Developer seeks demolition permits for Iowa City cottages

IOWA CITY - With demolition permit applications submitted and conflicting structural integrity reports for three mid-19th century cottages south of downtown, the Iowa City Council now plans to pick up discussion on the fate of the buildings.

The council decided Tuesday to schedule a special meeting within the coming week to discuss whether or not to schedule a public hearing on pursuing historic landmark status for the three cottages. If a public hearing is scheduled, a 60-day moratorium would be placed on issuing a demolition permit for the roughly 150-year-old cottages at 608, 610, and 614 S. Dubuque St., which were submitted Nov. 25 by Ted Pacha, the owner of the properties.

"I think the fair thing to do would be to schedule a special meeting to resolve this ... It's going to bring on an even greater avalanche of pressure on both sides," said Mayor Matt Hayek.

The demolition permit applications follow a Nov. 20 structural engineer's report that states the buildings are unsafe and need to be razed.

Owners of the businesses occupying the three buildings, the Book Shop, Suzy's Antiques and Gifts, and Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu Academy, have since been notified that they have to vacate the premises so they may be repaired or demolished by Dec. 8.

Demolition permits could be issued as soon as Dec. 10 unless a moratorium is enacted, Iowa City transportation planner John Yapp said.

However, a Dec. 2 report from Shanna Duggan, structural engineer with Morning Star Studio in Cedar Rapids, from her Nov. 24 evaluation of the three buildings, states that the cottages are structurally sound, despite some exterior cracks and deterioration, which is expected with buildings of their age.

That said, the city will likely err on the side of caution, considering the earlier evaluation by James Jacob of Coralville's VJ Engineering, which warns of severe deterioration and safety concerns in the three cottages.

'If staff does receive a conflicting engineer's report, we are obligated to take a conservative approach and ensure the structures are safe for occupancy. It is not the City's role to determine and ensure the structures are safe for occupancy,” Yapp wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to the council.

Additionally, a Nov. 30 letter to the council from Pacha states that he had no knowledge of Duggan's inspection of his properties until after it occurred.

In the letter, Pacha said he agreed Nov. 20 - at a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that saw considerable public comment on the cottages and proposed rezoning of the property on which they sit - to a second, mutually approved, engineer's opinion, as long as he didn't have to pay for it and he would be present during the inspection.

In the letter, Pacha details the offerings he has made to the cottage's three tenants, which includes free storage until spring and a free sleeping room through May 31 to the Book Shop's Will Ingles, who also lives at 608 S. Dubuque St. Suzy's Antiques and Gifts was offered $1,500 in moving expenses and Moy Yat Ving Tsun Kung Fu Academy was offered six months free rent and two month's rent in cash at a location within two blocks of the current academy.

Pacha said he had not received a response on any of the offers as of Nov. 30.

Despite their age and history as worker's cottages, the three buildings are not historic landmarks and Pacha's request for a demolition permit is legal.

Yapp said an application to designate the cottages as historic landmarks was received Tuesday by city staff.