Laserfiche WebLink
Area Board of Zoning Appeals—June 1, 2011 <br /> the neighborhood have gotten together cleaned it up, built new places, torn other places down, now people <br /> are proud to live on west Washington Street. The problem we have with this property in particular is that the <br /> present owners allowed it to stay vacant for over a year. And South Bend Heritage purchased it and then <br /> they redeemed it through the process. We don't have much home for people who allow property to sit <br /> vacant for more than a year. You know those are mini challenges all over the City of South Bend and our <br /> neighborhood in particular. We ask you to allow we the neighbors, those who live there and have our <br /> families to let us to have control of our own destiny. We work really hard. We cut our grass. We try and <br /> petition and bring other people in. We try to show properties. We don't see this use making this a duplex in <br /> keeping with what we want to do those of us who live there want to do with that neighborhood and we see it <br /> as a detriment. This land owner and we have lots of people that are renters who take good care of their <br /> property but I don't have tell you that anyone in your neighborhood where you to live that would allow <br /> property to sit vacant for a year is not the kind of property owner that you would want in your neighborhood <br /> and we don't want them in our neighborhood either. We ask you do allow us to be in control of our own <br /> destiny. The staff didn't talk to any of the people who live there as they gave their support. They certainly <br /> didn't talk to me and like I said I live just 3 houses away. We're fighting very hard for that neighborhood <br /> and we're asking you to support us. We live there and we want to die there. And we want the neighborhood <br /> to look good. The perception of the neighborhood, you know anything that goes wrong they say, "the west <br /> side, the west side"and we get hit with that all the time and there are people who are afraid to even come in <br /> our neighborhood and when they do come to our neighborhood and they see vacant property that re-enforces <br /> what the new media says. We live there, we love it and we know what's best for our neighborhood and we <br /> ask you to support us. <br /> MR. URBANSKI: Charlotte may I ask you a couple of questions? <br /> MS. PFEIFER: Sure. <br /> MR. URBANSKI: The young man who owns it says he purchased I 1 properties in the neighborhood. Do <br /> you see the reason why possibly this was done, that it sat vacant for 12 months? <br /> MS. PFEIFER: No I don't. <br /> MR. URBANSKI: Have you, it sounds like the petitioner has other properties in the neighborhood. Have <br /> you been able or had a chance to look at them to see what kind of shape they're in after he has done <br /> renovation on them? <br /> MS. PFEIFER: No but I would love to have those properties so that I could Iook at them. I can tell you that <br /> the one we're talking about I go by it all the time because I see it... <br /> MR. URBANSKI: Yeah 3 doors away... <br /> MS. PFEIFER: And I don't think you would want it in your neighborhood. <br /> MR. URBANSKI: Okay, I was just curious if you had seen what he had redone on the other buildings? <br /> 18 <br />