Edgewater 'Eyesore' Project to Continue

Construction is allowed to continue on the massive waterside structure on Edgewater Drive, despite obvious infractions under the new building code, officials voted 3-2 on Thursday.

Neighbors calling the long-unfinished structure an "eyesore" pleaded with officials to bring the owner's plans to a quasi-judicial review, an optional process for calling to question any construction projects that affect a scenic area or a historical landmark. Construction began on the property at 570 Edgewater Drive under different ownership and a more lax building code in 2006.

The owner foreclosed on the property, leaving it a vacant, partially-constructed attraction for vagrants for years, neighbors say. The structure inspired the city's new review option and stricter building codes adopted in 2010. 

Property Got a New Owner in April

In April, the property was , a lawyer in Germany.

Neighbors once the new owner renewed its expired building permit. 

On May 24, Raabe submitted a new application to finish the project. His plans indicate he intends to eliminate five of the nine original bedrooms, create a game room and add a circular driveway, said Greg Rice, planning and development director.

But even with those changes, which help bring the building into compliance with new code, Rice said, it doesn't solve some other code issues: the height of the elevator roof shaft makes the structure too tall for code, the planned driveway doesn't allow for enough green space, and eight trees must be planted on the property.

Holding a Hearing on Code Issues Voted Down

"Why wouldn't you bring it to a quasi-judicial hearing?" neighbor Walter Allen asked city officials at a public meeting Thursday.

The call-up process, as it was written into the code, was intended for already existing projects, Rice said.

City Attorney Tom Trask said whatever decision came out of a quasi-judicial hearing would open the city up to a lawsuit. Officials said it would also put Raabe's building permit on hold, which would only serve to prolong the "eyesore."

Mayor Dave Eggers and Commissioners David Carson and Ron Barnette voted not to call the project to a review process. The mayor said the process was beyond the scope of what the commission should be doing and that he trusted city staff to make sure the new owner complies with the new code without their oversight.

"We have property rights in this country," Carson said.

Barnette said, "I want us to move forward." 

Commissioners Julie Ward Bujalski and Julie Scales voted in favor of calling the plans up for review. Scales, also a lawyer, said a hearing didn't have to mean the building would be torn down. It's merely a process that facilitates discussion.

"Sometimes it's surprising when you let two people talk to each other," Scales said.