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Downtown Anniston teardown, did it come too soon?

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The city may have violated its own ordinances when it tore down buildings in downtown Anniston to make way for a new justice center, the chairwoman of the Anniston Historical Preservation Commission said Tuesday.

The Public Works Department began tearing down buildings last week on a city block bounded by Gurnee Avenue, Moore Avenue, 13th Street and 12th Street –- an area marked as a historic district.

According to Joan McKinney, who chairs the Preservation Commission, the demolition began without proper documentation –- a “certificate of appropriateness” required by the city in order to take down historic buildings.

“All we can do is remind the city, and advise the city, that these ordinances are in place,” said McKinney, who told The Star she was surprised to learn demolition had already begun.

Demolition continued Tuesday afternoon as the Public Works Department began to tear down a laundry building on the northeast corner of the block.

Jim Miller, chair of the Anniston Public Building Authority, said the start of project was “an oversight.” Miller said he took blame for the error.

“It’s inevitable with so many large-scale projects going on, something will get overlooked,” Miller said. “Obviously no job is complete until the paperwork is done.”

Miller and City Planner Toby Bennington said they reached out to McKinney Tuesday and have set a meeting for Thursday with the Preservation Commission to get the problem solved.

“No one is denying there’s a process in place for getting a certificate of appropriateness,” Bennington said. “No one is trying to circumvent that process.”

At a City Council work session Tuesday afternoon, McKinney said the commission would work with the city to get the issue solved quickly.

“Because this site is so very visible in the public eye, I felt that it was incumbent on the commission to remind you that the city’s ordinance wasn’t being followed,” McKinney said. “That was the full intent of it and that was the only intent.”

Conversations between the Preservation Commission and city officials were sparked by an email from former commission chair David Schneider that expressed concern over the legality of the demolition project.

In particular, Schneider pointed out that the project could be in violation of the Code of Alabama, which requires that demolition of buildings in a historic district be approved with a certificate of appropriateness from a historical preservation commission appointed by the municipality.

The email was sent to Mayor Gene Robinson, City Manager Don Hoyt, Bennington, Miller and members of the Anniston City Council.

When reached by The Star Tuesday, Schneider said it “was a bit of shock” to find out demolition had begun. Schneider expressed concern that the operation might be illegal.

“I’m not a lawyer or a judge, but that’s my understanding of it,” Schneider said when asked if the demolition was against the law.

Elizabeth Brown, the director of the Alabama Historical Commission, said it’s not uncommon for city officials to be accustomed to regulating situations unaware of the requirements needed by the Code of Alabama, but said such problems would be handled at the local level. She suggested an emergency meeting between officials and the local Preservation Commission was the best course of action.

Bennington said the main concern for the city and the Preservation Commission was the Anniston Land Company building, a city landmark that has been the source of contention in the conversation about the project. In his email Tuesday, Schneider attached a letter drafted in August from the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation to the mayor requesting the City Council table a vote on demolishing the building.

Bennington sent renderings of the new justice center to The Star Tuesday that show the Land Company building standing next to the proposed justice complex.

Bennington said the demolition was started to begin pushing forward the project, which has been in the planning stages for months. He said the city is cooperating with the Preservation Committee to handle conflicts that might arise.

“We recognized the importance of having that ordinance,” Bennington said. “We’re all partnered up.

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