Categories
Tag: Politics
Categories
Historic Bank Street Demolitions (update)
Several weeks ago local and regional preservationists united in an attempt to raise awareness of a potential demolition of four historic buildings in Cincinnati’s West End neighborhood. Emails were sent, calls were made, and awareness was reached to a certain extent.
Paul Wilham led these efforts locally and did not have much luck in getting a response back from the Mayor’s office on the matter. I sent my own email out on January 9th to all nine members of City Council and the Mayor’s office. Last week I got a response from Council member Leslie Ghiz (thank you) that included comments from the City’s Code Enforcement Division and Historic Preservation Department.
833-839 Bank Street – Photo by Kevin LeMasterIn the response there were several pieces of useful information. Code Enforcement clarified that the City primarily funds its demolitions with Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). This money is not allowed to be used in demolitions that might have an “adverse impact on a historic structure” as is the case for the Bank Street properties (Streetview). As a result of this contingency, the City engages in very little demolition work of historic structures.
In the particular case here it is the private owner who is preparing to demolish these structures – not the City. The current owners, the Reed family, have applied for the demolition permits and can go forth with the demolitions as planned unless something extraordinary happens.
The Reed family has been the subject of code enforcement actions in the past. Criminal prosecution even occurred in relation to compliance issues for 839 Bank Street. As a result the City has attempted to secure the buildings by barricading them on seven different instances since 2006. The Division cites that they have “no immediate plans to demolish these buildings by governmental action,” and that the owner can choose to either demolish the structures as they currently have planned, or they can bring the properties into compliance through repair.
The question was then asked if approval is needed, from the Historic Conservation Office, for private demolition in this historic district. The response was that in this particular case the answer appears to be “no.”
Additional Reading:
“West End Buildings Doomed” – Building Cincinnati
If you’re not already familiar with Cincinnati’s stimulus projects then I suggest you get familiar. Cities from around the country have submitted their “shovel ready” projects to be considered for stimulus money. Cincinnati’s list has 48 projects* totaling $434,916,420.
Projects big and small fill out the list. You will find Cincinnati’s proposed streetcar system, streetscape improvement projects, RecycleBank, green roof projects, street grid for The Banks, stabilization/control of the Ohio River for the new Central Riverfront Park (CRP), forest carbon sequestration, and much more.
A new site – Stimulus Watch – allows you to look through the submitted items from cities all across the nation. The website allows you to vote on each of the submitted items. You can select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ as to whether you feel that particular project is critical and worthy of stimulus money. The site then categorizes these projects nationally by the Most and Least Critical, Most Expensive, and Most Active (by votes).
So far Cincinnati’s projects are faring quite well with the streetcar project leading nationally as the Most Critical project according to voters. Also high on the list is the street grid project for The Banks development, bank stabilization for the CRP, and streetscape improvements throughout Over-the-Rhine.
Visit the CINCINNATI PAGE to view all of Cincinnati’s included projects, and give your input on what you would and would not like to see the stimulus money go towards locally.
*DISCLAIMER – These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.
In September of 2007, Mayor Mallory pushed for the creation of an Environmental Quality Department. This department would oversee the City’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions and hopefully bring Cincinnati in alignment with goals set forth by the Kyoto Protocol set globally in 1992 (183 parties have ratified the Protocol as of 2008).
The Climate Protection Action Plan (CPAP) is the primary document and driving force behind Cincinnati’s localized efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The plan has short, medium, and long term Greenhouse Gas reduction goals which average out to an annual GHG reduction of 2%.
- Short Term – Reduce GHG emissions 8% below 2006 levels by 2012
- Medium Term – Reduce GHG emissions 40% below 2006 levels by 2028
- Long Term – Reduce GHG emissions 84% below 2006 levels by 2050
Within the CPAP there are 5 identified categories that include more than 80 Emission Reduction Measures. One of these measures – eating less meat – has gotten significant coverage over the past 24-36 hours and has caused quite a stir.
The idea is that people try to go one day a week without eating meat. It’s not a mandate or policy, just a suggestion. The response though has been chaotic and emotionally charged with comments filled with anger and misunderstanding.
% of global meat consumption – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The fact is that reduced meat consumption can have a very significant impact on our GHG emissions (read CPAP excerpt below). If all Cincinnati residents were to, on average, eat meat one less day per week it would constitute a 14% reduction in meat consumption. That 14% reduction would translate into the reduction of 26,400 tons of GHG emissions by 2012 (short term) and 52,800 tons by 2028 (medium term). This reduction is more profound than the estimated GHG emission reduction by Energy Star Residential Construction (2,500 tons by 2028), Programmable Thermostats (35,000 tons by 2028), Increased Bicycle Usage (6,300 tons by 2028), or Hybrid Transit Busses (12,771 tons by 2028).
