[Durham INC] Fwd: [ABCDdurham] Holland Street closing-public hearing Oct 7

Thu Oct 3 13:59:30 EDT 2013

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <sonelli at aol.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 9:56 AM
Subject: [ABCDdurham] Holland Street closing-public hearing Oct 7
To: ABCDdurham at yahoogroups.com

**

      I understand that the request to close the Holland Street alley will
come before City Council on October 7 (my birthday, by the way).   I have
not yet been convinced that this is in the best interests of downtown
Durham.  As you may know, I own the building at 305 East Chapel Hill
Street, "Durham Arts Place" --  I bought it 17 years ago and renovated it
for affordable artist studio spaces;  it has successfully operated as such
for that entire time.  If the street closing is approved, the adjacent
property owner of the former Mutual Community Bank building plans to extend
a deck reaching almost to the midpoint of the alley and at it's highest
point creating a wall 9' tall -- a drastic change to the appearance of this
street/alley.

Until convinced otherwise, I am opposed to such a closing of Holland Street
alley.  My reasoning is as follows:

1.  The Holland Street Alley belongs to all of us, as Durham residents.
Privatizing public property is an important decision.  It should be fully
vetted.  That vetting has not yet happened.
2.  The Alley is used by residents and visitors.  It is a shady respite in
downtown, with human-scale features and sit-able stone walls.  There is a
strong likelihood that its use will increase, as all activity in Downtown
increases.  It is a great location for small-scale acoustic performance, it
just needs to be put on people's radar for its availability.
3.  Public funds were used to design the unique features of the Alley; it
is the only Alley in downtown Durham with its unique features.
4.  The Alley includes a patio area which could accommodate at least 10
tables for café dining.   There does not need to be a deck extending from
the Holland Hotel first floor in order to accommodate outdoor dining.   (I
can envision several special outdoor food-service possibilities in that
space that could either be operated by the Holland Hotel's restaurant or
operated by other contracted vendors;  the proposed privatization and deck
would preclude almost any other creative use of that Alley and preclude any
creative use that might be income-producing to the City.)
*5.  The proposed construction of a deck, includes, at the northern end,
 what in effect becomes a wall that at its highest is approximately 9 feet
tall.*
6.  The Historic Preservation Commission (HPC)* Staff recommended
against*approving the developer's design plan for the Alley; by the
time this
proposal came up in the HPC meeting, it had already been one of the
lengthiest HPC meetings (I am told the meeting was 5 hours long and that
this was the last item) and several of the HPC commissioners had already
left --under the rules of the HPC, the votes of those early-leaving
commissioners were counted as approving the proposal.  In fact, one of the
early-leaving commissioners that I spoke with was against the plan -- I do
not know about the others.   In addition, procedurally, the HPC was not
voting on whether or not the Alley should be privatized/closed, but simply
voting on "if it is closed, does the proposed design meet the requirements
of the Historic District Guidelines.  I have some question as to whether
the developers had the authority to apply for  a "certificate of
appropriateness (COA)" for the construction in the Alley, since they are
neither owners of the Alley or leaseholders of the Alley.  COA applications
are signed by the Owner of the property in question.  The City did not make
this COA application.  If the application was made without property
authority, is the approval void *ab initiio*?
7.  *If the Alley is privatized, it could become a buildable lot.* (the
owners of the two adjacent properties could either joint venture or the
alley/lot could be sold as one parcel.  It has true fair market value as a
buildable lot in Downtown Durham.   The City should not be giving away
valuable property--this give-away was not part of any original request to
the City for economic incentives.  If there is to be new construction in
this Alley, the City should consider that intentionally and decide on a
plan for the best use of this City-owned parcel.
8.  Unlike other alleys that directly serve a back entrance to a building,
the majority of Holland Street Alley simply passes by the building.  Its
utility to the building is minimal until the very northern part of the
cobblestone portion.  Accordingly, the adjacent property owners do not have
the same extent of direct appurtenant interest in this alley that they
might otherwise have in a "true service alley."
9.  The street/alley is currently a fire lane; if it is closed and altered
as proposed, it may also affect the use of the alley that is adjacent to
the southern side of the Armory parking lot.
10,  If the City deems that this is a street that should be privatized,
then an opportunity should be given for anyone to bid on purchasing it and
proposing a specific use that is in keeping with overall plans for downtown
Durham.

I am a strong supporter of the plans, in general, for the conversion of the
former Home Savings building/NC Mutual Savings Bank building into a
boutique hotel with rooftop bar and first floor restaurant.  I look forward
to that renovation proceeding, but I hope that their plans for the alley
can be modified.

Sincerely,

Daniel Ellison

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SevenStarsCycles <http://www.sevenstarscycles.com/>
309 E Chapel Hill St
 Durham, NC 27701
     919.675.2435
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