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Record of Proceedings

Powell HDAC Meeting August 21, 2025: Demolition Case for 110 S. Liberty Street

City Council & Boards — Thursday, August 21, 2025

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateThursday, August 21, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 34:55

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0:02

Good evening.

0:04

This is the historic downtown advisory commission.

0:09

Today's date, Thursday, August 21st, 2025.

0:14

Roll call, please.

0:16

Here.

0:17

Larry Coolidge is absent.

0:18

Kurt Ramsey.

0:19

Here.

0:20

Andrew Lorenz is absent.

0:22

James Strunk.

0:23

Here.

0:23

And Steven Reynolds is absent.

0:30

Alrighty.

0:32

Great.

0:34

First order business is hearing of visitors not on the agenda.

0:39

Okay.

0:41

Hearing or seeing none.

0:43

Next is the approval of the minutes for our July 17th, 2025 meeting.

0:50

You have that there in your packet.

0:58

I will entertain our motion.

1:02

Or I'll make a motion to approve the July 17th, 2025 Commission meeting minutes as written.

1:11

Do I have a second?

1:13

Okay.

1:14

Okay, roll call.

1:16

Kurt Ramsey.

1:17

Yes.

1:17

James Strunk.

1:18

Yes.

1:18

Tom Coffey.

1:19

Yes.

1:23

80 minutes are approved.

1:25

And I'll be happy to sign those afterwards.

1:30

I also wanted to mention real quick.

1:32

Um, since Steve is on the board in an advisory rule that is a non-voting role that we do have quorum, even though Cara called the rule for six.

1:44

Um, does constitute quorums.

1:47

I just want to make sure that we have that on the round.

1:49

We have a quorum.

1:50

Okay.

1:51

All righty.

1:54

Our uh first case is case numbered 2025, hyphen 26 CA, a certificate of appropriateness.

2:06

It's at 110 South Liberty Street.

2:08

This is a request for review and recommendation to the planning and zoning commission for the demolition of a building located at 110 South Liberty Street, approximately 800 feet south of the intersection of Liberty or Voluntangy Street and Liberty on the east side of Liberty Street.

2:26

This site is zoned, downtown business district.

2:29

The applicant is Crawford Hoing.

2:32

The request requested by Russell Hunter and Nelson Yoder.

2:38

How this will go will be we'll start out with the staff presentation.

2:43

We'll allow the applicant to come up and make a presentation.

2:47

Any public comments, the commission will discuss, and then we'll vote and go from there.

2:59

Thank you for the introduction.

3:01

Good evening.

3:02

Again, um you have in front of you an aerial view that is probably from last year from Delaware County, showing the structure in uh as part of the application request outlined there in yellow, which fronts on South Liberty Street.

3:22

And toggling back and forth here a little bit.

3:26

Um this was a development plan that was approved in 2014 by Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council that included the structure, and it included also along South Liberty a commercial building with parking surrounding it, and uh 22 units of townhomes, residential units toward the rear in those 11 buildings, and as of today, as you can see, there have been four buildings built, um, eight units in total, and the home that is um part of this application tonight has been vacant um ever since and long before that as well.

4:18

So, what the applicant is requesting tonight is to demolish to get allowance from or approval from the um HDAC to move forward to the planning and zoning commission with a request for the demolition of this structure as it has deteriorated.

4:36

I'm sure you've all seen that it has been also uh hit by a vehicle, and um it is become a public safety concern on all sides.

4:48

What the applicant is suggesting is to have a slightly larger commercial structure there out front for um the South Liberty frontage, and then staff is also currently working with a different home builder to finish out the remaining units there in the center of the site.

5:06

So again, this is the approved development plan, and there are some existing condition pictures of what it looks like today.

5:17

There were a lot more pictures and also um structural details in the applicant's statement that um are required as part of this type of a request.

5:30

So you have it all included in your packet.

5:33

Um lots of comments about um the water infiltration, um stability of the foundation and so forth, and I'm sure Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Historic Preservation████████████████████████████████████████40%

Planning And Zoning███████████████████████████████████35%

Procedural██████████████14%

Public Safety███████7%

Real Estate Development████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell Historic Downtown Advisory Commission Meeting – August 21, 2025

The Powell Historic Downtown Advisory Commission (HDAC) met on August 21, 2025, to consider a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for the demolition of a historic building at 110 South Liberty Street. The commission also approved the minutes from the July 17, 2025 meeting. The demolition request was the primary agenda item, with staff and the applicant presenting evidence of the building's advanced deterioration and public safety risks. After extensive discussion, the commission voted 2-1 against recommending approval of the demolition to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Consent Calendar

Approval of the July 17, 2025 meeting minutes was moved, seconded, and passed unanimously by roll call vote (Kurt Ramsey: yes, James Strunk: yes, Tom Coffey: yes).

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the hearing of visitors not on the agenda.

Discussion Items

Case 2025-26CA – Certificate of Appropriateness for Demolition at 110 S. Liberty Street
- Staff Presentation: The building is part of a 2014 approved development plan that included townhomes and commercial space. The house has been vacant and deteriorating for years, recently struck by a vehicle, causing structural collapse (columns fallen, foundation failure). Staff noted that the property is a public safety risk and that the applicant's future development concept (a larger commercial building) is sufficient for review. Staff and architectural advisor Steve Reynolds recommended approval of the demolition.
- Applicant (Russell Hunter, Crawford Hoying): The applicant stated that the building's condition (water infiltration, mold, foundation issues) makes renovation infeasible. They have marketed the property since 2017-2018 but found no buyer or tenant willing to rehabilitate it. They plan to demolish and construct a larger commercial building to activate the street frontage and are working with a different builder to complete the remaining townhome units. No firm timeline was provided for the commercial development.
- Commission Discussion: Commissioners Tom Coffey and James Strunk expressed strong opposition, citing neglect over 11 years, lack of maintenance (e.g., debris in kitchen, no cleanup for showings), and frustration that the city allowed the building to deteriorate. They argued that the building is historically significant and that demolition sets a bad precedent. Commissioner Kurt Ramsey supported the demolition, noting the building's unsalvageable condition and the need to allow redevelopment. Staff acknowledged past gaps in property maintenance enforcement and highlighted recent code updates (Chapter 1323 added in 2023) and ongoing historic preservation efforts.

Key Outcomes

Vote on Recommendation: The commission voted 2-1 against recommending approval of the demolition to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Voting against: Tom Coffey, James Strunk. Voting in favor: Kurt Ramsey. The recommendation, along with all discussion and materials, will be forwarded to the Planning and Zoning Commission, which has final authority on the Certificate of Appropriateness.
The meeting was adjourned. No new cases are scheduled for the September 2025 meeting.

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