BY DONNA SWICEGOOD
The Statesville City Council on Monday evening denied a property owner’s request to demolish a home in the Mitchell College Historic District.
Council members voted 7 to 1 to reject a request by Bill Pitt to demolish a home on Kelly Street. Councilwoman Doris Allison cast the lone dissenting vote following a motion to deny the request.
The vote came after a quasi-judicial hearing that included testimony from Pitt concerning the home, which is located next to his primary residence of 50 years.
Pitt was seeking to tear down the house he bought in 2011 because it is in disrepair. He said he presented four options to the Statesville Historic Preservation Commission.
Those options included installing a grass and garden area, a garage, an auxiliary dwelling and pergola and fence. Pitt’s plan at this time, he said, was the grass and garden area.
Marci Sigmon, a city planner and liaison for the Statesville Historic Preservation Commission, said the commission recommended denial of Pitt’s request. That recommendation was due to the condition of the house not warranting demolition. The house, which was built around 1905, is repairable, and tearing it down would impact the historic district, she said.
Pitt told council that the estimated cost of bringing the house to a livable condition was in the neighborhood of $480,000. The current tax value is $114,000.
According to Pitt, the house has few of the architectural details original to the structure. Bringing it up to a livable condition would require completely redoing the exterior and much of the interior, he said.
“It is old but not distinguished,” Pitt said.
A member of the historic commission and a former member and city councilman spoke against the demolition.
Barry Edwards, a current member of the Historic Preservation Commission, said he is not a general contractor but does interior and design builds and is branching into exterior renovations. He said he believes the nearly $500,000 estimate provided by Pitt is not realistic.
John Staford, a former city council member, agreed with Edwards. He said that figure might be needed to bring the house to its former glory, but bringing it to minimum housing standards would likely cost around $150,000.
Allison questioned that figure, asking if that would not be taking the least expensive way out rather than saving a historic structure.
She also questioned whether denying the demolition request would create a financial hardship for Pitt and his wife Lucinda.
Councilwoman Lisa Pearson said the Pitts, having bought the house in 2011, were aware it was in a historic district and that purchase came with certain restrictions concerning what could be done with it.
Pitt told the council the house had been vacant for many years and had fallen into a state of disrepair prior to his purchase of it. He said he had done some repairs to prevent it from further deterioration.
Council member Steve Johnson said he was a firm believer in property owners having the right to do what they want with their property. But, in this case as well as other historic properties, the city’s hands are tied, he said.
Allison initially made a motion to deny the request but rescinded that indicating she favored approval. Johnson followed with a motion to deny the request.
OTHER BUSINESS
♦ Council also approved two requests for economic incentive grants.
Jenn Bosser of the Iredell Economic Development Corporation said the first of the projects – know as Nano – is for RMC Advanced Technology/NanoExplore to lease space in Statesville and the grant will be for equipping the facility. She said the investment will be about $21 million over a five-year period and will be completed in two phases. The grant request is for $21,196 per year over the first five years for the first phase and $23,315 per year for five years for phase two.
The second project, which was referred to as Crossroads, is for a building on International Drive. CI Statesville LLC is planning to construct a 200,000-square-foot spec building on International Drive. The investment, Bosser said, is $16 million and plans are to improve International Drive as part of the process.
The grant request was for $198,758 over three years and $150,000 toward the road improvements. Bosser said the estimate to bring the road to city standards is $732,000.
Council approved both requests.
♦ First readings to annex properties were also approved. One request was for a home at 1904 Fifth Street, which was approved unanimously.
The second request, for a new subdivision off Mocksville Highway near Warren Road, drew concerns from Councilman C.O. Johnson. He said he was concerned about the impact on the city’s sewage capacity. The seven other council members voted in favor of the first reading.
RECOGNITION
