Gov't
Eyesore Building to Remain; Owner Will Not Ask This Council Again
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By Dave Freneaux
Council Members Messina, Washington and LoBue have once again refused to rezone the northeast corner of Sullivan and Hooper, denying the request by a 3-2 vote. The lot is home to the partially condemned building pictured here. The property owner, Wade Giles, in his comments to the Council before the vote, explained that this would be their last opportunity to rezone the property and that he would not apply to this City Council for rezoning again.
After the meeting Mr. Giles, owner of Southern Power Systems in Central stated “I will not bring this back up for a vote as long as these three Councilmen are on Central’s City Council. Washington, Messina and LoBue are only interested in their own political agenda. If you are not in their political support system they will vote against you every time, every time.” This was the City Council’s second opportunity to rezone this corner, with Messina, Washington and LoBue denying the rezoning last October as well. In November the City Council unanimously approved an identical rezoning request a few blocks away on Hooper Road, and approved another identical request in 2011 on Joor Road. Central’s Planning and Zoning Commission, City Services staff and the firm hired to create Central’s Land Use Master Plan all recommended that the Council approve this rezoning request.
Mr. Giles further explained “I have no guarantee that if I spend the money to bring this back before the Council that they will act in a civil manner and judiciously look at this without their own political glasses on. I will never petition a rezoning request as long as Messina, Washington and LoBue are on this Council, however long that takes. Parts of the existing building and the mobile home lot are rented and I plan to rent out some of the other suites soon. But it would have been nice to be able to tear it down and put something nice there.”
Many citizens spoke on the matter with most urging approval of the rezoning request. The most common argument against approval was based on procedural questions surrounding the ordinance. Central’s City Attorney advised that the matter was handled correctly under Central’s existing ordinances. Almost all speakers, for and against, agreed that the rezoning needs to take place, but unless Mr. Giles changes his mind, that will not occur until at least July of 2014.
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