Commissioners received an informational update on the recovery and redevelopment of four buildings on Second Avenue that were heavily damaged by the Dec. 25, 2020 explosion, and discussed code enforcement, ownership disputes and possible policy tools to prevent demolition by neglect.
Chair Stewart summarized that four buildings remain exposed to the weather and that Metro Codes has determined them to be safety hazards and is pursuing demolition or stabilization as needed. Planning staff and codes staff attended to answer questions; the packet included letters from Planning Director Lucy Kemp and Bill Herbert about ongoing work.
Johnny Williams of the planning department and Bradley Rick, deputy director of the Department of Codes Administration, described the city's current approach. Rick said the Hooters building is subject to an abatement notice and that the city is "going through the demo hearing process, not necessarily to demo the building. We're trying to get it stabilized to where it's at least safe to where they can finish the streetscape work." He added that AGC has been brought under contract to stabilize the property and that ownership complexities have slowed progress.
Members of the public and several commissioners urged stronger tools to address long-term neglect. Commissioner Mayhall and another commenter cited other cities' approaches that allow the city to stabilize a deteriorating historic property and place a lien on the property to recover costs; they asked planning and codes staff to research options. One public commenter also urged preserving the street's red-brick character by reusing historic masonry where feasible.
Staff explained the planning department is pursuing rezoning parts of the block to the downtown code to clear a path for redevelopment because fractured ownership prevents the original special plan (SP) from being realized; staff said rezoning would not remove the historic overlay or this commission's review. Commissioners noted ownership disputes and regulatory obstacles have slowed rebuilding and expressed hope that coordination among planning, codes and Metro Legal could accelerate work.
No vote was taken: the item was placed on the agenda for information and staff said future development proposals for the parcels will return to the commission for review under the existing historic overlay.