Summary of specific issues – A 2006 report by the United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Livestock’s Long Shadow, found that the production of animals for food is responsible for over 18% of the planet‘s greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than twice that of the office buildings and homes (8%) and nearly 40% more than transportation emissions (13%). This figure represents 9% of the planetary carbon dioxide emissions, 37% of the methane (mostly from livestock flatulence and waste matter) and 65% of the nitrous oxide; the latter two gases having 23 times and 296 times the global warming potentials of CO2.
The report concluded ―The livestock sector emerges as one of the… most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global and finds it must become a major policy focus.
A 2005 University of Chicago report, Diet, Energy and Global Warming (597kb pdf) found that the added burden of meat diets above plant based diets accounts for 6% of US total greenhouse gas emissions. The Standard American Diet (SAD), of which around 28% of the caloric intake is derived from meat, produced 1.485 metric tons CO2 equivalent emissions (per person per year) more than an all plant based diet (a conservative figure). A red meat eater‘s mean diet increased this number to 2.52 tons CO2e. This is the equivalent difference between driving a sedan (Camry) and an SUV. A diet of just 20% meat produced an added GHG burden of 1 ton CO2e per person annually; this is the difference between a year of driving a standard sedan (Camry) and the highest efficiency hybrid (Prius).
With 80% of annual world deforestation connected to animal agriculture, an area the size of a football field is razed every second, a practice which has been termed ―”the ‘hamburgerization’ of our forests.” A single SAD meal levels 55 square feet of rain forest.
Estimated greenhouse gas reduction to be achieved – 26,400 tons by 2012 (10% reduction in meat consumption x 20% of the population and 100% reduction by 3% of the population x 1.6 tons/person); 52,800 tons by 2028 (20% reduction in meat consumption x 20% of the population and 100% reduction by 6% of the population x 1.6). The goal will be to have all Cincinnati residents, on average, eat meat one less day per week by 2012, which would be a 14% reduction in meat consumption. The projected GHG emission reductions are based on a more conservative forecast of actual behavior.
Read the full report here (1.94mb pdf).
Many Americans believe strongly that the infrastructure spending plan should look beyond widening our highways and building new roads. According to a recent study (pdf), 80% of Americans believe it’s more important that a stimulus plan include efforts to repair existing highways and build public transit rather than build new highways. 45% of those polled go on to say that construction of new highways should “definitely” or “probably” not be included in the plan.
The American public has seen the days of highway spending dominate their lives. As a result we are damaging our environment, limiting our transportation choices, and negatively impacting our health. It appears as though House Minority Leader and Republican from West Chester Township, doesn’t agree.
“I think there’s a place for infrastructure, but what kind of infrastructure? Infrastructure to widen highways, to ease congestion for American families? Is it to build some buildings that are necessary? But if we’re talking about beautification projects, or we’re talking about bike paths, Americans are not going to look very kindly on this.”
-John Boehner (R-OH)
It is a real shame that when Americans are standing up and proclaiming that they want a change in the way we allocate our transportation resources we also have politicians who are standing up for the status quo. Boehner needs to quit worrying that his constituency feels negatively towards comprehensive transportation – because they don’t.
Over the past decade or so I-75 through Butler County has been widened, Union Centre Boulevard interchange built, SR 129 (Michael A. Fox Highway) built, and the new Liberty Interchange is under construction. Over that same period the City of Hamilton has seen their bus service disappear, rates have gone up on Metro express routes, and the Ohio Hub Plan is looking for some federal money to get going. It should also be noted that Boehner was one of the few opposing votes to a measure supporting increased funds for Amtrak service in Ohio (even Steve Chabot supported it).
With all this highway spending does America or Boehner’s district (map) really need additional highway capacity and more highways? Mr. Boehner (contact info) should be supporting democracy and freedom for Americans. We are strangled by an automobile oriented society that leaves no other choices for most Americans. Democracy, freedom, and choice would all seem to be things Boehner would support; so why doesn’t he?
The 2009 Growth and Transportation Survey was conducted by Hart Research Associates, January 5-7. Hart Research Associates telephoned 1,005 adults living in the U.S. The study has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Photo from Getty Images