I have started and stopped this post more times than I can count. Back when I was writing newspaper columns that was usually a bad sign but I believe this to be important so I’m going to take a final stab at it. Please forgive me if this sounds schizophrenic or unfocused but that is sort of where I am with this issue right now.
Let me start with this: Demolition by Neglect is when a property owner does not maintain their property and allows it to fall into such a state of disrepair that it becomes, more or less, uninhabitable. People do this for many reasons: Sometimes they don’t have the money to maintain it and sometimes their motives are less clear. It is an issue fraught with pitfalls ranging from spending public money to stabilize private property to government siezure of private property. When an issue is this hairy you generally find two kinds of governmental responses: The first is a strong law that provides for citizen review and possible courses of action that include fines and/or condemnation. The second is more along the lines of “We’re going to send you mean letters.” The second rarely accomplishes much for truly recalcitrant owners but will often produce some results amongst others. As with most issues, I believe that you must first start with a pragmatic and not a philosphical starting point: What business of it of the government’s to get involved in this at all? Is it some notion of public interest or are there just “some people” who don’t like to see old buildings destroyed?
All that being said, let us look at our own Home Town. Why does the government care here? In my view, the answer is best phrased in terms of a question: “What is it that Manassas has that places like Gainseville, Haymarket and Centreville don’t have?” Do we have upscale retail? A fancy regional mall? A compelling combination of these? The answer is, of course, that we have none of these (yet). We have Old Town. Old Town is, more or less, our hook and Old Town (and the surrounding area) is filled with old buildings and old houses. Is this sufficient “public interest” for the governement to get more involved? I want to say yes but the property issues give me pause. I suppose I don’t mind the government spending some limited amount of public money to stabilize structures (and placing a lien on them to get the money back) but even that doesn’t sound like an idea that I am entirely comfortable with.
All of this is brought on by the damage to the house on Liberty street – right accross from the Museum. There is also a house over on Presoctt and Quarry that has been deemed “historically significant” that is currently falling down. This has been in the paper quite a bit and I think that the issue deserves some more attention by the City Council. What does everyone out there think?
May 26, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Councilman, I’m not entirely comfortable with posting the answer I believe to be correct, so I’m just going to type it and press submit too.
Liberty St. is the “frontier” of the City’s ghetto, which includes, IMO, basically the areas surrounded by Prince William St., Wellington Rd., and S. Main St., and I think you can safely throw the North side of Clark Pl. into the mix, and we could probably exclude the Wellington Community. If you want to make the city “look nice from Old Town”, I would start by bulldozing that area to the ground. I’m sure 95% or more of the residents in that area are hardworking, God-fearing folks, who just want an honest lot in life, but the rest makes the whole area a crime-ridden black mark on the City. Liberty St. is in the ghetto. I don’t think you, Councilman, would walk down these areas alone in the dark too many times before you would whole-heartedly agree, but perhaps not publicly. With that in mind, I’ll finally get to the point; Assuming we fix up the house, and it looks great, then what? We’ve (temporarily at least) got a good looking house in a crap neighborhood. Mission accomplished? Even if it didn’t cost the taxpayers a penny, I don’t see what the benefit is, but I’m open to having it explained to me.
Just thought I’d also mention, if we bulldoze the area previously suggested, we would have a great place to build a fancy regional mall or some upscale retail stores. You asked for everyone, and that’s what I think.
May 27, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Well said DoseofReality! And if these ‘historic’ houses were to be respected as historical and not just old and with sentimental attachment houses, then why have they been ‘allowed’ to become uninhabitable?? Start the bulldozers engine City officials, please.
May 28, 2007 at 9:41 am
I probably should have posted this w/o examples…:) I’m looking for more of a philosophical debate here. However, by way of response I would say that I don’t want to give up that easily on those properties. The real question is what level of involvement should the government have in the process? Just because a house is old doesn’t mean it should meet the wrecking ball. The houses in Manassas aren’t getting any younger and we have limited options.
I’m also having a hard time with the suggestion that we bulldoze our marketing cache’….;)
May 28, 2007 at 1:18 pm
As is often the case Andy, Manassas is not unique in the challenges it
faces. Fredericksburg, for example, is apparently in the midst
of a debate on the same issue and their council recently passed
new standards for demolition in their Historic District. It will be
informative to read it and others like it from other historic
cities in Virginia with the goal of improving our regulations.
But as new regulations are crafted, we should keep
in mind that the majority of our citizens may prefer not to change
the motto on the Manassas City Seal from “Rich In Historic Interest”
to “Start the Bulldozers”.
May 29, 2007 at 10:59 am
Andy –
I need some clarification on this issue before I can offer my opinion.
Are you referring to just historic property or any property within Manassas’ city limits? If historic only, who or what places the property in that category? Determining a structures historic value is probably more complicated than calculating its economic worth.
Do you differentiate action based on type of property neglect – willful versus unintentional?
Does Manassas have a local preservation ordinance that addresses this issue? Will your current actions to implement proactive zoning enforcement help?
May 29, 2007 at 1:17 pm
I’m in a bit of hurry so this is gonna be terse:
Just historic property. There was a survey done by an outside firm, I believe, that put classifications on property. Proactive zoning may help some.
May 29, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Andy, This is Tom and I met with you in your office about a month ago to discuss IT consulting, and we got on the subject of city government…I live in your neighborhood.
I’m not familiar with the house on Liberty, but I have been watching the house on Prescott/Quarry deteriorate for as long as I’ve lived in Old Town. My wife and I comment on it every time we drive by, and it would be a disgrace to allow it to be demolished. Once my wife and I finish work on our own money pit, I might be interested myself in restoring that house.
PS. I still need to return the notebook you loaned me on the 28 revitalization project…I’ve not forgotten.
May 31, 2007 at 11:06 am
FYI-
OK, not exactly germane to this posting- but perhaps of interest.
There will be a meeting of the City Council Land Use and Economic
Development Committee today(5-31-2007) at City Hall in
the Second Floor Conference Room – 5:30PM. The public is
invited.
Topic: Economic Development Strategic Plan Update.
July 9, 2007 at 11:57 am
The house on Liberty St. is uninhabitable because of fire damage if I am not mistaken. I believe I saw a Condemed sign on it. Who owns it? Do they still pay taxes on it? If no one owns it, it should be demolished in the interest of public safety. We don’t want kids playing in it or homeless people setting up housekeeping in there. If someone still owns it, they should be given a reasonable amount of time to repair the damage and get the building in habitable condition. The house on Quarry is a different situation perhaps. Will it pass a health and safety inspection? Has ownership and taxes been established? If the house is can be refurbished, the city could contract out to a local builder to do the work and sell the house for enough money to recoup all expenses for the work done.