The Henderson City Council voted at Monday’s regular meeting to consider changes to its policy position on the former Beacon Light apartment complex property.
When the property was foreclosed upon by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the city placed restrictive covenants on the property requiring future development to consist of single-family dwellings for low to moderate income residents.
The current owner appealed to the previous city council soon after acquiring the Beacon Light property to change the covenants to allow the construction of apartments. That council declined to change the stipulations they had placed on future development of the land.
Since then, the property has remained undeveloped. Recently, the owner was asked to clean up the property (e.g. mow the grass) by the city. Assistant City Manager Frank Frazier described the current condition of the former Beacon Light property as “deplorable”.
According to Frazier, no developers are anxious to develop the land under the current covenants. He said that many developers have looked at the property for redevelopment as apartment complexes.
Council member Mike Rainey told members that the [Land Planning and Development] committee was in agreement with the recommendation that the city entertain offers for redevelopment other than single-family owner-occupied homes.
Member Lonnie Davis said that if the covenants remain on the property that it “will be sitting there for the next twenty years”.
Council member Garry Daeke noted that the current owner bought the property will full knowledge of the restrictive covenants. Daeke was a member of the previous council and voted to place the covenants on the land along with Davis and member Mary Emma Evans. He asked if the owner has made any effort to “do what he was supposed to do when he bought it”.
Daeke went on to cite a need for home ownership in Henderson “for the tax base”.
Evans said that she thought the buyer anticipated that the council would change its mind when he purchased the property. She indicated strongly that she wished for no part of Beacon Light to remain standing.
Council member Mike Inscoe pointed out to the council that whether the property is used for apartments or condominiums that it has to be built to current [building] code.
A major factor in the demise of the apartment complex were the terracotta sewage lines that were installed when the apartments were built. The lines eventually failed, exposing residents to raw sewage which backed up into water fixtures within the apartments themselves.
City Manager Ray Griffin informed the council that it could choose to combine rental and home ownership. He said that there are many such examples of this type of “blending” and that it “tends to bring the community up”.
When the vote was taken, Evans cast the only “no” vote.