Coalition against DDRD expansion along S Burdick St Kalamazoo needs your HELP!
Posted by Richard Stewart on January 9, 2015, 4:51 am
Kalamazoo City employees are crossing the line. They are fast tracking bad legislation that would have negative consequences to the existing owners of commercial buildings and 3 or more unit residential buildings. If the measure were to be voted in by the City Commission on 1/20/15 in its current form, costs to the tenants and the residents of these existing buildings will be artificially increased and create a STAY AND PAY, OR SELL AND LEAVE decision for the existing property owners and/or the tenants. The Downtown Design Review District currently ends at Walnut Street where it should, being the boundary originally established for the downtown district. With support and influence from DKI, the city employees plan to expand the downtown district by crossing the Walnut St line and extend it to Stockbridge which would double the size of the downtown. The targeted zone will then include S Burdick east to Portage St. There are 599 properties in proposed area that will suffer negative consequences if the text amendment is passed in its current form. Only single family and 2 unit residential buildings would be exempt from the new restrictive guidelines that would be mandated on the area. Many of the commercial buildings in the proposed zone are owned or operated by minority business owners, women owned businesses and disabled owned businesses. The most vulnerable residents living in 3 or more unit buildings will suffer an artificial increase in costs that the mandates most certainly causes to those existing property owners who are not exempt in its path. Numerous concerned property owners and residents of the targeted zone have requested the city to conduct an impact study to determine the extent of the negative consequences to the current owners of commercial buildings and 3 or more unit residential buildings. The city employees have rejected these numerous requests. The City so far refuses to compromise by extending the exemption to include commercial buildings and 3 or more unit residential buildings and apply the new mandates only to new construction. If the existing buildings are not exempt, they will be prevented from installing vinyl siding to improve energy efficiency, they will be prevented from installing energy efficient windows and doors, and prevented from replacing their roofs without first providing a Site plan to Sharon Ferraro who also oversees the historic zone mandates and would have to approve every aspect of repairs or improvements to the exterior of these buildings. The mandates of the DDRD are 68 pages of red tape and specifically, prohibits vinyl siding and many types of commonly used, affordable roofing solutions. We have formed a grass roots coalition of residents and property owners that are in the 599 affected parcels. We ask for your support before it is to late. Those who oppose the current wording that does not protect all of the property owners, should write the city manager and attend the city commission meeting on 1/20/15 to speak their mind. Please contact Richard Stewart to join our coalition against the DDRD proposal in its current wording.