Aldermen Pass Legislation to Approve 10-Year Tax Abatement for Strip Center

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen just “perfected” Board Bill #257 giving the suburban strip mall at 2000-2014 South 7th (aka Broadway to most of us) at Russell 10-year tax abatement. Basically the building, built as part of a prior redevelopment plan, was considered “blighted” because it was vacant.

Last month the project added a sidewalk connecting a portion, but not all, of the storefronts to the public sidewalk system. For more information click here.

Century Building Case Continues Wind Through Court System

Yesterday I spent a half hour sitting in a courtroom listening to lawyers support and counter arguments in the case against two friends of mine, Marcia Behrendt and Roger Plackemeier.  Each filed lawsuits a number of years ago once it was realized developers sought to raze the historic Century Building for a parking garage.

Ultimately the developers got their financing and began demolishing the long-standing building — the very one the city had only a few years earlier told the then owner it should not be razed for parking. That started on the evening of October 20, 2004 — they had to quickly damage the building beyond repair.  As Behrendt & Plackemeier had sought to save the building, the one remaining and active suit was dropped.
In April 2005 the state (via the Missouri Development Finance Board) the city (via the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority), the developers NSG Developers LLC and St. Louis US Custom House and Post Office Building and Associates (aka Steve Stogel and Mark Schnuck) decided to sue Behrendt & Plackemeier, claiming “malicious prosecution.”

Recently they are asking the court to name attorney Matt Ghio as a defendant as well.  By doing so, he could represent himself but not B&P.  Doug Down, now representing NSG and the Post Office Associates, made Ghio out to look like an evil lawyer run amuck – handing out bad advice to B&P.  Dowd then told judge Donald McCullin that they’d sue Ghio individually if he were not added a defendant.  Ghio, in rebuttal, indicated this simply proved the developers, state and city sought to separate Ghio from defending B&P.  Ghio, having been involved in these cases for a good five years or so, knows all the issues quite clearly — that removing him would “prejudice his clients.”

Before Judge McCullin now are motions from each side.  The plaintiffs (developers, city, state) seek to add Ghio as a defendant (a motion to leave) as well as add another charge of “abuse of process” to B&P.  The defendants (B&P) filed a “motion for summary judgment” — asking the judge to throw out the case all together.  I’ll keep everyone posted once the judge makes his ruling on these motions.

[Photo by Alan Brunettin from Remember the Century pictorial.]

Two Years After Wheelchair Bound Resident Killed by SUV, Sidewalks Still Not Passable

Yesterday a jury found the city responsible in the death of a woman who was using her wheelchair in the street when she was struck by an SUV. Elizabeth Bansen had wheeled the three blocks to the Mobil station east of her apartment to get a sandwich. The Mobil was and is the closest place to get food in the area.

From the Post-Dispatch in November 2005:

Federal law makes wheelchair access a civil right. St. Louis has responded aggressively in the past decade by putting curb ramps at 90 percent of the city’s intersections at a cost of $7.5 million, said city streets director Jim Suelmann.

Despite these efforts, certain areas — such as Bansen’s midtown neighborhood — fall through the cracks. Sidewalks are the responsibility of property owners, Suelmann said. The city offers to pay for half of a sidewalk repair if a property owner asks for help or if there is a complaint about the condition of the sidewalk, he said.

From Today’s paper:

Thomas McDonnell, an attorney for the city, had argued that the sidewalk on the south side of Delmar Boulevard was passable, and that in two years of living nearby, Bansen had never complained about its condition.

I like that argument, if you don’t complain to the city your heirs shouldn’t have a claim for negligence. And sorry McDonnell, the sidewalk between the store and her former home is not passable today. Clearly the city is not sure on this point, also from today’s paper:

The city’s director of streets, Todd Waelterman, said Wednesday afternoon that he was not sure whether the sidewalk had been fixed. “I can only tell you the truth: I do not know.”

But [City Attorney Patti] Hageman said she understood it had been fixed.

Well, it ain’t fixed! Is it better than it was when Bansen was struck and killed? Yes. But is it passable? No.

As we learned from Barden v. Sacramento, courts have ruled that sidewalks are part of the ADA and basic service cities provide to citizens (source and legal brief from the Dept of Justice). The city must now pay the parents of Elizabeth Bansen $250,000 — a nice sum of money but nothing compared to a love one.

I wanted to check out the conditions myself.

This morning I started at the Mobil store and walked both sides of Delmar from Jefferson to the apartment three blocks to the west where Bansen resided until she was killed. I was wearing gloves as I took the pictures so you’ll see a couple of fingers in a few pictures, sorry about that.

Above: Starting at the Mobil store we see from the sidewalk that the car wash exit comes between the public sidewalk and the front door of the store. Pedestrians must go to the auto exit to go around this obstacle. The orange cone in the above is in the middle of the no parking area adjacent to an accessible parking place, likely to keep people from parking and blocking the ADA ramp.

