Resident objects to sale of 48 Barton Street; council holds item for follow-up

Robert Smith Rapley, speaking as a representative of a family with prior ownership claims, opposed the city’s planned transfer of the vacant parcel at 48 Barton Street and asked the Neighborhood Jobs & Housing Committee to delay any sale.

Rapley, who identified himself as representing the parcel, told the committee the property belonged to his father and said the family’s situation had been disrupted after a fire and a series of personal setbacks. “I respectfully submit the statement and formal opposition to the proposed sale of my family's property listed as unbuildable and slated for transfer for the nominal sum of $1 to the adjacent land owners,” Rapley said.

The committee’s corporation counsel told the panel the city currently holds title after a tax foreclosure action. “The short answer is the city owns it,” the corporation counsel said, describing the tax foreclosure process and saying the city received a judgment of foreclosure in November 2024, held a sale with…