 |
| Empty lot at Liberty and Mission |
The site has a long-contested history. Back in 2007, Salem Weekly wrote about the older homes that still sat on it and which the owner wanted to demolish. As the houses were in the historic district, there were significant barriers to this.
Unable to acquire the necessary permits, the owner ended up pursuing a "demolition by neglect," choosing not to keep up the homes and allowing them to decay into ruin. Eventually they were so trashed they had to be demolished.
So now there's a new development proposed for a podiatrist's office. Will it be a phoenix, something splendid and interesting and lovely, worthy of the historic district? Or will it be ticky-tack and ugly?
It appears there will need to be a zoning change: A Comprehensive Plan Change from Single Family Residential to Commercial and Zone Change from RS to CO for use as medical office. So that'll be a Public Hearing at some point. There is also a Historic Design Review in the works.
One way criticism of the project may be framed is "encroachment." For more on the changing character of Mission Street as well as some of the autoist bias in "encroachment":
- Lord and Schryver Museum also Shows Mission St in Transition
- City Council, December 7th - Zoning and Encroachment
- Defense against Developer Dark Arts: Historic Districts' Unpredictable Charm
SCAN meets Wednesday, August 10th at 6:30 p.m. in the Pringle Community Hall, 606 Church St SE.
1 comment:
There's more on the planning decisions here. Also, Hinessight has a note on damage to the big Maple tree.
Post a Comment