Preservation Commission

The Preservation Commission meets this Monday at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center, room 103. On the agenda, considering the appropriateness of a sign identifying the Town Square and the 2010 Historic Preservation Awards. Guess Home Rentals won't be up for one of those.

Landmark Designation

I see the Preservation Commission is giving a landmark district designation plaque to the Rogers-Parkinson house at 803 West Pecan this Monday at 4 p.m. No indication that the plaque will actually get mounted on the property, though hopefully it will afford the property a bit more protection than a Historic District location did for the Stotlar House.

Stotlar House Down

Demolition of the Stotlar House started about 11 a.m. yesterday with a couple of workmen prying up floorboards from the front porch. Demolition equipment was tearing into the house about 1:30 with about half a dozen onlookers and the house was a pile of rubble by 4 p.m.

Preservation Commission Meeting

The Work Plan Committee of the Preservation Commission meets next Tuesday at 2 p.m. in Room B at the Civic Center. On the agenda is discussion of demolition procedures and the 2010-2011 work plan. Presumably the demolition procedures discussion is to avoid more cock-ups like the Stotlar House.

Stotlar House Update

While there's no sign of any repair work being done on the building, there are also no earthmoving or any other demolition machines in the yard either. It's been over a month since the city imposed stay of demolition expired so I guess no activity is a good thing.

Stotlar House

Drove by the Stotlar House this morning around 8 and still no demolition equipment in the yard. There were about half a dozen automobiles parted at various spots on the lawn and drive, though, so I'd bet some sort of meeting or walk-through was taking place.

Presenvation Committee Meeting

The city Preservation Committee meets this Monday at 7 p.m in room 103 at the Civic Center. Looks as if the handling of the recent kerfluffle over the Stotlar House is still resonating as one agenda item is protocol for demolition procedures and handling media inquiries.

Wanna Rehab Your House?

This is the list of resources provided to Home Rentals by the Preservation Commission should HR decide to rehab the Stotlar House rather than demolish it:

Local
Property Tax Assessment Freeze--property taxes on the building can be frozen for over a 122 year period after rehab is completed.

State
Landmarks Illinois has the Preservation Heritage Fund Grant which provides assistance to preserve or protect significant structures and sites in Illinois

Federal
Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credit--offers a dollar for dollar Federal income tax credit equal to 20% of the construction costs.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit--Offered a tax credit for the rehab of low income housing. Either 9% per year for 10 years for projects not receiving Federal subsidies or 4% for those subsidized. (Don't think the Stotlar House would qualify).

National Trust for Historic Preservation--A number of grant and loan programs are available.

Certificate of Appropriateness Meeting

Sat in on the Preservation Commission's Certificate of Appropriateness Committee meeting (geez, that's a long name) this afternoon. I was right, the sole topic was the Stotlar House. Basicallythe meeting boiled down to, here's some information about resources available if Home Rentals chooses to restore the house, please don't tear it down, but there's really not anything we can do to stop you if you do.

The Home Rentals representative (I think he is the construction manager but didn't catch his name), was sympathetic to the committee's requests but said he estimated that, due to vandalism (apparently all wiring and metal plumbing has been ripped out of the house, which is what happens when the entire rear end of your building is left wide open to the elements), it would cost approximately $200,000 to rehab the building or about the same as it would cost to demolish the building and replace it with one that was architecturally similar to those in the surrounding neighborhood.

The committee pointed out that rebuilding the property would automatically give it the current special uses status it has, while demolition and rebuilding would require the building to either conform to the commercial status the area is zoned for or for Home Rentals to re-apply for a special uses exemption.

The Home Retails rep did say they did not plan to bring in demolition equiptment as soon as the moratorium expires on March 1 and they would meet with planner Meagan Jones next week to further discuss the committee's recommendations

Preservation Committee Meeting

Looks like the Certificate of Appropriateness committee is meeting tomorrow at 1:30. Wanna bet the Stotlar House is on the agenda, since the stay of demolition expires on Monday?

