Over the past few weeks, a battle of the past, present and future has been playing out at Lakewood City Hall. The property in question, the Heideloff House on Edgewater Drive, is in the midst of a debate over historic preservation and the rights of private property owners.
The Lakewood Planning Commission deferred any action on the matter during a meeting last night, according to Lakewood Patch, but here’s the gist so far:
Stacey and Michael Semaan, currently living in Strongsville, own the 98-year-old home at 13474 Edgewater Drive. Original plans to live there – and subsequent plans to renovate the home – fell through when all repair options were deemed cost prohibitive. The family soon decided to demolish the home and build anew.
Enter neighbor Jeff Weber and other families from the area. They’ve submitted proposals for the historic designation of the property, a move that would effectively kill plans to knock down the house. The commission recently ruled that the house does qualify for the designation, but it has not yet conferred it.
Per the city code, anyone may submit a property for historic designation; it does not need to be done by the property owner.
At this point, the dueling questions of whether the home is approved for demolition and whether the home will earn historic designation are working through two of Lakewood’s boards and commissions – monthly meetings that take place on different weeks. Approval of either measure would cancel the other out.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2013.
Jeff Weber and other families from the area show what is wrong with this situation. They are under the impression that THEY own the house in question…or that the city owns the house in question. Neither do! These people are honest to god communists at heart. They have zero respect for what others do with their own property. People have to understand across the nation how far out of control this agenda has got. This is no longer about preserving Jefferson sites in Virginia that are owned by the public.
These people have now entered into the realm of stomping on the personal liberty and freedom of their fellow Americans. They are theeee most un-American. It’s called minding your own business Jeff. Why don’t you and some others try it sometime.
Kind of a sticky wicket here but Rob…The government has been trampling on the rights of individuals for years…Now we’re just doing it to each other….Does it make it right? No but the sheeple don’t seem to care that they don’t have a voice…
Guuuh….
This is why I would never want to own or buy a house that old. Nothing but problems. “Oh, tee hee, but the age of the home makes it so charming!” No, it doesn’t. Run the *$#& away from that old home, run the %$#* away.