Former Mayor Represents Homeowners in Demo Case
A former mayor will be making the case at tonight’s Historic Preservation Commission meeting for Frederick city homeowners who want to demolish their house to build a bigger one.
Jeff Holtzinger, who served as mayor of Frederick from 2009 to 2013, is an attorney representing the homeowners of 210 Magnolia Ave. Tanya and Marlon Artis purchased the 1946 single-family home near Baker Park in November 2016 for $395,000.
The couple’s application to demolish the home and build a larger one on the property was not well received by neighbors in the downtown suburb. The Historic Preservation Commission agrees with the neighbors and applied for an historic overlay rezoning for the home, even though it does not meet the criteria for historic status, according to city regulations.
“At the end of the day, it’s their property,” Holtzinger said in an interview. “The neighbors don’t have superior rights to people paying the mortgage and property taxes.”
The application will get a hearing at Thursday’s HPC meeting. Holtzinger will be giving testimony on his clients’ behalf. City staff recommends that the rezoning request be withdrawn because it doesn’t meet the criteria for historic designation. If the HPC moves it forward, the next stop is the city’s planning commission who can send it to the mayor and board of aldermen for a vote.
Holtzinger said the HPC’s actions are unfair to the homeowners, and if approved will cause unnecessary delays and expense. “This will drag it out for months, and it really isn’t fair. I feel really badly for these folks,” Holtzinger said. He said he understands the neighbors’ concerns but hopes the HPC follows the staff recommendation. The Artis family wants to be part of the neighborhood, he said, and initially hoped to renovate the home to accommodate elderly relatives, but couldn’t make it work.
“They didn’t intend to tear it down because they liked the lot and the location,” Holtzinger said.
HPC meets tonight at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 101 N. Court St.
