Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 20th 2008, 7:38pm By Harvey Garrett

I formulate the following response (to a commentor) in regards to clarifying the demo process. This question/request was fielded in the recent Saint Mary's post. Most people don't understand the demo process - what role does the Inspections Dept., Housing Court, Owner, Buffalo ReUse, City Preservation Board play? What's an emergency demo? What if it has a historic designation? Etc.

Peripatetic, in response to your demo process question:

This is a little long and somewhat confusing. I hope it's clear. It's not specific to this building (Saint Mary’s) which I can't comment on because it's an open Housing Court case, but I tried to include all the steps that a property like this could go through. Although I'm a Housing Court Liaison for this District and on the City Preservation Board (both of these are unpaid and volunteer) I am not speaking for either of these organizations but rather for myself from my own personal experience with a fairly complicated system.

1) Inspections Department

The Inspections Department decides that a building is either structurally unsound or, in their opinion, the cost of rehabbing it exceeds the value of the neighborhood. The Inspections department then either gets consent from the owner or requests a demo hearing in Housing Court. Demo's have been stopped in the past by providing structural engineer's reports and providing a new owner who was able to show a plan and funds to correct all the serious issues even after receiving a demo order in Housing Court or a demo Lien on the title from the City.

2) Demo Hearing

A demolition hearing (which is what is scheduled for Monday on the Saint Mary’s property) is an opportunity for the City to make their case to Judge Nowak (who, for the record, is a State Judge and does not work for the City) that the building needs to come down even if the owner is not currently consenting. It's not a decision the City makes themselves unless it's an emergency demo or they own the property. With the exception of an emergency demo it's up to the owner or the Judge.

That being said the Judge will make his decision based on the information he is provided with - which will come primarily from the City Inspections Department (and the owner if they are actively fighting a demo). The owner, neighborhood, or preservation groups can provide additional information but it would need to be compelling. The City doesn't usually provide a statement or testimony from a licensed structural engineer - testimony is usually based on general condition, current violations, and concern over the financial feasibility of rehab.

Knowing the neighborhood would like to save a building will be important but won't be enough to stop a demo order. To prevent a demo order the Judge will most likely need a structural report from a licensed structural engineer that states the building is stable as well as a plan for further stabilization and future rehab. This can come from the owner or someone who can demonstrate that they can work with the owner on a transfer or collaboration.

The Judge can entertain delaying the hearing if the community (or an owner) wanted to hire an engineer and / or look into finding a new owner (this is what the neighbors around the Jersey Stable did) but it can't be delayed forever and it would be up to the Judge if he was willing to do so at all. Also, if an owner decides he / she wants to have it demoed, a hearing won't be necessary (also what happened with the stables) - at that point, except for a stop a the City Preservation Board, it's a private transaction unless the neighborhood or the preservation community wants to look for grounds for a law suit.

3) City Preservation Board

If the City gets either a demo order from the Judge or signed consent from the owner (or if they owned it themselves and decided to demo it) the request next goes to the City Preservation Board who usually only has advisory authority (they can't really stop most demos by themselves) but in this case because this building has local historic designation they can actually stop the demo process (unless or until the City can declare it an emergency situation). If a building is rapidly declining this should be a real concern.

It's hard to say what happens to a building long-term if the Preservation Board stalls a demo and there is no plan in place to fix it. Without a plan in place a property will usually continue to get worse until the City can legitimately claim it an emergency demo.

4) Demo Contractor Bid Process / Architectural Salvage

If the Preservation Board doesn't stop the process and the City has a Demo Order from the Judge, or signed consent from the owner, the City (or owner) can put it out to bid and begin the actual demo process once they have the funds to do so (which depends on how big a priority the City puts on ‘demoing’ a building). The City can try to make the owner pay for a demo but isn't always successful. Buffalo ReUse could do salvage if they were awarded the demo bid (unlikely because of some recent regulation issues) or if they sub contracted with whoever did win the bid.

The Preservation Board usually tries to stall a demo when the property has a local historic designation even if the Judge provides a demo order to the City. Even if they didn't the City has a lot of demos to do and may not see one with a recent demo order as a priority, especially given a demo with a large cost and the limited demo funds available, unless it really became a public safety issue (like the Jersey Stables). Either way a building with a demo order on it will usually be standing for a while - and continuing to decline if someone doesn't come up with a plan to save it.

Note: The Jersey Stables-

In the end what saved (at least what's left of) the stables was that the neighborhood found a new owner that was able to put a plan together for saving the building (along with a lawsuit against the City that gave them enough time to slow the emergency demo order). The Jersey Stables never went through the Housing Court process because they were never cited for court by the City - thus there was never a Demo Hearing. Once the property got bad enough the City just declared an emergency demo which bypasses Housing Court and the City Preservation Board. The neighbors then had to sue the City to stall the emergency demo long enough to find an owner that would take it on in it's existing condition. If the City would have cited the owner of the stables before it got as bad as it did the owner would have had pressure to sell to a new owner - of which there were several interested parties over the years. This is how we regain control over most blighted buildings on the West Side - through Housing Court the owner has pressure to fix or sell.

Saint Mary's - what I can say-

At the very least you would need a plan for stabilizing and mothballing this property if you hope to stem a demo order. If there was a viable plan in place I imagine the City would work with us on it. The first thing to do is to get a structural engineer's report that shows it's not too late - and its not dangerous to nearby neighbors and pedestrians. This will be necessary even if the Preservation Board stops the demo if there is a fear it's getting worse quickly. We then need to find a new owner with a plan and funds or work with the current owner to provide a feasible plan.

Local historic landmarks are very important to every neighborhood but we need to devise a plan for saving them - we can't just request a stay on a demo hearing indefinitely and think the problem is going to go away.

I hope this answers your question about this complicated process.