Committee recommends sale of small city parcel at 100 Church Street amid neighborhood safety debate

The Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure Committee voted 4–1 to recommend that the city manager be authorized to negotiate and execute the sale of city-owned land at 100 Church Street (parcel number 574015). Supporters framed the transfer as a way for private abutters to address persistent public-safety and nuisance problems on the parcel; opponents and several members of the public urged caution, asked staff to confirm the deed and raised concerns about losing public green space.

Paul Rodenhauser, representing adjacent property owners and real-estate interests, described the parcel as “quite a nuisance and a problem” and said tenants in nearby buildings had complained about drug use, defecation behind dumpsters and other public‑nuisance behavior. Rodenhauser told the committee an abutting property owner had offered to buy and manage the parcel to address those issues and that neighbors had discussed private acquisition as the simplest way to resolve ongoing problems.

Public Works Director Don Lucey said the parcel is maintained by his department and not codified as a park. He told the committee the parcel is roughly 5,000 square feet and sits in a zone with a 10,000‑square‑foot minimum lot size, so redevelopment as housing would likely require a variance or lot‑line adjustments.

Several residents urged the committee to preserve the green space and requested staff examine the deed before a sale. Peter Hartz recalled local efforts, including planting and maintenance by neighbors, that had made the pocket green space an asset; others described the site’s history with Antioch College and community stewardship. Vicky Martin and others said Antioch and a landscape school helped establish the park decades earlier. Some residents warned that selling the parcel could lead to it being fenced off or developed, removing a rare downtown green space.

Councilor Bobby Williams spoke against immediate sale, urging the city try alternatives first such as fencing, improving sight lines by trimming a berm, motion‑activated lighting, and programming to increase daytime use. Other councilors and staff pointed to police observations that activity at the site has picked up recently and said private ownership could enable abutters to enforce rules more effectively than city staff can with limited patrol resources.

The committee moved and seconded a recommendation that the city manager be authorized to negotiate and execute the sale; the motion passed 4–1. Committee members and members of the public asked staff and the city attorney to confirm the parcel’s deed history and any restrictions before the sale proceeds to council. Staff said the recommendation will be forwarded to the full city council for final action at the next feasible council meeting.