Demolition of a house in the Palisades neighborhood

Demolition of a house in the Palisades neighborhood
Originally uploaded by rllayman

(Photo by Marshall Soltz, of the demolition of the "Jesse Baltimore" House by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation.)

Another example of the failure of the District Government to be "world class" is the demolition of a house next to the entry of a park in the Palisades neighborhood. This house could have been renovated and occupied by a tax paying family. Instead it was demolished... illegally by a District Government agency, an agency that failed to adhere to other laws enforced for other DC Government agencies...

But I digress, MSN has a feature, "Houses on the move: What does it take to relocate a house?," on moving houses rather than demolishing them. Now, I think that the house on Sherrier Place didn't need to move. There wasn't really a need for a more grand entrance into the park, show that it's a neighborhood park by integrating it into the neighborhood, rather than fully setting it apart. But I'd rather have had the house be moved than demolished. And the DPR set up a gamed process that led to the house's demolition, rather than fairly, openly, and transparently considering other options.

According to the MSN feature:

Each house saved diverts 50,000 to 100,000 pounds of debris from landfills.

Not to mention the embodied energy lost.

So the DC Government says it wants to be considered a world leader on environmental issues?

Right here, in one decision, probably 10 to 20 other "pro-environmental" actions were likely obviated, reversed.

Also see "Why build? Move an older house instead" from MSN.

Movers guide a truck and house through a tight passage with overhanging trees in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood. They had to temporarily move high-voltage, high-tension overhead trolley lines -- at a cost of roughly $30,000 -- to relocate it just 10 blocks from its original site. Photo by Jeff McCord.