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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHDC18-031 Staff Report 1414 Park 2019-08-13Page 1 of 15 DATE: August 12, 2019 APPLICANT: Ed Garland, Dept. of Housing and Neighborhood Programs ADDRESS: 1414 Park Lane FILE NUMBER: HDC18-031 COA REQUEST: Demolition PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION: The subject property is located at 1414 Park Lane. The property’s legal description is “Lot 9, Block 157, Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas." This single family house was built c 1907. The 2000 survey form states: “Typical Colonial Revival cottage for the area.” It also states “After her husband’s death, this was the home of Mrs. Regina (John A.) Schmelzer. She and her husband had lived at 1123 Rock S. Rock.” It is considered a "Contributing Structure" to the MacArthur Park Historic District. This application is for Demolition. PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE: On November 2, 2000, a COA was approved and issued to Pastor C. Harville and Wali Caradine for exterior renovations. PROPOSAL AND WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT AND GUIDELINES: Page 55 of the guidelines speak of alternatives to demolitions. It states that loss of contributing buildings to the district should not occur. Demolitions of those str uctures diminish the overall character of the district. Care should be taken when reviewing an application for demolition. The architecture of the individual buildings and their context within the district should be reviewed carefully. DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 723 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334 Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax:(501) 399-3435 www.littlerock.gov STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. “B” Location of Project Page 2 of 15 The Guidelines also state five conditions in which a demolition may be granted by the Commission. The first is public welfare. This building has been suffering demolition by neglect for the last twenty three years. On August 30, 1995, the Department of Neighborhoods and Planning - Housing Programs, sent a letter to the then owner, George Pike Jr, stating that an inspection had been made of the house and it was found to be “unsafe, unfit for human inhabitation, offensive to the neighborhood, and it is dangerous to persons in the vicinity or lawfully passing by the structure.” On March 27, 1996, the property changed hands to Lighthouse Inc. and they have owned it ever since. Multiple permits were issued on the structure from 2001 – 2005. From June 2000 – February 2001, permits for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing were issued for $17,200 to bring the structure to code. Most of these permits expired without completion. In mid-2003, permits were issued for building and electrical work were issued for $20,000 to bring to code and they expired without completing the work. From August 2004 – September 2005, permits for building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing were issued for $24,900 to bring the structure to code. Most of these permits expired without completion. Housing and Neighborhood Programs has had this building on the Unsafe and Vacant list since 2013. The second point is rehabilitation or relocation possibilities. The guidelines state that it can be demolished if it is impossible due to severe structural instability or irreparable deterioration of the building. There is no eminent danger upon the building that would necessitate moving the structure to another location. Rehabilitation of the property is an alternative that will be discussed farther along in the report. All properties can be rehabbed if the desire is there. Staff does not have estimates on how much the project would cost if rehab were to be completed. Four rehab permits have been issued within 450 feet of the property. 1410 S Rock Street is currently being rehabbed with a building permit of $90,000. 1402 S Commerce which was partially burned currently was issued 1978 survey photo Contributing and Non-contributing map Page 3 of 15 a rehab permit of $100,000. 515 E 15th and 517 E 15th Street were issued rehab permits issued for $83,500 each. 515 E 15th was sold this year for $195,000. The property at 1414 Park Lane is currently listed as contributing to the MacArthur Park Historic District. State income tax credits of twenty-five percent of qualified expenses may be available for this structure. Federal income tax credits of twenty percent may be available if the property was income producing. The third point is economic hardship. No hardship argument has been claimed since the City of Little Rock is the applicant. The guidelines state that economic hardship relates to the value and potential return of the property, not of the financial status of the property owner. The fourth point is if the building has lost its architectural integrity. The building has not lost its architectural integrity although it is in need of repair. The fifth point states that ‘no reasonable alternative is feasible, including relocation of the home.’ Staff believes that there are alterative to demolition of this structure. They are as listed below. The first would be the sale of the property to another individual. The property was redeemed for back taxes in 1999. This property could be donated to the City’s Landbank Program. The owner can write off the appraised value of the structure off their taxes. That program may remove any existing liens from the property. Being part of the Landbank program does not require the new owner to occupy the structure for their personal use. Activity in the area has shown that in addition to four rehabilitation projects listed above, three new houses have been permitted within the last 2 years within three hundred feet of this property. 401 E Daisy Bates is a new house built in 2017 for $330,000 including land and improvements based on permit data and assessor’s sales data. 407 E Daisy Bates is also a new house currently being built for $379,000 based on same data. 603 E 15th is also a new house currently being built for $805,000 based on same data. If the property is demolished, Housing will place a lien on the property of approximately $6,200 for the demolition fees. Public Works will place another lien of approximately $2,000 for landfill charges. Liens are not necessarily forgiven by the City when the property is sold or developed. Staff believes that this property can be rehabilitated and put back into residential use. Income tax credits could be available on this property based on the work proposed to be done. It can be sold to another individual or donated to the Landbank program. Currently in the immediate area, rehabilitation permits and new single family building permits have been issued that prove that there is a market for housing in this area. NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no comments regarding this application. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff Recommendation forthcoming. Page 4 of 15 COMMISSION ACTION: December 10, 2018 Brian Minyard, Staff, made a presentation to the commission. He stated that the owner was in the audience and that the staff recommendation was to defer for six months in order for the owner to either: 1) list the property for sale, 2) donate it to the Landbank or 3) start the rehabilitation process. Ed Garland, Housing and Neighborhood Programs Code Enforcement Division, spoke for the item. He stated there was $704.32 in outstanding liens on the property now. If the house was sold to a new owner with plans of a complete renovation, they may contact the Director of Housing and Neighborhood Programs to discuss options on the outstanding liens. Commissioner Frances McSwain said she drove by both of them today and asked how much of it had been destroyed by fire. Mr. Garland said he did not know exactly how much. They had an estimate from 2013 for the renovation expenses and would want to get a contractor opinion on what it would cost for a total rehab on the house. Commissioner Dale Pekar asked if the property goes back to the City, if the liens could be forgiven. Mr. Garland said that each case is different and that liens can be forgiven. Liens are against the property, not the property owner. Charlsetta Harville, the owner of the property, stated that she was the president of the Lighthouse Center CDC. She stated that she has spent more than $70,000 on the rehab of the house to date. She spoke of vandalism and stolen pipes and materials form the house. She is aware of the fire damage. A contractor she had to look at the house recommended that it be torn down. She will go with what the board recommends for her to do. She would consider selling the house or building a new one in its place if the old one was demolished. Chair Ted Holder asked if she had a preference to sell or rehab. Ms. Harville stated that she would rather sell than to rehab. Vice Chair Jeremiah Russell asked her if she was aware of the potential of $10,000 in liens of the city demolished her house. Ms. Harville stated that the Lighthouse Center had donated lots to the Downtown CDC before and the house is more than she can take on. She continued that she thought she could get it demolished for less money than that. Vice Chair Russell said that the application for demolition was the city’s application not hers. If she was to demolish it, she would need to reapply for the demolition herself and go through this process again. Commissioner Dale Pekar asked if the property is for sale now. Ms. Harville said it was not but she would be willing to consider selling it. Vice Chair Russell asked her if a six month deferral was approved, would she agree to list the house for sale. She replied yes. Commissioner Robert Hodge asked if she had ever listed it for sale before. She said that she had not. She used to keep insurance on it, but does not anymore. Patricia Blick, Quapaw Quarter Association Director, said that this item was presented at the November 27 Advocacy meeting. They recommended denial of the demolition application. She quoted the guidelines and stated it does not meet the conditions. Other options should be explored before the house is demolished. She said that there were lots of photos of the house before that would aid in the renovation of the Schmelzer House. Page 5 of 15 Vice Chair Jeremiah Russell made a motion to defer the item for six months with the condition that the property be listed for sale within one month. The motion was seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 6 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 absent (Frederick). STAFF UPDATE: In the almost six months since the last hearing on this item, the property owner has not contacted City Staff to discuss the property. A “For Sale” sign was not on the property at the time of this writing and Staff has not