You own a commercial building. The city 'suggests' that you add some off-street parking. You purchase an abandoned house next door in a area that is appropriately zoned for razing the house and using the land for the off-street parking. Oops, the city decides, after your purchase, that the house is of historic significance so you can't raze it. It's crumbling and falling apart and will cost you far more to repair than it will ever be worth. You can't sell it because nobody wants it. City: "Tough."
More here.
I have a thing for historic architecture. I wish we had a lot more of it. I wish we hadn't destroyed the thousands of historic buildings we did in the 60's and 70's (and many of the buildings that replaced them have now be destroyed as ugly and poorly designed and built mistakes). BUT, this burden cannot be put on individuals. If we want to preserve a building then we (or those who want to preserve it) need to purchase it for a fair price.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
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