An historic home at 523 W. 7th Street has been demolished, Sunday, September 29, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
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Owners fined 83,000-dollars for demolishing structures

October 21, 2019
Jeremy Hogan
An historic home at 523 W. 7th Street has been demolished, Saturday, September 28, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)

A press release from the City of Bloomington announced Monday the owners of two demolished structures on W. 7th Street have been assessed an 83,000-dollar fine.

“The City of Bloomington Planning and Transportation Department has issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) of municipal zoning ordinance to the owners of the property at 523 West Seventh Street, for demolishing two structures at that location without having obtained a Certificate of Zoning Compliance (CZC). Prior to the demolition, the Bloomington Historic Preservation Commission had determined to recommend that the structures be designated as historic by the Common Council.  In letters sent Wednesday, October 16, the owners of the property, David Holdman and Judie Baker, have been notified that they are being assessed a civil penalty of $83,000 for the violation [Bloomington Municipal Code, Section 20.09.220],” said the press release.

The owners tore down the structures on September 26th using an excavator. The debris of the home were visible from the street for several days.

“The structures — a house and a garage — were demolished on or around September 26, 2019 in the absence of a CZC, which must be issued prior to the demolition of any building, structure, or mobile home.  The penalty was assessed for each day that the violation continued without correction. Since the timeline for correcting the demolition is uncertain, the fine that accrued from the daily penalty was capped when the amount reached the value of the demolished improvements on the property as they were most recently assessed by the Monroe County Auditor,” said the press release.

The press release also states, “The owners of the property have been notified of their right to appeal the NOV to the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals within five days of the date of the notice.”

A post on the site, Bloomington Then & Now said the demolished house known as the Stancombe house was, “one of two central parlor homes built in the 1890s left in the city.”

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