Commission approves demolition permit at 218 S. Second with condition to retain eastern facade unless structurally infeasible

The Livingston City Commission on March 20 granted an appeal of a Historic Preservation Commission decision and approved a demolition permit for the brick portion of the building at 218 South Second Street, with a condition: the east facade must be retained in place unless a structural engineer certifies retention is infeasible.

Background and the appeal At its February meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission had approved a version of the demolition permit with a condition requiring the applicant to save and incorporate the existing east facade into the new design and to return to the HPC if the facade could not be saved. City staff and the city attorney reviewed that wording and concluded the condition, as written, did not make the application "acceptable" under the municipal code because it left unresolved how the applicant could obtain certainty to proceed.

City Manager Brent Gager and city attorneys advised the commission that the HPC’s intent was to require retention of the east brick facade but that the HPC’s condition had been drafted in a way that left legal ambiguity. Staff recommended the commission approve the applicant’s appeal and approve the demolition permit while clarifying the condition so that it would be administrable.

Commission action and the new condition After testimony from Historic Preservation Commission members, neighbors and the applicant, the commission approved the appeal and the demolition with a clarified condition. The commission’s adopted language requires that the east facade "be retained in place unless deemed infeasible by a structural engineer." That approach preserves the HPC’s original intent while giving the applicant a clear, technical standard for when the facade may be removed.

Public comment and developer response Members of the Historic Preservation Commission, including its chair, asked for preservation of the east wall and said the HPC had attempted to offer the applicant a path forward; HPC members said they understood demolition might proceed only if the facade could not realistically be retained. Several neighbors and preservation advocates described the building as a component of the downtown historic context and urged retention. The applicant, Eric Horn, said he and his team had revised the project after HPC feedback and told the commission, in part, "I'm gonna say that we're gonna try to save that facade, but if the design doesn't work for it, there's no use in saving it," explaining that retaining a facade can add time and cost that may affect project feasibility.

What this means The commission’s decision clears the way for the applicant to seek required building permits and design review, subject to the new technical condition. If the applicant claims the facade cannot be retained, the commission’s language requires a structural‑engineer certification that demonstrates infeasibility before the east wall can be removed. Separate design and building permit reviews — including any review by the Historic Preservation Commission for new construction in the district — remain required before construction can proceed.

Ending: The commission’s conditional approval aims to balance the HPC’s preservation goals with the applicant’s need for a clear technical standard to decide whether façade retention is practicable.