City Council Workshop on Demolition by Neglect Legislation - July 30, 2026
City Council Workshop on Demolition by Neglect Legislation - July 30, 2026
A City Council workshop was held on July 30, 2026, from approximately 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM to discuss a proposed bill addressing demolition by neglect in historic neighborhoods. Councilmembers Jamie Peluso (sponsor), Matt Carlucci, Ron Salem, Joe Carlucci, and others participated along with planning staff, the Office of General Counsel, and representatives from preservation organizations. The bill aims to create a process for the city to foreclose on neglected historic residential properties, offer them to nonprofits for rehabilitation, and if not taken, auction them to qualified bidders.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Catherine Barrill, a resident of Springfield, expressed concern that giving first dibs to nonprofits like SPAR could exclude individual residents who could rehabilitate homes, and questioned whether nonprofits have proven financing.
- Julia Epstein, an architect and vice chair of the Demolition by Neglect Task Force, thanked the council for the bill, emphasized the need for consequences for neglect, and suggested refining the two-year rehabilitation timeline to account for permitting delays and unforeseen conditions.
- Dr. Wayne Wood, a historian, strongly supported the bill, noting that neglect of one house can lead to block deterioration, and advocated for retaining the nonprofit-first structure.
- David Shachter, a home builder in Springfield, supported preservation but warned that many severely dilapidated houses may be economically unviable to restore even if given away for free, and suggested the city consider grants or a revolving loan fund to supplement the program.
Discussion Items
- Councilmember Peluso introduced the bill, explaining it was based on recommendations from the Demolition by Neglect Task Force. The bill would have the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) create a list of endangered historic properties with city liens, allow the city to initiate foreclosure, and then dispose of city-owned properties first to nonprofits with a mission of historic preservation, then to qualified bidders after a two-hour educational course.
- Councilmembers discussed the scope: the bill applies to locally designated historic districts and landmarks, not contributing structures outside such districts. It currently covers single-family homes but will be amended to include duplexes, triplexes, and quadplexes.
- Several amendments were proposed and generally agreed upon: (1) HPC to produce a list of at-risk properties at least twice a year instead of annually; (2) add San Marco Preservation Society and other named organizations to the list of eligible nonprofits; (3) require that second-tier nonprofits have housing and/or historic preservation as a primary mission; (4) clarify that the two-year rehabilitation timeline begins at title transfer, with a one-year extension possible; (5) include a provision that properties subject to emergency demolition be referred for foreclosure; (6) exclude owner-occupied/homesteaded properties from the initial listing.
- Councilmember Ron Salem inquired about the number of affected properties, with estimates of 70-100 in Springfield alone. Councilmember Joe Carlucci suggested that auction proceeds could be directed into a revolving fund for historic rehabilitation, though this was not formally added.
- Councilmember Matt Carlucci expressed support and asked to be listed as a co-sponsor, and noted interest in exploring a public-private partnership for additional funding.
- Concerns were raised about the economic viability of restoring the most deteriorated properties, with developers noting that even free acquisition may not cover restoration costs.
Key Outcomes
- The bill will be amended as discussed, including changes to the listing frequency (twice yearly), property types (up to quadplexes), nonprofit eligibility, timeline clarification, and emergency demolition referrals.
- No formal vote was taken; the workshop served to gather input and refine the legislation before committee hearings.
- Councilmember Matt Carlucci committed to exploring a revolving fund or public-private partnership to provide additional financial support for rehabs.
- The meeting adjourned with appreciation for participants.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you all for coming today. It's 10 o'clock. We're gonna call this meeting to order. Um I believe we'll have a few other council members kind of kind of come in, but I feel like it's gonna we're gonna take up the full hour with with some good discussion, I believe, on this uh on this particular topic. Um thank you all for coming. This is a really important uh piece of legislation, I believe, and something that's been discussed in uh in some of our neighborhoods for a very long time. So very grateful for for those who have showed up today. Uh we're gonna go around the room and just kind of do quick introductions. Uh Shannon, do you mind starting us off? Oh, okay. I was looking for green. Shannon Blankenship with Riverside Avenel Preservation. Um Helena Parola with uh the director of the planning department. You could borrow still touch it. Uh my bad. Good morning. Okay, sorry about that. Aramis Wells with Planning Department. Carla Shell, Office of General Counsel. Matt Carlucci at large group four. Jamie Peluso, City Council District 7. Ron Salem group two at large. Joe Carlucci, District 5. Renee Hunter, Public Works Real Estate Division. William Hoff, uh, Vice Chair of the HBC and Chair of the Demolition by Neglect Task Force. Mike Hoskins, Springfield Preservation and Revitalization. Thank you all so much for being here. We also have a uh a few other folks from our auditor's office and from the planning department if you two want to introduce yourselves as well. Heather Reber, Council Auditor's Office. Thank you. Susan Kelly, Planning Department. Excellent. So point being is we got all the right people in the room, I believe. Um so this is a very important um issue throughout a lot of our older neighborhoods. Um yes, Ernest, I see you too. Um also Dr. Waynewood, might as well, he's here. The man's written more books on the history of the city than probably anyone else in living memory. Um we've got a great group of folks in here. So over the past several years, we've seen a number of issues um throughout many of our neighborhoods, but in particular our historic neighborhoods. A lot of properties are falling apart. Uh we it's known as demolition by neglect. Um the historic preservation commission did a great job a couple years ago putting together uh a task force to address this issue, seeing lessons learned from other cities. How do we ensure that these um historic properties, which have a lot of value, and you could you can't build more historic properties, um, how we help preserve them and ensure that they can uh uh remain in circulation, and also as we have the housing issue that we do, enable ourselves to build more housing for more families for more young families to come to these communities. Um I asked Michelle um to uh draft this piece of legislation based on some of the recommendations from the task force. Uh we have a number of folks here who are on the task force and folks in the historic preservation world that are gonna speak to different issues that they're seeing on the ground. We also have a number of developers who have worked in the space as well. Um I'm seeing Terrawise and I'm seeing uh Bold City. And so we've got some folks who understand what it takes to help get these properties up to the standard that we need. Uh Michelle, do you mind kind of giving us a quick high-level overview of the bill?
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