observed on there in the past. A check of the Tax Assessor’s website and the County Treasurer’s office show that the property is still in the ownership of Lighthouse Center, Inc., hence not sold or donated to the Landbank. A building permit has not been sought to repair the property. They has not completed nor initiated any of the three conditions in the approved motion since the last hearing. The property was auctioned by the State Land Commissioner on April 9, 2019 for $704.32 of outstanding liens placed on the property. The property was purchased by a third party for $9,000.00. Ms. Harville redeemed the property (paid the liens off) on April 24, 2019. The property is again owned by Lighthouse, Inc, Staff notified the property owners in the area of influence again with certified return receipt letters on May 29th (shown on page 8 and 9 of this report) along with the “Notice of Public Hearing” Form. The letter shown on page 10 was sent both certified return receipt and plain envelope US mail. Each of the letters was mailed to the two known addresses. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that this item will be forwarded to the Housing and Neighborhood Programs Department to review for possible condemnation and demolition. COMMISSION ACTION: June 10, 2019 The applicant, Ed Garland, of Housing and neighborhood Programs was not present. According to the Bylaws, Article V E 9., “The applicant of each item docketed shall be present or represented at the meeting and prepared to discuss the request.” Mr. Brian Minyard, Staff, asked Sherri Latimer if she interpreted that to mean the applicant must be present. She responded yes. A motion was made by Vice Chair Jeremiah Russell to defer the item until the July 8, 2019 hearing. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Lauren Frederick and the motion passed with a vote of 6 ayes, 0 noes, and 1 absent (Pekar). STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that this item will be forwarded to the Housing and Neighborhood Programs Department to review for possible condemnation and demolition. COMMISSION ACTION: July 8, 2019 Commissioner Lauren Frederick recused from this item. Brian Minyard made a brief presentation to the commission. Rick Purifoy spoke on this item on behalf of the Housing and Neig hborhood Programs Department. He believes that is it below 50 percent of original material left. The owner does not respond to his calls and the letters come back unclaimed. Page 6 of 15 Chair Ted Holder wanted clarification that the wall was gone from the house. Mr. Purifoy said that it was unsafe and has not been inside it since the fire. Mrs. Charlsetta Harville, the owner of the property, stated she was the President of the Lighthouse. IN December she was presented options to sell or rehab the property. She had contacted a realtor but the realtor had left town. She is currently trying to list the property with Coldwell Banker. Commissioner Frances McSwain asked if she had a contract with Coldwell Banker. She said she did not. She plans to sign tomorrow. Vice Chair Jeremiah Russell asked how much she was listing it for. She stated she would list for what it appraised for. Vice Chair Russell stated that he had been contacted by a developer and they had made an offer to her. Ms. Harville said she did t alk to them but it did not go any further. Vice Chair Russell stated that there was an offer of $15,000 in cash for the property. Commissioner Frances McSwain asked if she had clear title to the property. She said yes. Commissioner Robert Hodge asked if they had a deed. She replied that she had a deed from the Land Commissioner. Ms. Harville spoke of prior building permits on the house and that her husband died in 2011. Patricia Blick, QQA director, state that their position was the same as before. S he recommends deferral and wanted to see the report as stated in the guidelines. The guidelines set a high standard and there has been interest from the public in rehabbing the property. Chair Ted Holder stated that the Commission did not have to have a concurring report. Matthew Pekar asked if he could get the contact information for Ms. Harville. She stated she wrote it on the sign in sheet. Vice Chair Russell made a motion to defer 1414 Park Lane to the August 2019 meeting so that the owner can be under contract to sell the property or give it to the Landbank. Commissioner Hodge seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 5 ayes and 1 absent (Pekar) and 1 recusal (Frederick) Commissioner McSwain stated that it brings pressure to do something on the property. Vice Chair Russell wanted to give one last try to save the property. Chair Holder stated that the Commission should be in the business of preservation. Commissioner Jones stated the location of the house may indicate that it was one of the Kleinschmidt houses and reiterated that they should be in the preservation business. Commissioner Hodge echoed the comments of others and would rather see it saved. He believes it has a chance of being rehabbed if it was sold. STAFF UPDATE: Staff visited the property on August 5, 2019 and there was not a for sale sign on the property. Staff has not been notified that the property was up for sale or that it had been sold. Page 7 of 15 STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that this item will be forwarded to the Housing and Neighborhood Programs Department to review for possible condemnation and demolition. COMMISSION ACTION: August 12, 