Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for all the support received by everyone regarding the 4605 Magazine Street proposed demolition. Much thanks, as well, to the neighboring associations who also participated.
Here’s a summary of today’s scheduled meeting at the Housing Conservation District Review Committee:
A number of BIA members and neighbors attended the meeting intending to speak against the demolition. Also a number of other area neighborhood associations also attended and planned to speak, including Audubon Riverside Association, the Jefferson Avenue Association and others.
The request to demolish was denied based on a misinterpretation of city procedural rules for scheduling the hearing and the HCDRC did not hear the applicant or our responses. The applicant indicated he would appeal the decision to City Council.
The Council meeting has not yet been scheduled, but could be held as early as February 21st.
We will need a strong response from the association membership including letters to all Council members and a strong presence at the meeting. More to come….
Thanks. I will send you an update on 4605 Magazine as the zoning committee reports in. If you have anything to contribute, please send information to me or Tommy – copied above.
1 comment:
The xact rule that was "misinterpreted" has been ignored by the committee for over a decade. It says that a hearing has to take place within 30 days of permit application acceptance, which occurred on 12/7/07.
The only time the permit could have been approved under the existing law woul have been at its first hearing, on 12/31/07.
By deferring at that hearing, the HCDRC automatically created a denial. They have been acting in this fashion en masse since the storm, and for quite a while before.
Since the storm, over 190 properties have been deferred to longer than 30 days past application acceptance, with over 170 of those resulting eventually in approvals. All of those 170 should actually have been denials.
4605 Magazine was just one high profile example in a widespread trend of ignorance and willful flouting of the law by HCDRC. A number of other properties were denied on 1/28/08 for the same reason, but only after a citizen pointed out the 30 day rule to the committee. Even after that, it took persuasion from a member of the City Attorney's office to convince the Committee they had not been following the law.
Bottom line: deferrals are illegal.
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