Little has changed on quiet SW 47th since Agnes Kovacs and her
family moved in over a decade ago—until two years ago, when developers
started snapping up properties in the neighborhood, demolishing old
houses, splitting lots, and putting up new, larger, more expensive
homes on smaller chunks of land.
On Kovacs’ block—between homes that have already been torn down and
replaced, and lots slated for the same treatment—there will be 10 or 11
large new homes, where there were four modest ones.
“It’s like a mini-subdivision on our block right now,” Kovacs says.
Making matters worse, the changes have blindsided neighbors, since the
developers didn’t have to follow the standard land division
process—which involves public notice—to create more, smaller lots. “On
one of the homes there was an orange demolition notice, other than that
we had no clue. Practically everything is in the dark.”
The reason? Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc. (SWNI) land-use specialist
Leonard Gard explained the complicated land-use details, in the July
SWNI newsletter: When the neighborhood’s land was “platted” or divvied
up in the 1800s, the lots were only 2,500 square feet each. But those
little lots were bundled together in sets, so homes were built on
larger sites—like the 10,000 square foot ones that make up most of
Kovacs’ block. However, the underlying “skinny lots” still exist, so
developers are able to apply for “lot segregation” that effectively
divides a 10,000 square foot site made up of four skinny lots, into two
5,000 square foot pairs of lots. Segregating the lots doesn’t require
public notice.
Kovacs and her neighbors sent a letter—titled “Redevelopment by a
Thousand Cuts”—to city commissioners and the Bureau of Development
Services, asking for a moratorium on the lot segregations, so neighbors
can discuss the situation with the city and come up with solutions.
They’re worried that the sudden and large-scale development will have a
negative impact on their neighborhood, by eliminating trees or
overburdening the stormwater drainage system (which, they say, already
has trouble dealing with runoff). The Ashcreek Neighborhood Association
also sent a letter to the city, backing up the neighbors and
questioning the demolition of relatively affordable homes.
“We want to know why this is happening and how it’s happening and if
we can do better,” Kovacs explains. Though neighbors are in discussions
with the city following their May 18 letter, “so far nothing has
happened to address our legitimate concerns.”