An ordinance being considered by the Albany Common Council would give the city's planning board a role in approving demolition permits, according to an editorial supporting the proposed law in the Albany Times Union.
Only neighborhoods with official historic designations are protected from indiscriminate building demolitions today, which the editorial notes often results in long-vacant lots that become enduring symbols of urban decay.
Under the new proposal, non-emergency demolition permits would require applicants to seek the approval from the building department and the planning board, in an effort to require owners to say what they intend for the vacant parcels in the future.
Read the full Times Union editorial at:
http://archives.timesunion.com/mwebl/wmsql.wm.request?onwimage&imageid=8920654
