Historic Preservation Commission Seeks 30-Day Rule On Building Demolitions

The proposal is designed to protect historic resources in Green Bay.

Speak Easy was a popular hot spot in Green Bay for years, now it is just an empty lot. It is just one example of a Green Bay landmark being torn down without much notice. The Historic Preservation Commission hopes to change that.

"Green Bay has lost a great deal of its historical buildings, and it's gotten to almost a crisis point," says Historic Preservation Commission Chairman Roger Retzlaff.

The lot at 1118 Main St. isn't much to look at now, but it used to be a popular night club.

The building had been around for years, but it only took one day to get a permit to have it demolished. That caught Alderman Mark Steuer's attention.

"In fact, a lot of times when these buildings are razed, atleast in my experience as of late, you see these buildings come down, and then they'll stay vacant," says Steuer.

Together with Retzlaff, he is proposing an ordinace that would require a 30 day waiting period to recieve a permit to demolish, raze or wreck a building.

The commission would focus on buildings 50 years or older, but says it could reach farther.

"If you made it for all 60 structures, that may be razed it would be a little bit extra work on our part, but it might not be all that bad," says Steuer.

The ordinance makes some developers nervous.

"I think you would be hurting every developer out there if this was passed," says Paul Kaczrowski of Prestige Realty.

Kaczrowski says most deals can't wait 30 days, and construction jobs could be lost if it goes through.

"They may have a lease they have to get out of, and they have to be in that building now," says Kaczrowski.

"It is not intended to block the owners from doing with their property what they want. It's a chance for the community to take stock of what they've got and what they are about to lose," says Retzlaff.

Alderman Steuer says that the ordinance is still a work in progress, so the 30 day period may change.

The City Council plans to address the ordinance at their next meeting on December 11.