Carl Hayes is expanding his 1913 Seminole Heights home, and the plans were approved by the Architectural Review Commission (ARC) with a requirement to replace the windows using the same materials – wood.
Because it’s cheaper, Hayes used aluminum, prompting complaints from neighbors and a code enforcement (CODE) citation. For not complying with the historic preservation code, Hayes has been fined $60 per day since late October.
Replacing the windows could cost $5,500 or more, so Hayes went to CODE for additional time to replace the windows. Code enforcement told him he can ASK for a fine reduction once they are finished.
Unfortunately, it didn’t end there. CODE also heard from neighbors who are apparently quite anti-aluminum. Getting irritated, Hayes wondered aloud if those neighbors might be racist, since he’s the “only black person who is in that neighborhood.” Historic preservation code inspector Aminta Owen then decided that it “would not be sufficient to replace the windows gradually.”
At this point, Hayes was really getting pissed off with the process. A police officer intervened, and was leading him out when Hayes smacked the cop. He ended up tasered, handcuffed, and taken to jail for battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest with violence.
So based on all of that, one might conclude that code enforcement (and those neighbors) are convinced that wooden windows is the ONLY way to go with a hundred year old building in Tampa.
But that was last week.
See, Tampa’s City Hall needs to replace their windows, too. Because it is a historic building, they also had to have ARC check the details. This week, for City Hall, the Architectural Review Commission granted permission to replace wooden windows with cheaper, slashed budget-friendly aluminum windows.
Seriously. Aluminum is good enough for City Hall, but not for Mr. Hayes.
It may be important to note that the story from Rebecca Catalanello and Janet Zink does not say if Hayes originally asked the ARC for permission to use aluminum. But that doesn’t change the fact that different rules are being used for different people.
The ARC should retroactively approve Mr. Hayes amended plans (leading to CODE fines being rescinded), or force the City of Tampa to the same standards.
Oh, and I wonder if we will see those unnamed bitchy neighbors storming City Hall to demand wooden windows, too.
Ed
1 year ago
different rules are being used for different people sadly is the way of City Hall, has been as long as I lived here. I am not being sarcastic, that is a truism we need to change.
Tino
1 year ago
Perhaps Mr. Cohen, his outrageously expensive attorney, should tell him that there are better legal alternatives than slapping a police officer.
George
1 year ago
Some pigs are more equal than other pigs.
Robin 'Roblimo' Miller
1 year ago
It’s the same here in Bradenton. Even without the historic designation, the entire permit process assumes you’re rich and can hire an expensive general contractor and do tens of thousands of dollars worth of work all at once.
Two years ago I gave up on doing any more rehab that requires a permit on our old house in the Village of the Arts. The city made it so hard and tedious that my wife and I decided they really didn’t want us to improve the place.
Now, for various reasons including the one above, we’re moving to a mobile home outside the city limits, where none of the little fixup projects we’ll need to do require a permit.
jason
1 year ago
Really you can get aluminum that looks just like wood. It may lower the value of Mr Hayes home however, which will affect the value of nearby homes when they are appraised. If he sells his home for less because of the lack of historical detail it is used to comp nearby homes. Appraisers won’t take historical accuracy into account most of the time. City Hall of course doesn’t have that concern, they are only responsible to the taxpayers not to waste money. City Hall can’t be used to comp the value of a nearby house. Of course you have to remember that a lot of the arguments in favor of redlining minorities out of certain areas was that their presence would ‘lower the value’ of nearby white owned homes. Regardless the real reasons here is it worth appearing like you are redlining the historic area just for a small savings?
Quegiebo
1 year ago
You’ve got to be kidding me, Tommy! This post literally makes me sick to my stomach!
For something that began as an insignificant issue that unfortunately evolved into a BATLEO charge is just mind-numbing. What’s wrong with this picture?!?!
Tino
1 year ago
I feel sorry for Mr. Hayes, but he still reacted in the wrong way (and is now paying for an extremely expensive attorney). I would never, ever buy a house in a designated historic area, and would sell immediately if my neighborhood was designated one.
It is like having a homeowners association impose new deed restrictions without the benefit of a required ownership vote.
Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog » Blog Archive » 1,000,000 served
1 year ago
[...] Today, the one millionth visitor came by to try and figure out what the heck we are talking about. He or she came from an IP address in Florida, and found us via MSNBC’s Tampa page, and landed on our article entitled ‘again, city issues double standard‘ [...]
Jim S.
4 months ago
The fact of the matter is that the City Hall should be held to the same standard as the homeowners. This is a crime against history. I believe that when someone buys a house in an historical area, then that homeowner has certain obligations to do the right thng. ARC should have NEVER approved the window replacements on the old City Hall. This is nothing but complete and total stupidity! Sometimes, it is better to do nothing, rather than to do the wrong thing. Once these windows are replaced, they are lost forever!