Committee recommends sale of small city parcel at Church Street corner after neighbors, police cite safety and nuisance concerns; opponents urge preservation

The Municipal Services, Facilities & Infrastructure Committee voted to recommend the City Council authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute sale of a small city-owned parcel at the corner of Norway Avenue and Church Street (identified in committee as 100 Church Street, parcel number 574015). The motion was seconded and passed in committee with one member opposed.

Presenters and speakers described the parcel as a small, roughly 5,000-square-foot city-owned lot that neighbors and businesses say has become a locus of drug activity, loitering, public urination and other nuisances. Paul Rodenhauser, representing adjacent property owners and local realty interests, said neighbors and property owners view private ownership as the easiest solution to address safety and nuisance issues. Public Works staff and the city manager explained the parcel is maintained by Public Works, is not formally codified as a park, and that fencing and other mitigation options were considered. Public safety concerns were emphasized by councilors and police representatives: officers said activity at the site occupies patrol time.

Multiple residents and longtime downtown advocates urged caution. Several public commenters, including Peter Hartz and others who said they had worked on or stewarded the green space for years, asked the city to review the parcel’s deed and expressed concern about losing public green space and the effect of privatization. A resident asked that plantings maintained by volunteers be recognized as separate from the parcel transfer; the city attorney confirmed deed review would be part of the process. Public commenters also raised that redevelopment would require zoning relief: staff said the parcel’s 5,000-square-foot size is below the zoning district minimum lot size (10,000 square feet), so developing a duplex would at least require a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment or a lot-line adjustment with adjacent owners.

Committee discussion touched on alternatives such as fencing, lights with motion detectors, cutting back the berm to increase sight lines, and providing programming or adding the parcel into the parks system. Several councilors urged trying mitigation measures for a year before sale; others argued the abutters’ offer to acquire and maintain the parcel is practical given current policing limits.

A motion to authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute sale of 100 Church Street (parcel 574015) passed in committee by a 4–1 vote; the item will be referred to the full City Council for final action at a subsequent meeting because committee minutes will need to be prepared.