Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Demolition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Staff invokes emergency clause for collapsing house at 1007 Rhode Island; city commission to review demolition
Summary
Historic resources staff determined 1007 Rhode Island Street is structurally unsafe, used the emergency clause in Chapter 22 to approve an emergency certificate of approval and will forward the matter to the City Commission for a final determination.
Historic Resources Administrator Lynn Braddock Zollner told the Lawrence Historic Resources Commission on May 15 that an occupied or vacant house at 1007 Rhode Island Street has reached a point of structural failure and that staff used Chapter 22’s emergency provisions to issue an emergency approval to address public safety risks.
Zollner said the brick structure was stuccoed in the past and that the stucco application had been scored into the brick, which accelerated water infiltration and freeze‑thaw damage. Staff and a structural engineer documented extensive wall collapse and wide structural cracks inside rooms; Zollner said the building is in such poor condition that rehabilitation is unlikely and that parts of multiple walls are falling down.
Because the property poses an immediate safety hazard and people have been entering the building despite fencing and cameras, staff used Chapter 22’s emergency authority to enable immediate stabilization or removal work and submitted a state law review to the State Historic Preservation Office. Zollner said the state review concluded the property’s demolition would damage the historic district but that the structure’s condition makes rehabilitation infeasible. The next step is a City Commission determination at an upcoming meeting; staff said a hearing on the matter is scheduled for the City Commission agenda Tuesday night.
Zollner said staff photographed the building extensively and uploaded more than 100 photos and the structural analysis to the Kansas Historical Resources Inventory (KHRI) for documentation. The property owner has also indicated an intent to rebuild on the site; staff said salvage of architectural elements where safely feasible will be explored during demolition planning.
Commissioners asked whether decorative elements could be salvaged and whether the building’s decline was due to neglect; Zollner said the primary cause is long‑term neglect combined with problematic stucco that damaged the underlying brick. Commissioners and public commenters noted the case as an example of demolition‑by‑neglect and discussed whether the city’s tools to prevent such loss are sufficient.
Because the situation involves immediate hazard to public safety and documented structural failure, staff expedited the matter for the City Commission, which will make a formal determination under state and local preservation review procedures. Zollner said staff is working with property owners on salvage possibilities where safe and practicable.
