What exactly qualifies as a condemnable home in the city of St Paul?
A look inside the home of 'Arjo' Adams, the creator of The Peoples' Park -
in the Payne/Phalen District 5 area of St. Paul, MN. The Park and the home have been slated for demolition although neither meet the guidelines for demolition under the nuisance law as it reads at the time of this video.Update:
A letter to Mr. Adams and his co-owner Ms. Woolsey dated August 30, 2013, the legislative hearing officer has granted a 'stay of execution' if you will and given Mr. Adams until September 10, 2013 stating:
a $5,000 performance deposit or a bond needs to be posted by September 10 in order for her to recommend that the City Council grant you additional time to develop the following:
1) provide a work plan including timelines for completing the work (NOTE: City's estimate for rehab exceeds $50,000);
2) must submit bids from a general contractor and subcontractors;
3) must provide financial documentation indicating the funds to do the rehab (line of credit,construction loan, or personal bank account) You may want to seek assistance through your sister, Beth Woolsey, Wells Fargo Mortgage, or Dayton’s Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services);
4) must provide an affidavit indicating the dedication of funds to be used for the project if the money is from a personal account;
5) active permit(s) need to be finaled; and the property must be maintained.
If you wish to appeal further, the City Council Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 18, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 300 Council Chambers, Third Floor.
Note: An independent inspector passed this property and offered his results to the City of St Paul code compliance department who initially did not wish to accept the findings, but I am told, they did acquiesce, and enter the findings into the file to be discussed at the September 10 hearing.
- Will this independent inspector's findings, along with the estimate for plumbing repairs that did not exceed $1200.00 be enough to eliminate the need for a $5000 performance bond?
- It hardly seems rational to collect a $5000 performance deposit to complete less than $2000 worth of work.
- Has the city decided to honor the permits that were pulled in the past and not honored?
- Will the city see the exact nature of their wrongs?
For the sake of the taxpayer I hope so.
A study by the University of Minnesota boasts the benefits that can be realized by the city of St Paul for renovating, rather than demolishing so called vacant properties - as they have classified this one (smartgrowthamerica.org).
The study maintains that while vacant properties negatively affect neighborhood property values, reducing the city's tax base, a renovated property did not affect surrounding property values negatively.
In fact, demolishing a vacant building as they would do here, and leaving a vacant lot leads to "$26, 397 in lost property tax revenue over a twenty year period".
I wonder, how many vacant buildings get demolished in the city of St Paul simply because the owners could not afford the repairs.
Is this not what neighborhood stabilization and community development block grants, along with low interest and no interest home improvement loans are for?
It would seem to me, powers that be, that
- rather than rack up $27000 in lost tax revenue,
- rather than lowering neighboring property values,
- rather than adding a nauseating $12ooo to the already destroyed homeowners tax lien,
- rather than adding insult to injury and devastating lives, some beyond repair,
- that you would offer some of these funds as a first measure, rather than a hidden resource not discussed or mentioned as an option at the time of condemnation.
Perhaps this is a call to the granting governmental agencies who have so generously offered these funds to the City of St Paul to audit the use of these funds, and their availability to those who need them.
For those who are unaware of these programs I offer the following links:
This site has links to citywide programs including:
City-wide Rehabilitation Loans Emergency Home Loan Fund Saint Paul Rehab Support Program (Frogtown & North End neighborhoods)The Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program
Funds for homelessness preventionAnd, the following links, taken from the city of St Paul website:
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Perhaps along with their supply of window stickers declaring properties unfit for human habitation, the inspectors and DSI should carry a list of resources for the homeowners that they are trying to force to comply with their repair demands. The magnitude of the effect these condemnations have on lives demands some sort of improvement to the process.
Follow this story on the both the Facebook page located here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Peoples-Park/588070574550350
and on the official blog of The Peoples' Park and the fight of Arjo Adams located here:
http://laymansplace.blogspot.com
Or sign the petition to save the park at Change.org located here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-st-paul-and-department-of-safety-and-inspections-preserve-our-artistic-landmark-the-people-s-park-of-680-east-wells-street
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