I cross Delmar and headed Westbound toward her apartment. Above is looking back at the Mobil, Jefferson is to the right our of view.

So here we are on the South side of Delmar facing West. To the right, out of view is the Mobil station. To the left and behind me is 2600 Delmar, the offices of general contractor EM Harris. Their sidewalk is new as part of their recent renovation of the building. Immediately to my left is a vintage car dealership, also a new addition to the street. The sidewalk here is fairly new. Just ahead, past the tree, you can see part of it is not finished yet.
It was in this general area, I believe, that she was struck. A streetlight was said to be out at the time, presumably this one.

Further up we see broken sidewalk in front of offices of the state Department of Natural Resources. This is next door to the Scott Joplin House museum operated by the state.

This may look fairly passable but to someone using a manual chair with small front wheels, going through here is a good way to get stuck.

Again, sorry about the glove blockage. Anyway, after crossing Beaumont St we can see recently installed sidewalks, so new street trees have not yet been planted. The adjacent land is owned by the state which may have paid to have their sidewalks done.

Then we run into a problem, a very old and un-passable sidewalk. The owner of the vacant land to the left is N & G Ventures, LC (aka Paul McKee). This land was purchased about six months prior to the accident. Not surprising, the falling down building on the corner is owned by the city’s LRA (Land Reutilization Authority).

Looking back where we had just been, we can see that at that corner there is no curb ramp.

Bansen’s apartment was here, on the North side of Delmar. This accessible unit is located not on the front sidewalk but off the back. Given the either incomplete sidewalks or those with steps, I’m uncertain how she would have gotten out to Delmar.

Heading back Eastbound now toward the Mobil, the sidewalk in front of the apartments where she lived are fine.

Getting back to Leffingwell Ave, however, and we are again faced with a curb rather than a ramp. This would force anyone in a wheelchair to use the street instead.

Besides the broken sidewalk in front of the existing business on the street, much of the sidewalk area on this block is completely impassable to a person in a wheelchair. It does, however, have a new curb cut at the corner.

Looking back West after crossing over Beaumont, we can see the new sidewalk adjacent to state owned land. This stretch of Delmar is in the 6th ward where Kacie Triplett was just elected earlier this year.

This city doesn’t know how to construct environments for pedestrians. Subsidized new construction is being built lacking any means for pedestrians. Drive-thru places are popping up throughout the city and region while pedestrian access is ignored.

One of my next steps will be to request a copy of the city’s latest ADA Transition Plan, to see how they plan to more. Will it continue to be hit or miss — installing the corner ramps to sidewalks that are not passable? We already have places like Loughborough Commons where it was suggested the partial lack of sidewalks along Grand as a reason to blight the area only to have the developer remove all the sidewalks along the East side of Grand — even though the West side of Grand is also not compliant by not having curb ramps. That was why I spotted a guy riding his mobility scooter in the street last May (see post).

Despite millions, make that billions, being spent around this region on various projects we are seeing the quality of life for the pedestrian continue to decline overall. Sidewalks are basic service of cities — one we need to demand. Aldermen need to stop funding pet projects in their wards so that we can get some real money to connect real places together.  For example, one block North of here along MLK we see new sidewalks and curbs from Jefferson to Grand.  Looks pretty good, especially from an SUV windshield.  However, in all that distance is has one crosswalk — yes, one!!!  It was designed to look pretty but not actually function well for citizens attempting to use the sidewalks.   See prior post on this MLK streetscape fiasco here.

At some point we must begin to build our public rights of way for those using means other than the private car to get from place to place.  It doesn’t mean at the exclusion of motorists, just not at the exclusion of pedestrians.

St. Louis To Consolidate Some Offices at Former Federal Office Building

Last Friday I posted that I wanted to see the city consolidate various offices into the vacated Municipal Courts building next to city hall. Monday I get a call from John Farrell, Public Information Officer for Comptroller Darlene Green, asking if I had time for a quick meeting. I met with Farrell and James Garavaglia, the Asset Manager in Green’s office.

While they all like the Municipal Courts building they say the cost of the necessary repairs are beyond the city’s budget constraints. Unlike city hall, the Municipal Courts building has not had the incremental upgrades to the electrical service and other systems. Garavaglia said in the last year the building was in operation they had fans blowing on the electrical panels to cool them down.

So when the federal courts moved to their new courthouse the shift began — the city bought the former federal courts building, leaving the old Municipal Courts building vacant. But, at that time, the talk was of a renewed Kiel Opera House with the Municipal Courts serving as a hotel and restaurant space to the east and the Abram federal building becoming a parking garage.

Above: The Abram building as seen from where 16th street used to be, now poorly maintained “open space.”

A couple of issues have come up since then. One, developer Breckenridge died a year ago and it turns out the Abram building is not well suited for a parking garage. Plan B? Consolidate offices from other buildings including the traffic/housing courts on Olive at 15th and the Health Department from North Grand.

