Newcomb Oil to appeal denial of request to demolish E. Stephen Foster home
Newcomb Oil Co., owner of this home at 118 East Stephen Foster Ave., is appealing a denial of its application to demolish the home to make way for a new Five Star store. The new store requires the space the home now occupies. The home is in the city’s historic district.
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, 11:55 p.m. — The Newcomb Oil Co. is fling an appeal of the Historic Review Board’s denial of its application to demolish the home next to the company’s Five Star Food Mart at the corner of Second and Stephen Foster in order to build a new store.
The home at 118 East Stephen Foster Ave. — known as the “Dobbs house” and named for the man who built it — has been owned by Newcomb Oil since 1998. It is located in the city’s historic district and it is also listed as a contributing structure in the city’s National Register District. According to the home’s property card at the PVA, the home was built in 1939.
But in testimony before the Historic Review Board on Sept. 20, attorney Jim Willett explained that the company needs to demolish the home in order to build a modern and more efficient store. The existing lot size is too small unless the footprint of the residential lot is included in the plan, Willett told the board. The existing store was built nearly 30 years ago and is outdated and functionally inefficient, he said.
Despite the company’s best efforts over the years to find a suitable use for the home, its representatives have been unable to locate a use or suitable tenant for the property. The home has remained largely empty and unused, and has not generated a reasonable return on its investment.
The proposed new Five Star store would enhance the property and provide consumers and tourists with a modern store, energy-efficient store, Willett explained. But the new store can’t be built with the home there, and denying Newcomb Oil’s request to demolish the home would deny the company of a productive use of its own property and create an economic hardship.
DOCUMENTATION PROVING ECONOMIC HARDSHIP. The historic district regulations state the review board can approve an application for demolition of a structure in the historic district if not doing so creates an economic hardship on the owners.
But in order to do so, the regulations allow the board to request documentation to support an economic hardship claim. According the meeting’s minutes, the only documentation the company provided was a letter that stated the company had been unable to successfully rent the property.
Willett explained that additional documentation simply did not exist because the residence never generated revenue. When there is no income generated by a property, there’s no way to determine the return on the investment, he said.
Despite the lack of revenue, the company has spent thousands of dollars each year in taxes, insurance and maintenance and upkeep, he explained.
Board member Dr. Deborah Ballard told Willett that oral arguments in favor of an economic hardship claim were insufficient proof. Proper documentation was critically important for the board to consider in determining economic hardship. The board has a duty to abide by its regulations, she said.
“Demolition in the Historic District is very serious business,” she said.
Former city preservation director David Hall spoke against the application for demolition, arguing that the house’s status hasn’t changed since Newcomb Oil purchased it from the Dobbs family. The home’s architecture is still unique and it remains a contributing part of the city’s historic district, Hall said.
The board’s denial of Newcomb’s application cited several reasons, including the lack of a detailed financial analysis to prove a claim of economic hardship. According to the board’s minutes, their denial was also based on their findings that the demolition was not consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation.
NEXT UP. Newcomb Oil Co. has filed its intent to appeal the Historic Review Board’s decision to the Bardstown City Council. That appeal may take place at a special hearing before the regularly scheduled council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016.
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