Guest Column: At what time does history stop?

Guest Column: At what time does history stop?



By JERRY DIXON
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 04/14/08

On Monday, April 14, the St. Augustine City Commission will hear an appeal by Donna Wendler on her proposed removal of some turn- of-the-century houses and proposed construction of an 80-room hotel on King Street. It is a project that will change a portion of King Street; much as other developments have changed the face of St. Augustine over the past 400- plus years.

In the early 1900s St. Augustine had its second discovery as a winter retreat. Henry Flagler is most remembered by his hotels that remain today as icons of our history. However, long before the Ponce de Leon Hotel was even under construction there were dozens of hotels operating in St. Augustine. On King Street, the following hotels once existed: The Buckingham Hotel, Hotel Alhambra, and the Hotel Granada.

At what time does history stop? The proposed King Street project is more than just history; it's about current zoning regulations and property rights.

The proposed hotel site consists of four structures on King Street and three structures on Oviedo Street. 132, 134, and 136 King St. are former railroad boarding houses. These properties are zoned CL-2 and the zoning code presently permits a 50- room hotel. The residences are 131, 133, and 135 Oviedo St. have been converted into student apartments. These properties are zoned RG-1 and the zoning code presently permits a 30-room hotel.

A PUD (Planned Unit Development) was presented in order to tie the proposed hotel design to the demolition request.

Wendler had hoped that modeling the hotel design after Henry Flagler's St. Augustine residence "Kirkside," formerly located a few blocks away and demolished in the 1950s, could become a positive addition to the neighborhood.

In late 2005 the city adopted a new demolition ordinance covering any structure older than 50 years. Wendler and her family purchased five of the seven properties beginning in 1998 and previous to the 2005 ordinance. Proof of unreasonable and undue economic hardship due to functional obsolescence, was presented. However, it was the Historic Architectural Review Board's opinion that all of the properties had historic significance and HARB voted to forever deny her the right to remove these structures.

These structures suffer economic hardship due to age, property taxes and insurance requirements. The buildings have had major modifications to their original architectural features, lack adequate insulation, have rusted plumbing. Wood rot and termites have taken their toll.

I find it interesting that the seven buildings that HARB and a few hysterical preservationists insist are historic treasures were created as the result of decisions by private owners who had control over their own land. But according to HARB, the only way to protect the past achievements of private property is to strip current property owners of almost all control over their land, business, and homes.

Politicians and bureaucrats must learn to respect the most historic treasure in this country, the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights declares that private property shall not "be taken for public use without just compensation." The preservation police are preventing the natural flux of change and suppressing potentially new beauty and innovations arising from individual decisions about their own property, which may, 50 years hence, be regarded as even greater national landmarks.

This case has captured the attention of the National Coalition for Property Rights, and a national property rights legal foundation. If the City Commission upholds HARB's legal denial of personal property rights without due compensation this case will end up in state and federal courts.

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Jerry Dixon is the project's architect.

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