Not as ideal as the Municipal Courts — an attractive building adjacent to City Hall. Still, having offices in the Abram is better than using is strictly for daily car storage — we have enough garages already. Sadly, it is really a tragic building from an urban perspective.

It occupies an entire city block yet has only one public entrance — which is set back from the street atop a platform accessed only from opposite ends. The building overhang is suitable space for smokers to stay out of the rain but little else.

Above we can see the little bit of 15th street before it is cut off for the Scottrade Center, with the Abram on the right and the long-closed Kiel Opera House on the left.

From the above vantage point we can see the rest of the field — in the foreground is the vacant Kiel, then the vacant Municipal Courts, the tall building is the new federal courthouse, the dark lower building with the red roof being city hall and behind it, the old federal courthouse now used for state court as well as some city offices.

So where does leave the Municipal Courts building? In July Jake Wagman of the Post-Dispatch did a story on the city’s hope to sell the building. Following that story, says Farrell and Garavaglia was interest from local and out of town developers. The developers that expressed an interest were given an RFP. Garavaglia expects responses early in January. Working with the Slay administration, Comptroller Green hopes to be able to select one of the proposals to sell the building.

At issue for any developer is figuring out ADA access. Such access is currently through a back entrance as the front steps are much to great for a reasonable ramp. Once inside I’m told the original (and historic bathrooms) have steps up into them. Other areas of the building include a number of steps as well.

The eventual purchaser will also get basically the land the building sits on. The parking to the south is a city owned lot. However, I’m told the Treasurer’s Office which manages parking for the city, is open to working with a developer on the construction of a shared new adjacent garage.

Funny how a city that has seen its rebirth based on the renovation of old buildings cannot manage to renovate one of it’s own. A civic gem goes private while we as a city get the abysmal Abram.

The Latest Green Energy-Saving Device, The Humble (and Controversial) Clothesline

One of my tasks, as a child, was to help my mom with hanging out the laundry to dry. Sure, we had a dryer and it got used often but so did our clothesline. Growing up in the 70s, in a 1960s subdivision, you didn’t see too many clotheslines. Older homes had fixed poles and lines, like many you see around neighborhoods in and around St. Louis. We had a handy little device, a clothesline that would wind itself up into a coil so it was not seen when not in use. Attached to the back of the house, I’d grab the end and stretch it out to the fence post. Ah, nothing like sleeping on sheets that had been sun dried — something no dryer sheet can compete with. When done, let the line wind itself back up.

Like so many good old fashioned ways of doing things, hanging out clothes to dry fell out of popularity and finally, in many places, outright banned. One in five Americans now live in some sort of community association, such as a co-op, a condo or a subdivision of single family detached homes (per the Community Associations Institute). Many of these ban the drying of clothes in a visible manner. Some municipalities ban outdoor drying of clothing altogether, saving individual associations from having to do so. This age old practice of hanging out clothing to dry is apparently a symbol of poverty and considered a factor in lowering property values.

Now we have groups advocating for “Right to Dry” legislation. Yes, advocates now must seek legislation to protect their right to hang clothing out to dry. Is this a case of sound planning to protect the community from the offenses of drying clothing or police power taken too far?

To me, banning clotheslines is going too far — attempting to sanitize and regulate our lives while consuming more energy.  For half a century now various entities have been attempting to strip life from cities — from over zealous sign ordinances to mandates for uniform awnings in commercial districts to bans on hanging the undies out to dry.  Despite some give and take in an urban context, I’ll take the messy city life over the sanitized version any day.  Just keep the sidewalks passable.

I checked my condo bylaws — they don’t specifically ban the hanging of clothing off the balcony or out the window.  Not that I plan to do so, I just wanted to check.  I’ve actually been hanging my clothing to dry in the laundry room.  A minute in the dryer on a no heat fluff setting once dry gives them a nice bounce.  Still, I long for clotheslines strung across the way to the next building from balcony to balcony.

From a recent Wall Street Journal article in September:

Ten states, including Nevada and Wisconsin, limit homeowners associations’ ability to restrict the installation of solar-energy systems, or assign that power to local authorities, says Erik J.A. Swenson, a Washington, D.C.-based partner at law firm King & Spalding LLP, who has written about the policies. He says it’s unclear in most of these states whether clotheslines qualify as “solar” devices. Only the laws in Florida and Utah expressly include clotheslines. 

I still don’t know where Missouri falls, most likely associations and municipalities are free to ban clotheslines. Anyone know?
From an August 07 article in the Christian Science Monitor:

At last count, in 2005, there were 88 million dryers in the US, according to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Annually, these dryers consume 1,079 kilowatt hours of energy per household, creating 2,224 pounds of carbon-dioxide emissions.

Wow, that is a lot of energy and emissions.  Hanging laundry is one of the simpler ways the public can make a difference with respect to global climate change.  We need to maintain rights to hang out laundry to dry.  For more information see Project Laundry List.