The City of Buffalo is putting a 60-day freeze on non-emergency residential demolitions.
The executive order from Mayor Sean Ryan provides time for the Office of Permit and Inspection Services and Office of Strategic Planning to review demolition policies.
Turning to demolition should be used only when needed, not the first course of action, Ryan said.
“A generation of haphazard demolitions has weakened our neighborhoods and reduced our housing supply," he said. "This administration understands that we cannot demolish our way to a stronger city. We need to protect taxpayer dollars, stabilize our neighborhoods and create more housing opportunities.”
Roughly 100 derelict properties are currently slated for demolition. The pattern of has greatly contributed to Buffalo’s housing issues, because more than 300 residential properties have been demolished in the last five years, but only 100 new ones have been built, Ryan added.
Deputy Mayor Thomas Baines will oversee the Office of Permit and Inspection Services and Office of Strategic Planning will review demolition policies. Reviewing standards will help hold property owners accountable but also strengthen community bonds, he said.
“It's about transferring neglected properties into some use, a good use, for the City of Buffalo," Baines said. "And also about partnering with our organizations, such as Preservation Buffalo, to make sure that we're just not tearing things down that make up the fabric of our great community, in terms of architecture.”
In addition to the two-month freeze, the city will develop a Demolition Diversion Plan to prioritize stabilization of at-risk buildings.
