More than 100 show up to discuss proposed Albany Historic District expansion

ALBANY — In the end, nothing was decided. But the crowd of more than 100 that packed the meeting room of the downtown Law Enforcement Center on Thursday night at least had an opportunity to air their concerns — pro and con — about the proposed expansion of the city of Albany’s Historic District to include the Rawson Circle and Palmyra Heights neighborhoods.

Ward II City Commissioner Bobby Coleman, who represents the neighborhoods and called for the town hall-style gathering, put it best when, at the close of the meeting, he said, “I hope my colleagues (on the commission) got a better grasp (of the group’s wishes) than I did.”

The, as Ward III Commissioner B.J. Fletcher put it, “passionate response” of members of the community left commissioners — Ward V and VI’s Bob Langstaff and Tommie Postell, respectively, also attended, and Mayor Dorothy Hubbard came in near the end of the meeting — with no clear consensus of the neighborhood’s wishes on the matter.

At one point, Coleman called on audience members for and against the proposal to stand, and the respondents were almost equally divided.

“This is an issue that I think should be left to the people of these neighborhoods who will be impacted,” Coleman said after the meeting. “It’s going to be tough for us to make a decision because it looked to me like it was about 50-50 for and against.”

City Manager Sharon Subadan, who along with Assistant City Manager Phil Roberson also attended the meeting, may have offered a solution that both sides can live with.

“There is a provision (in state law) that allows for a vote on a matter like this by mail, but it is not a part of any city ordinance,” Subadan said. “But (altering the city ordinance to allow for such a vote) could be part of the discussion Tuesday night.”

The City Commission will vote on the matter at its business meeting Tuesday evening.

Albany Planning Services Director Paul Forgey gave an overview of the issue before audience members were allowed to ask questions and make comments. Forgey said the call to expand the city’s Historic District to include the Rawson Circle and Palmyra Heights neighborhoods came as part of a “multiyear process” that included a neighborhood survey to determine if the area qualified as a historic district.

Jackson Murphy spoke on behalf of a group calling itself the Rawson/Palmyra Property Rights Committee, which is opposed to the designation. A letter written by that group that addresses 11 concerns its members have with the proposal included the comment, “We believe this massive expansion (which the letter noted includes ‘800-plus structures’) that encroaches on several North Central Albany neighborhoods is wrong for numerous reasons. This is not just a Rawson Circle expansion, but also includes a large area of streets/avenues with homes and structures that appear to have zero historic value.”

The letter went on to say that “according to the survey there are only around 50 structures with any historic value at all.”

Murphy said the opposition group had sent out, at its own expense, a survey asking residents in the neighborhood if they supported the Historic District proposal.

“We got responses from 116 property owners who were against the proposal and 35 who were for it,” Murphy said. “We have their names, addresses and signatures.”

But Murphy’s comments drew quick opposition.

“The way that survey was written was very biased,” resident Carolyn Middlebrooks said. “In your letter along with the survey, you even used the term ‘historic confiscation.’ There’s no way that’s an accurate accounting of the way the people in the neighborhood feel.”

Attorney Sam Engram, who said he has lived in the Rawson Circle neighborhood for decades, also decried the survey.

“I didn’t receive one of those letter to vote on,” he said. “So you did not send one out to everybody in the neighborhood.”

Audience member Stan Brown spoke directly of the slow process of trying to remove a dilapidated property in the district — “a beautiful old home that’s been allowed to deteriorate.” Coleman and Forgey said that property illustrates the frustration city officials have with the process of blight eradication in the community.

“Code Enforcement has been on them for a long time, but we can’t just take someone’s property without due process,” Forgey said. “We’ve been working on this for five or six years, but (the owner) will do just enough to stop the process for a while, then we have to start again.”

Asked by Fletcher if that case had even made it to court yet (a precursor to condemnation), Forgey said it had not.

Audience member Donald Hawkins asked Forgey if the call for “certificates of appropriateness,” required for exterior work on properties in historic districts, would increase construction costs, and Forgey said that, in general, it would not.

“(Being part of a historic district) protects your investment in your property,” the Planning director said. “If the character of your neighborhood is preserved, it preserves your property value.”

Forgey also noted that “95 percent of the work that most homeowners do never goes before the Historic Preservation Commission (for approval)” and that a local Historic District designation would not require approval for work done on the interior of homes.

Historic District opponent Chris Cochran commented, “It seems to me that the money that is being used for this project could be used to get Code Enforcement to do their job a little better.”

Proponent Jennifer Davis, who moved with her family into the Rawson Circle neighborhood from Raleigh, N.C., said, “We moved into this neighborhood because of the close proximity to downtown. I think those two components — the Historic District and downtown — together are very important to the future of the community.”

Audience member John Sherman said, “The rich people who are for this don’t care about the poor people and whether they can afford to make costly repairs.” Bruce Capps added, “I don’t see this as a historic preservation issue, I see it as a neighborhood preservation issue. This neighborhood needs to be protected.”

Tuesday’s commission meeting starts at 6 p.m.