After hearing several residents' concerns Tuesday night, the Jefferson City Historic Preservation Commission unanimously denied the city's application to demolish 408 Lafayette St., sending it to the Jefferson City Council for an appeals process.
Last month, the City Council narrowly voted to proceed with demolishing 408 Lafayette St. to avoid paying back more than $78,000 in federal funds the city invested in rehabilitating the property. In the same meeting, the council unanimously voted to sign a local historic district application for the School Street area as the property owner for the same building.
During Tuesday's meeting, the Historic Preservation Commission denied the demolition clearance application for 408 Lafayette St. Commissioners said they wanted the City Council to take another look at the property since council members narrowly voted to proceed with demolishing the building.
Under the recently-established demolition ordinance, property owners can appeal to the City Council if they receive denials, which city staff said they plan to do.
The denied demolition clearance application may appear in front of the City Council again in May.
If the City Council overturns the commission's denial, city staff will proceed with demolition and deed the property as green space. Deeding land as green space in a floodplain is common with planning professionals, Jefferson City Neighborhood Services Manager Jayme Abbott said.
The property is in a 100-year floodplain, and a 2006 city plan recommends turning the School Street area into a green space.
Several residents spoke in opposition of the 408 Lafayette St. demolition, many saying they were worried it would decrease surrounding property values and impact the proposed School Street local historic district.
Residents submitted an application earlier this year to establish a local historic district in the School Street area - including properties in the 600 block of East McCarty Street, all of School Street, the 400 block of Lafayette Street, three houses on the east side of Lafayette Street and 500 Lafayette St. However, city staff sent it back since it did not meet the city's requirements, such as containing 75 percent of notarized signatures from property owners in the proposed area. The City Council agreed to sign the application so it could meet the 75 percent threshold.
Resident Jenny Smith resubmitted the local historic district application following the council meeting. There is an informational meeting regarding the application at 5:30 p.m. April 19. The Historic Preservation Commission will hold a public hearing for the application at 6 p.m. May 1.
"Green space is a fine idea but these houses have been here for a very long time, long before there were FEMA floodplains," Smith said. "It would be fine to have green space but there are houses there and there are people who live there, and they have invested a lot in these. We feel like this is an important area historically for Jefferson City, and we need to recognize the history and this local historic district would do that. It would give the neighborhood some pride in their place, and it would also lead to revitalization of the area."
Glover Brown, representing Friends of Lafayette Street and The Historic Foot District, told commissioners he was against the 408 Lafayette St. demolition because the group hopes to create an economic development corridor in that area.
"We're asking the residence not be demolished because if it was, nothing could be placed back there again," he said.
Mayor Carrie Tergin was the tie-breaking vote last month when sending the 408 Lafayette St. demolition application to the Historic Preservation Commission. She said Tuesday night she wanted the commission to have a say in whether to demolish the building due to the multiple moving parts involving this property.
Since city staff used federal funds from the United States Department Housing and Urban Development and the property was later placed in FEMA's 100-year floodplain, Tergin said city staff contacted both agencies for further guidance.
The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry department also submitted a demolition clearance application for 606 East McCarty St., which was approved by the commission. In December, the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission voted to proceed with demolishing 602 and 606 E. McCarty St. to add to the nearby Greenway trail.
Parks Department Director Todd Spalding said the former property owner donated the building with the promise it would be demolished and used as green space. Assistant City Attorney Bryan Wolford said if the commission denied the demolition request, it may cause some legal issues due to the verbal promise between the Parks Department and former property owner to utilize the property as green space.
The Parks Department plans to salvage any features or fixtures deemed architectural or historic in 606 E. McCarty St., according to the demolition application.
Since the two properties are in the floodplain, property owners must comply with FEMA's substantial improvement rule - property owners can't make improvements more than 50 percent of the structure's value. City staff said for 408 Lafayette St. and 606 E. McCarty St., it would cost more than 50 percent of the structure's value to bring the buildings to habitual standards.
If the City Council and Historic Preservation Commission deem a home as historic or a historical contribution to a local historic district, FEMA's substantial improvement rule would not apply to that property, Jefferson City Department of Planning and Protective Services Director Sonny Sanders said.
School Street homeowner Jerica Hunt said she thought this would encourage younger individuals to rehabilitate homes in the area and was worried demolishing 408 Lafayette St. would influence the local historic district application.
The 408 Lafayette St. and 606 E. McCarty St. properties are in an area that used to be Cottage Place Park, which was used for several competitions, games and social gatherings. City staff said 408 Lafayette St. also housed former Lincoln University professors.
The city and Parks Department own five properties in the proposed local historic district area - 408 and 410 Lafayette St., 602 and 606 E. McCarty St., and 623 School St.
The City Council approved a demolition moratorium for the School, East McCarty and Lafayette streets area last March after residents said they were worried the city would turn the area into green space.
The demolition moratorium ended in November when the council voted to try to sell 408 Lafayette St. and use the sales money to pay back a portion of the owed $78,000. The deadline for that sale ended in March, and the city did not accept any bids for the property.