CARROLLTON — Carrollton’s Historic Preservation Committee has told Alderman Gary Bankston to remove the top story of a building he has begun to expand upwardly and build an 8-foot fence across his property.
Bankston, who operates a wrecker company within a residential neighborhood, indicated after Monday’s meeting that he plans to comply with only half of the directive.
The Historic Preservation Committee met Monday for the second time over the dispute about recent modifications to Bankston’s property. Employees of the state’s Archives and History Department were also on hand to explain to the town’s citizens more about the ordinance passed in 2002 that requires property owners to get a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic Preservation Committee before making major modifications to their property.
Some people in Carrollton have said they didn’t know of the ordinance or the “certified legal government” designation the town adopted at the time. They have objected to the ordinance as government interference with personal property rights. Others see it as a necessary part of local government in keeping the historic nature of Carrollton.
Bankston appeared before the Historic Preservation Committee at the insistence of his fellow aldermen after neighbor Tommy Goodman asked the town board to enforce the eight-year-old ordinance. Goodman, a retired architect who restored an antebellum home across from Bankston’s property, complained that his neighbor had expanded the wrecker service without getting a certificate of appropriateness (COA).
Since Bankston’s business already existed when the ordinance was passed, he has every right to continue to work there but should not further expand, said Susan Dunn, secretary for the Historic Preservation Committee. “We approved his COA, but with modifications,” she said.
The decision, she said, was unanimous.
“We made a decision today, and we thought we were fair to all parties involved.”
However, Bankston said afterward that he will build the fence but does not intend to take down the second story of his building.
“I’ve been told by the man doing the work that it will cost as much to take it down as to build it,” he said.
Bankston also disputes the legality of the ordinance.
“Lori Bell, the board attorney, got an opinion from the state attorney general that said for an ordinance to be legal, it has to have four components: it must be certified by a municipal clerk; it must be signed by the mayor or a majority of the city aldermen; it must be recorded in an ordinance book; and it must be published at least once in a newspaper,” Bankston said. According to Bankston, the city’s officers only took the first step.
Bankston, who was not on the Board of Aldermen at the time the ordinance was passed, said he feels the board must now decide whether to keep the ordinance and make it legal, or get rid of it.
Dunn said many people in Carrollton have misunderstood the term “certified local government.”
“The town of Carrollton is a certified local government, not our committee,” she said. “The purpose of our committee and the ordinance is to preserve the town and keep its integrity as a historic district.”
Dunn said the committee has never failed to approve a COA request, although sometimes it has suggested modifications.
Bankston said when he started adding the second story to his wrecker service’s existing building, he thought it would be “grandfathered” in. “In the beginning, I told them I would be willing to build a fence and take down the second story. It was my peace offering,” he said. “But after all that’s happened, I now believe I have the right to continue with my building.”
Goodman said he felt Monday’s meeting was fair to all the parties. “This is just a way for the town to see that what’s going on in neighborhoods is appropriate. No one is ever denied any authority to build onto their house. I want people to know I’m not trying to put Gary out of business. He has done a lot of work for me. I respect him a lot. But he is an alderman and should be following the city’s ordinances.”
Judy Gillespie, who owns a home down the street from Bankston and Goodman, said she agreed with the committee’s decision.
“I asked (Bankston) if he plans to open a U-Haul business, and he said, ‘Maybe,’ and also a paint shop,” she said.
“It’s not personal. He’s done a lot. I just don’t like all of that. I have a son and a grandchild on the street, and another one on the way. I don’t like the traffic, cars in the middle of the road and the way it looks,” Gillespie said. “I understand that people need to be able to do what they want with their property. Some people seem to think people will be telling them what color they can paint their house, or that they can’t build. It’s not that way.”
She added that it’s become a bigger issue than it should have been.
“People have made a mountain out of a molehill. It’s a mess.”