2019 Mr. Minyard stated that he spoke to Ed Garland and Rick Purifoy, Department of Housing and Neighborhood Programs, today about them attending the meeting. Chair Holder stated that the item cannot be heard since the applicant is not be present. The Historic District Commission adjourned the hearing until August 13, 2019 at 2:00 pursuant to the Bylaws Article IV. C. Adjourned Meetings. COMMISSION ACTION: August 13, 2019 Commissioner Frederick left the room at this time since she will be recusing from the item at 1414 Park Lane for financial conflict of interest and the Arkansas Arts Center since she is in the area of influence. Brian Minyard made a brief presentation with an update of a new owner, Greg Smith. Mr. Smith did send an email to staff and it stated that he is interested in demolishing the structure and to rebuild on the site in the near future. Ed Garland, Housing and Neighborhood Programs, stated that Greg Smith had purchased the property since the July meeting and that they were working on getting hum copies of everything concerning the property within 24 hours as is customary with a change of ownership. The discussion arose on whether the commission should allow withdrawal of the item. Commissioner Robert Hodge asked if the new owner would need to file a new application. Chair Ted Holder stated that previous owners have worked with the city to demolish when the city was the applicant. Mr. Garland said that citizens are permitted to do their own demolition. They must have a qualified contractor to demolish the structure with permits. Chair Ted Holder asked about the city’s position. Mr. Garland stated that based on its condition and the health and safety of the neighborhood, the last thing they want to do is make a vacant lot. But the City finds that it needs to be demolished based on its continued deterioration. Chair Holder referred to the five reasons in the Guidelines to hang your hat on when demolishing, and the most relevant is the impossibility to restore. He asked if it was impossible to restore. Mr. Garland responded that with enough money, anything is possible. Chair Holder stated that an entire wall is missing and he did not want to get close to it. Mr. Garland spoke of the economic return on investment. He thinks that a new structure could cost less in his personal opinion. Patricia Blick, Quapaw Quarter Association, stated that their recommendation has not been changed. Condition #1 of the Guidelines section on demolition requires a report (by a structural engineer, architect, or other who’s an expert in historic preservation) and if you are going to deviate, you need to state why. Three people are interested in rehabbing the building but their offers have not been accepted. The onus needs to be put on the new owner to prove that it is unrepairable. Page 8 of 15 Commissioner Hodge asked Chair Holder if the list of the conditions for demolition stated in the guidelines were disjunctive. Chair Holder stated they were and only one of the conditions had to be met or any combination of them. Commissioner Jeremiah Russell referred to the requirements of the last motion in the last meeting of the previous owner’s rehabbing, finding a buyer to rehab, or giving the property to the Landbank. Tearing it down is against what the HDC is supposed to do. He agrees with Ms. Blick to put the onus of the new owner to rehab or sell. He thinks the commission should allow the application to be withdrawn. Commissioner Frances McSwain asked if Ms. Blick has had contact with the new owner and wondered what his thoughts were. Ms. Blick stated that she had introduced herself to him last night but did not have an in-depth conversation. Commissioner Hodge asked Mr. Garland if the commission voted to waive the bylaws, if he would want to withdraw the item. Mr. Garland said that the application was to demolish the structure. And now the new owner wants to demolish and build new. The new owner would need to the mailings, etc. for any new application. He asked if the goal was to rehab the structure in relation to this application and to any future applications. It was decided that if the city withdraws and nothing happens, the city can reapply. The owner has the option to file a later application. Mr. Garland stated that the Commission wants the structure saved, but Housing’s opinion is that the structure is unsafe. Vice Chair Russell asked Mr. Garland if he wanted to withdraw his application. Based on all of the factors, he responded yes. Commissioner Hodge made a motion to waive the bylaws to allow a withdrawal of the item. Commissioner McSwain seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 4 ayes and 3 absent (Jones, Pekar, and Frederick). Mr. Garland asked to withdraw the item. Commissioner Hodge made a motion to withdraw of the item. Commissioner McSwain seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 4 ayes and 3 absent (Jones, Pekar, and Frederick). There was a five minute break. Page 9 of 15 Application Page 10 of 15 Cover Letter Page 11 of 15 Notice of Public Hearing mailed May 29, 2019 Page 12 of 15 Letter accompanying Notice of Public Hearing mailed May 29, 2019 Page 13 of 15 Letter dated May 30, 2019 Page 14 of 15 Front façade photo of 2018 Front façade photo of 1978 North façade photo from 2018 North façade photo from 1978 Rear façade photo from 2018 Rear façade photo from 1978 Front Façade photo from 2010 Front and north façade photo from 2010 Page 15 of 15 Excerpt of Guidelines page 55