Tuesday evening the Wake Forest Town Board voted for a new ordinance which requires the owners of empty buildings in the Renaissance Area to provide window displays that are changed every six months. The ordinance will take effect Jan. 1, 2021.
The mayor and commissioners of this and previous boards have long said the number of empty buildings in the downtown and larger Renaissance Area has been a blight and a hindrance to fully developing a vibrant commercial area. Or, as the ordinance says, “With significant pedestrian activity, visual blight associated with vacant commercial buildings has a significant negative effect.”
The owner or a “Responsible Party” has to contact the administrator of the ordinance within 15 days of when the building became empty. Within 10 of that contact the owner has to submit an action plan which includes a description of which type of window display he will use. Acceptable plans include window dressings with goods or services plus panels or other methods to screen the vacant space; works of art; paintings directly to the window surface; historic photographs of Wake Forest applied directly to the interior of the window(s); or “Other measures approved by the Administrator in writing that achieve the purposes of this Section to avoid visual blight in the Renaissance Area and enliven pedestrian experiences there.”
The penalties for violations of the ordinance are a fine of $250 for the first offense with the fine rising to $500 for the second offense.
There were 12 empty buildings in downtown last month, according to Lisa Hayes, who is the head of the Downtown Development Department. A proposed tour of downtown’s South White Street buildings listed 30 buildings. That would mean a 30 percent vacancy rate.
The commissioners completed the overhaul of its advisory boards during the consent agenda. The changes are as follows:
*Amend the Recreation Advisory Board Ordinance to combine the Cultural Arts, Greenways and Recreation Boards into a new board called the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Board.
*Amend the Human Relations Council, Public Art Commission, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, Technology and Urban Forestry Board ordinances to add up to three youth who are in 11th or 12th grades and a town resident as a voting member.
*Repeal the Cemetery, Cultural Arts and Greenways and Senior Center Advisory Board Ordinances, removing those boards from town ordinances.
*Amend the Urban Forestry Ordinance to clearly separate staff duties and advisory board responsibilities. This advisory board will now focus on education, outreach and advocacy.
Along with the new Renaissance Area Vacant Storefront Window ordinance, the commissioners also approved a request to legally allow forklift operations in the dense downtown area.
Finally, the board members and mayor wrestled with the constraints of the quasi-judicial process under which the Wake Preparatory Academy site and subdivision plans were heard. The Wake Forest Planning Board turned down both plans on Oct. 6.
The commissioners agreed it did not appear to be a community school and questioned the traffic plan because the school will not pay for the improvements, following the law passed in 2018 by the General Assembly. The votes on both plans were four to zero with Commissioner Chad Sary absent. Town attorney Eric Vernon noted that the applicant has the right to appeal.
At the beginning of the meeting the commissioners learned there were three proclamations, one saying Small Business Saturday will be held on Nov. 28. Mayor Vivian Jones urged those listening to shop downtown that day because 70 percent of the money shoppers spend then will stay in Wake Forest. The other proclamations were for Indian Heritage Month in October as well as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
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5 Responses
You know, this is unamerican. Should a property owner be a good citizen and help with revitalization? Sure. But making them jump through hoops to comply to a mandate such as this? Communist.
I want a vibrant downtown. But there has to be a better way than doing something that threatens them financially.
It’s unfortunate some property owners in the heart of White Street let their buildings sit neglected and vacant simply because they can afford to. It hurts all the neighboring property owners and the vibrance of the town when everyone else is working so hard to build a great downtown experience. Who ticked Sue off so much that she won’t join the party? Her building on the corner could be such a great legacy to the Holding family with so many uses and it sits empty and in disrepair. Sue, read up on what the Waltons (Walmart) do for their little town to give back to the community.
Fidelity Bank-tear it down and rebuild-that design should never have been approved for downtown.
Congrat’s to William Barker/Russell Allen for the great looking new apartment/retail bulding they just completed. Great fit for downtown. Congrat’s to the town for buying the SunTrust building to maybe have positive influence on what goes there. Congrat’s to Bob Johnson and his Dock warehouse project. Congrat’s to Kip and Jason and the many other town employees that work so hard to make WF what it is and can be.
A lot of good things are happening. We all need to join in. Sue, can you hear me?
Please note regarding the number of vacant buildings downtown: I had provided an approximate number of 12 storefronts. This includes empty commercial spaces in the downtown area – not just along S. White Street. The 30% vacancy rate is not accurate and as the ratio needs to include all commercial spaces in the entire Downtown District.
What if the owner has no idea about this ordinance and leaves not knowing they need to inform somebody?
Town staff will email and/or mail each downtown property owner within the next week as well as provide information/guidance to assist them in meeting new regulation.