Council Recap: March 18 – Updated

It's somewhat of a mystery to many how we managed to make this meeting last until 10:00. Instead of making a snarky comment...

Demolition Ordinance

It's finally done. (Well, its in legistar now, but it may not make it on the agenda for Tuesday and the timeline below...

Tearin’ Down the House!

Are there any houses in the downtown area that are worthy of saving? Or should we just flatten the downtown, kiss the house...

The Hype about Neighborhood Conservation Districts

You'd think that the recent proposal for Neighborhood Conservation Districts said that nothing could ever be demolished or built anywhere in the City again,...

Nothing is Ever Easy!

No good deed goes unpunished. Last night, I tried to be "pro-business" and move reconsideration of a demolition permit. Silly me.Last week...

It’s not just the WSJ . . .

So, I was intrigued by the Cap Times reporting of the Plan Commission discussion on demolitions we had at the Plan Commission the other...

Demolitions and Conservation Districts

This morning's WSJ has a half-way decent article about our demolition ordinance (yes, that was a compliment) and an upcoming conservation district ordinance. ...

What’s Historic?

So, as the downtown continues to thrive and we see very little end to the onging redevelopment, we are running out of vacant land...

Demolition Ordinance Needs Revision

Seems odd to me that we treat deciding about the demolition of a home built in the 1800's the same as the demolition of...

French Battery Factory Replica Considered Historic Preservation?

Last night at the plan commission we approved the demolition of French Battery Factory in order to make way for new development (Union Corners)....

Burning Down the House(s)

So this is kind of embarrassing. I was talking to Judy Olson the other day about the homes that were burned on the corner...