Board will hear Newest Shaw House Demolition Appeal

The Board of Aldermen will hear an appeal Tuesday by Sid Brian and Brian Development, who want permission to tear down a barn located on the Shaw House property, at 1701 E. Jackson Ave.
The meeting begins at 5 p.m.
On March 11, the Historic Preservation Commission denied demolition of the barn and gave developers the go-ahead to tear down a caretaker’s cottage, a modern duplex and a modern single-family home, and a concrete pad.
At its March 18 meeting, the aldermen voted unanimously to repeal the Historic Preservation Commission’s decision allowing Brian Development to demolish those four structures on the Shaw House property. Neighbors who live on land adjoining the Shaw House property brought the appeal.
The Board of Aldermen will first consider the timeliness of Brian’s appeal, before they decide whether they will hear the appeal.

The Shaw House, built in 1848, is unique because it’s one of the few antebellum homes left in town. When  it was built it was was used as a working farm.
City attorney Pope Mallette said during the March 18 meeting that the appeals window lasts for 10 days, beginning the day a decision is issued.
Brian Development submitted its appeal request to city planner Tim Akers on March 20.
The development company has requested that Akers provide a record of the March 11 proceedings, including the audiotape and any transcription, to the Board of Aldermen and mayor.
Efforts to develop the Shaw House property have gone through many twists and turns, and have been largely unsuccessful. The Planning Commission in March denied a special exemption that would have allowed developers to sell homes built on the property.
Now, if developers want to build the dozen or more buildings on the property they have proposed in the past, those structures must be rental units.
According to Joyce Freeland, an attorney representing neighbors Polina and William Wheeler, Brian has decided to file his original plan with the Planning Commission as a rental property development.
– Gretchen Stone, associate editor, HottyToddy.com, gretchen.stone@hottytoddy.com