After the Planning Commission unanimously recommended blighting the property, City Council members have given the owner 30 more days to rectify the conditions that brought it to the city’s attention. Their action came during a public hearing at City Hall Saturday.
"This has been an ongoing problem for several years,” said Art Dahlberg, the city’s director of code enforcement. “We have tried to work with the owner on several occasions, but nothing is ever done.”
The property was once an auto repair shop and is located on East Glebe Road behind Del Ray Glass.
The building is uninhabitable, the fence needs to be removed, there are open containers of potentially hazardous materials, and chemicals have spilled into the soil, causing there to be ongoing criminal litigation to get the owners to clean it up.
“I don’t even understand why we are giving this owner more time,” said Councilman David G. Speck.
City Manager Philip Sunderland explained. “We have a new kid on the block, and we are placing a lot of hope in him,” he said.
That new man is attorney Alan Toppelberg, representing the owners of the property.
“I believe that we have worked out an agreement,” Toppelberg said. “If the city cleans up the property, they will hire the company that gets it done the fastest. If my client cleans it up, he will save money. Therefore, it is in my client’s best interest to do this himself.”
Councilwoman Claire Eberwein was skeptical. “If he hasn’t done it by now, I am not certain that it will be done in 30 days,” she said.
Speck read the list of items that must be accomplished in 30 days. “Therefore, if citizens are driving by this property, they will know exactly what is supposed to happen in the next 30 days,” he said. “If it is not, there will be no more chances.”
Council will review the progress in April.
SUP EXTENSION DENIED
Nearly 40 residents of Cameron Station spoke at the public hearing last weekend to protest an extension of a special-use permit (SUP) that would allow for the development of a senior-citizen high-rise near Samuel Tucker School. In the end, Council unanimously denied any extensions.
"The operator has all but backed out. The parking was inadequate when this project was approved, and the economics no longer support this type of project,” said Joe Bennett, the president of the Cameron Station Civic Association. “We would like the opportunity to work with a developer to plan a good project. We are not opposed to a senior and assisted-living building, we just think this one is too big.”
The 11-story building was approved in March 2001 as part of the development plan for Cameron Station. “We haven’t changed anything since this was approved,” said Duncan Blair, representing Cameron Associates, the owner of the property. “The drawings are the same, and the conditions are the same. We just need more time to find funding for this project and to obtain the right operator for this project.”
In a split decision, the Planning Commission had recommended approval of the requested 18-month extension. “I want to make it clear that if any conditions change, Mr. Blair will have to come back with a new SUP application,” Mayor Kerry Donley said.
Councilwoman Joyce Woodson spoke against the extension. “I don’t really think anything has changed about this plan,” she said. “Sometimes it is the right thing to do to admit that maybe it was the wrong vision to begin with and to do something else.”