily record so I can have it for my file?
Brian
From: Overton, Shawn
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2019 12:32 PM
To: Carpenter, Tom; Minyard, Brian
Cc: Betton, Alex; Wisdom, Debbie; Turner, Victor; Garland, Ed
Subject: RE: Emergency Demolition (72-hours)| 1019 South Rock Street
Tom,
I have met with Housing, and Planning & Development and we have all determined that the following is this the best
course of action to take to protect the City from any possible litigation while affording the deceased’s beneficiaries, and
any lien holders maximum due process, while protecting the surrounding neighbors, and allowing the Historic District
Commission to carry out its duties in accordance with municipal code. Here is that plan:
1. Rick Purifoy, is updating the title work on the property in order to ensure we notify all parties with an interest in
the property of the impending demolition and an opportunity to be heard at the February 11, 2018 Historic
District Commission. As discussed this will only need to be an update so the order should be able to be
expedited. Rick will serve all lienholders with notice. Rick please insure title work is for the entire parcel and
not just accessory structure. In addition, please forward me a copy of the Title Work when Completed so I can
review;
2. I am preparing a general notice for the daily record, which will run for two consecutive weeks that will inform
the public of the Historic District Commission Meeting. This will afford everyone both notice and an opportunity
to be heard to provide maximum procedural due process. The Notice will be complete today.
3. I am preparing a Notice of Lis Pendens to file in the Real Estate Records Office. It will be recorded either this
afternoon or early in the morning.
4. Brian will be providing all adjacent landowners notice.
5. Once Historic District Commission makes decision the City can act immediately because due process and
noticing procedures have been met.
If anyone has any questions or needs any additional information please contact me at 371-4717 or make comments
through this e-mail chain. Thanks.
From: Carpenter, Tom
Sent: Tuesday, January 8, 2019 9:58 AM
2
To: Overton, Shawn <soverton@littlerock.gov>; Minyard, Brian <BMinyard@littlerock.gov>
Cc: Betton, Alex <abetton@littlerock.gov>; Wisdom, Debbie <dwisdom@littlerock.gov>; Turner, Victor
<vturner@littlerock.gov>; Garland, Ed <egarland@littlerock.gov>
Subject: Emergency Demolition (72-hours)| 1019 South Rock Street
Dear Shawn,
This is a RUSH.
A house burned in the last few days at 1019 South Rock Street. This property is in the MacArthur Park
Historic District. The roof is about to collapse, and the property is next to a residential neighborhood. The question
is notice because the owner is deceased.
I asked Victor and Ed to contact a cousin – identified by Brian Minyard – to see what heirs may exist to the
property.
I also asked Victor and Ed to contact the Fire Marshall to get a determination about the condition of the
building. If it is an emergency situation that needs to be handled quickly, then we should get sign-off from them.
One question is whether we need additional support for this decision – i.e., someone from Planning &
Development, or an independent individual who can make a determination on structural integrity. There was a
time when Public Works had an engineer on call who could make such a determination.
Whether a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) from the MacArthur Park Historic District is required is
another question. Typically, no demolition occurs within the District without Commission approval. I have not
read the enabling statutes in years, so I do not know if an emergency situation is treated differently. I seem to
remember that nothing in the statute overcomes the police powers of the City, but this should be checked.
Finally, check Arkansas probate law and see if there is any obligation to provide a particular kind of notice in
this situation. Perhaps posting is sufficient, but if so, for how long. Or, perhaps the cousin can sign a release of
some kind. If so, let us take that approach. Of course, we need to gather the LRFD report on the fire, any reports
on the condition of the building, and have plenty of photographs to illustrate the lack of structural integrity of the
building (dated and time-stamped accurately) before we move forward.
Since there would be a 72-hour bid process for demolition, we have a bit of time.
VICTOR/ED I recommend that you start that bid process now. It is consistent with the City’s position that
this is an emergency situation. However, note that while we want the structure down in 72-hours, it may be
necessary to delay that by a couple of days because of notice issues.
Please keep everyone in this loop. I will be basically involved in other matters today, but if something is vital
and cannot be worked out with Alex, then please contact me.
Tom
Thomas M. Carpenter
OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY
500 West Markham, Ste. 310
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
(501) 371-6875 (O)
(501) 371-4675 (F)
(501) 993-1052 (M)
tcarpenter@littlerock.gov