The Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission reproached Desert Viking representatives for demolishing a Roosevelt Row building last year without a permit at the Commission’s monthly meeting Monday evening.
The building, a part of Desert Viking’s Blocks of Roosevelt Row project, was located at 915 N. Fifth St. and torn down in November. A porch on the back of the building at 909 N. Fifth St. was also demolished. The property should have been subject to a 30-day demolition hold, according to city documents. Representatives from Desert Viking applied for demolition permits for the properties on Dec. 12, after the fact.
According to city documents, the company was charged investigation and double permit fees on each structure.
The 30-day hold policy was put in place in 2016 to protect commercial buildings, single-family homes and duplexes more than 50-years-old in the downtown area. The buildings must go through the hold process to allow for community feedback and discussion prior to demolition.
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“I was shocked, disappointed, frustrated,” said Historic Preservation Commission Chair Sherry Rampy. “Because when somebody [Desert Viking], that has been a friend of preservation … goes completely outside the ordinance and just tears it down without even pulling a demo permit, there’s no excuse for that and there are ramifications.”
Representatives from Desert Viking, including founder Niels Kreipke, said they had multiple conversations with the Evans Churchill Neighborhood Association, which Commissioner Dan Klocke confirmed. The demolition of the buildings in question was always part of the plan, according to Desert Viking’s representatives.
“It seems like a shock that this was always the plan to everybody here,” Rampy said during the hearing. “You took historic preservation funding with the knowledge that you were going to destroy one of the buildings and not disclosing it. Am I missing something?”
In its July 6, 2017 meeting, the Phoenix City Council approved $135,000 in exchange for a 30-year conservation agreement. However, the demolished building was not one of the buildings approved for the agreement.
Commissioner Bill Scheel brought up an example of a previous case with similar circumstances in which the person who ordered the demolition was forced by the city to pay a fine.
No formal action was taken at the meeting to rectify the demolitions, but Kreipke expressed his desire to work with the city to find a way to do so. At the conclusion of the discussion, Rampy put the issue on the agenda to address at a future Commission meeting.
Historic rehabilitation funds were also approved during the meeting for an exterior rehabilitation at the Burgess Hadsell House to fix its plumbing, which became disconnected from the city’s sewer system. The house was built in 1893 and is one of less than 100 homes built in the 19th century still standing in Phoenix. The Commission discussed ways they could make sure such funds reach their intended target: low-income residents who seek rehabilitation of their historic homes.
Contact the reporter at dmperle@asu.edu.
