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Neighbors, inspectors and DBI press for tougher enforcement after series of unauthorized demolitions
Summary
DBI staff and neighbors detailed multiple cases of demolition beyond approved permits, citing examples including 49 Hopkins, 841 Chestnut (950 Lombard) and 25 Seventeenth; the commission asked DBI to draft procedural changes, pursue joint meetings with Planning and explore stronger penalties and mandated pre-construction inspections.
Patrick O’Reardon, DBI’s inspection staff lead, told the Building Inspection Commission that the department has encountered a small but serious set of projects where demolition exceeded approved permit scope, leaving neighbors exposed to blight and structural risk. "We stop the work as soon as they are identified," O’Reardon said, but he added that current penalties—typically twice the valuation for work beyond a permit and nine times when there is no permit at all—often fall short as a deterrent for large projects where fines are a small fraction of value.
Several public speakers described sustained neighborhood harm. Mary Anne Bockers, whose home borders 310 Montcalm Street, said the developer bought the adjacent property and within weeks violated a settlement by…
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