No right or wrong in demolition debate

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne recently completed research studying the effects of the demolition of vacant residential buildings in Fort Wayne.

The study focused on the debate about which is better for the community, leaving a vacant house standing or demolishing it. Even though both sides of the argument have their supporters, the research found that not one is better for the community than the other.

"The fact that there is no overwhelming evidence that says demolition is good, demolition is bad is actually an important finding," said Andy Downs, with the Mike Down Center for Indiana Politics at IPFW.

For the purposes of the IPFW study, research included vacant properties in Fort Wayne that either had demolition permits issued from 1996 through 2007 and properties where water had been shut off for at least 17 months, indicating it too, was vacant.

The study found that the condition of the land of a property that had water shut-off was worse than the demolition properties. They found the structure itself on the shut-off properties contributed to the mess on the land. Vegetation grew up next to the structure and usually did not get cut or removed when the lot was mowed. The structures were usually in much better condition when it is on a demolition property than when it is on a shut-off property.

However, the study also found that the value of the shut-off land is much higher than the value of the land where the structure has been demolished. This is because the water and sewer taps add value to the land itself.

Downs tells NewsChannel 15 the city spends about half a million dollars a year on complaint-driven demolitions. He believes the study may have city officials reconsidering whether to knock down more homes.

"They really should be asking themselves is this the best use of those dollars?", Downs said.

John Urbahns, Fort Wayne's Director of Community Development, says the study is prompting the city to do some studying of its own.

"I don't think we're going to make any changes right now to the standard program, we will look at what our policies are and I think there needs to be a little more research," said Urbahns.

Downs says other issues like public safety and the cost benefit of demolition will be the subject of future studies. He hopes to get working on those by the summer.
 

Finding Supporting Demolition

The study found that land in the demolition population is cared for better than land in the shut-off population. The poor land condition has a greater relationship with decreasing values for adjoining land and structures in the shut-0ff population than the demolition population

The study said over time, the condition of land in the shut-off population deteriorates more than land in the demolition population. This means that over time, shut-off land and the land adjoining those properties decline in value more than the subject land and adjoining land in the demolition population.

Finding Opposing Demolition

However, the study also found that the assessed value of land is higher in the shut-off population than in the demolition population, and the land adjoining shut-off property is marginally better cared for that the land adjoining an empty lot.

According to the study, poor subject land condition in the demolition properties have a greater relationship with poor adjoining land and structure condition than in the shut-off population. This is concluded because it is rare with these properties that someone builds on a vacant lot.

Neutral Findings

Even though there are valid points for each side, researchers found there simply is no statistical significance of:
1. conditions of adjoining structures for either population
2. difference between both populations for adjoining land or improvement values.
3. a relationship between time and the value of improvements on the subject or adjoining properties.

Considering that information, the Down's Center has concluded that the research indicates there is no clear advantage or disadvantage to Fort Wayne's demolition program.

While there is still analysis to be done regarding whether it is better for a community to leave a vacant house standing or demolish it, the research should be expanded to include other factors like:

1. Other data in the analysis
2. Test other definitions of the word 'better'.
3. Discuss what circumstances the findings might change and then research those