The City of Carbondale Certificate of Appropriateness Committee of the Preservation Commission will meet on February 25, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. on the second floor, in the planning department’s conference room B at the City Hall/Civic Center.

Stotlar House Meeting

In case you're free this Monday morning:

The City of Carbondale's Certificate of Appropriateness Committee of the Preservation Commission will meet on Monday Febuary 1st, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall/Civic Center on the second floor in Conference Room B to discuss suggestions and options for 507 W. Main st.

Stotlar House

Checked with the planning department today about what happens with the Stotlar House after the March 1 moratorium ends. During the next month, the city is helping Home Rentals gather information about the feasibility of restoring the building or finding a buyer. After the moratorium expires, Home Rentals may sell, rehab or demolish the building.

Due to the zoning, however, they may only replace it with a commercial building, not another home or apartment building, unless the company applies for a special use permit. From the way I understand it, it appears that sitting within the Walnut Street Historic District has very little bearing on the design of the structure that goes in there.

Stotlar House Update

Nothing new legalwise since the reprieve until March 1 but the earthmoving machine that was parked ominously in the front yard is gone. Guess the cost of leaving it sitting there for another month was more than Home Rentals wanted to pay.

Stotlar House Update

The C'dale Preservation Commission voted 6 to 1 last night to deny approval for Home Rentals' application to demolish the Stotlar House on West Walnut, with local landlord Ed Van Awken the only vote in favor of approval, saying he still needed more answers to questions. I'm not sure, why, if he needed more answers, he voted to go ahead with the demolition in lieu of them.

The meeting ran about 2 hours long and was much better attended than the typical Preservation Committee meeting, with Arbor District members in attendance, as well as representatives from the Murphrysboro Preservation Commission as well as a larger than ususal number of city staff and representatives from several news organizations. One commission member termed the meeting "a zoo".

There's now a moratorium on further demolition of the house until March 1. The next step for Home Rentals will probably be to appeal the commission's decision to the city council.

Update: WSIL has some more on the story.

Preservation Commission Meeting

Tonight at the Civic Center. Supposedly the Stotlar House demolition request is on the agenda:

City of Carbondale Preservation Commission
Monday, January 11, 2010
7:00 p.m.
Room 103
City Hall / Civic Center
200 South Illinois Avenue
Carbondale, Illinois

AGENDA

Event Date and Time:

Jan 11 2010 7:00pm

More on Stotlar House

Apparently the proposed demolition of the Stotlar Home has come up on the agenda pretty quickly as Preservation Commission member De Itner says there was no discussion of it during the Commission's fall meetings ( from an email forwarded courtesy of D. Gorton):

I do not recall hearing about this demolition plan at any of our fall Commission meetings. We do not have a Dec. meeting annually, so it would seem that the commissioners as a whole were not advised of this action at all.

Fruthermore, courtesy of the same email, this time with research into the city codes from Jane Adams, demolition of a builidng in a C'dale historic district may not proceed unles a) the Preservation Commission provides a certificate of appropriateness or b) the city council approves it.

4.1.11. 4. If, upon examination of the application and records of the city, the building and neighborhood services manager or his designee determines that the building or structure proposed to be demolished has been: a) designated by the city council as being in a landmark district, in a historic district, or in a neighborhood preservation district pursuant to title 15, chapter 2, article D of this code, or b) nominated for designation as such a district and subject to the provisions of subsection 15-2D-1D4 of this code, the building and neighborhood services manager or designee shall not issue the demolition permit until a certificate of appropriateness or certificate of economic hardship provided for at subsection 15-2D-1F of this code has been issued or the city council waives the requirement pursuant to subsection 15-2D-1D4 or 15-2D-1F1 of this code.

Since the city council doesn't meet again until Jan 19, a special meeting of the Preservation Commission is apparently the quickest way for Home Rentals to get the demolition approved. Apparently someone doesn't want to wait until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Commission on Jan 11.