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June 22, 1998 Council/Plan Commission working with the UCRS to help market the vacant lots. Mr. Ollendorff said that he thought he was hearing that demolition would be alright for the worst places, but concentration should still be on rehab and renewal. The Mayor said that some buildings should not be rehabbed that are not economically viable to do. It should be determined what is good business sense to rehab before it is done. Mr. Munkel said that we should possibly think about reusing the land in a different way. Ms. Glassman said that there should be a test or a series of questions that should be asked to help guide these types of decisions. Mr. Wagner says it comes down to the question of condemnation. If it is empty and is falling down, he has no problem with it being torn down. If there are people living in it, then you are on thin ice, telling someone that they better fix it up or you will tear it down. The Mayor asked what would happen if the house was in danger of falling in and there were people living in it. Mr. Ollendorff asked if these buildings should be saved at any cost or should it be torn down. Mr. Wagner said a building must be condemned first, then the people taken out so that they are living somewhere else, and then it can be torn down. He agrees with the Mayor, that many of the homes are so bad that it does not make economical sense to rehab them. Mr. Ollendorff said that this will continue to be addressed, since there does not seem to be a clear consensus. Mr. Sharpe said that there are organizations and church groups that will do rehabs for no charge. The City needs to identify these problems homes and find help for them. The Mayor said that he and Mr. Rose had talked with an organization called Christmas in April. Mr. Sharpe replied that there are more organizations out there than that one. Mr. Ollendorff said that Ecumenical Housing does not take the homeowners off the tax role and that they have the resources to maintain them. They are not a Section 8 landlord. Most rental subsidizing organizations would not do this. Mr. Solodar said that the issue of the empty lots really needs to be dealt with and the policy put in the new Plan. Mr. Ollendorff said that they would come up with some strategies. The Mayor said that they should look at marketing an area for redevelopment after a certain percentage of vacant lots in a certain area occurs. Mr. Price said that there are many small frame houses, that meet the code, but are so small and unstable that they will never be a credit to the neighborhood and possibly should be torn down. Redevelopment and New Development Areas: Mr. Ollendorff asked where development and redevelopment should take place. Should it be restricted to commercial, industrial, main arteries or multiple family zones? Should we continue considering development in single family zones that are suitable for rezoning? Mr. Solodar suggested that smaller houses be torn down and bigger, upscale houses built on two lots, so that it would bring in more revenue. This would also keep it single family. Mr. Ollendorff said that no one would do this. The more you limit the development, the less likely you are to get it. Mr. Solodar suggested that we needed a better transition formula, such as being no closer than 25 or 50 feet of the adjacent houses, with a building bigger than one story, and beyond that, a larger