A single-family home across from the University of St. Thomas on Selby Avenue was torn down on Sept. 19 without permission from the City of St. Paul amidst an ongoing neighborhood dispute over changes to zoning ordinances.
City of St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections Communications Manager Casey Rodriguez said that neighbors reported the non-permitted demolition at 2133 Selby Ave. to the city, which, in turn, issued a “stop work” order on the project that he said the developer complied with.
The permit was finally issued on Oct. 1.
“It doesn’t happen very often,” Rodriguez said. “Most of the developers and contractors we work, they with know what they’re supposed to do; I mean, it’s their job.”
Information from the City of St. Paul’s online permit system, as well as a sign on the property, names Metro Wide Construction, Inc. as the contractor for the project. Metro Wide did not immediately respond to requests for comment made on Oct. 2 and 25.
The stated property owner, Michael Johnson of MJ Electric MN, Inc., also did not reply to The Crest’s request for comment on Oct. 25.
Tim Flanigan was walking past the demolition site when he checked online and noticed that no demolition permit had been filed for the lot. He said that he went downtown to check in person, as well.
“What I discovered that day was that the permit had been applied to that very morning, and they had started demo. And so they had started demo knowing they didn’t have the permit,” Flanigan said.
Rodriguez said that the city sent a representative to inspect the site three to four hours after receiving the report and issued the stop-work order from there.
Rodriguez wrote in an email to the Crest that the department’s goal is “compliance, not penalties” and said that the city’s only punitive response was to add investigative fees, doubling the cost as developers retroactively went through the required process.
Flanigan leads a community organization called Neighbors for Responsible & Livable Development. The group is advocating for a development moratorium after a 2023 zoning change allowed for a rapid increase in student housing to be built in the neighborhood surrounding UST’s campus.
“We have real questions around enforcement at the city level, right? Are there enough people to do the work? Are they properly trained to inspect and compare what’s being built to what’s been planned and improved at city offices?” Flanigan said.
Rodriguez said that part of the reason neighbors were able to identify the unsanctioned project was because residents’ existing concerns over neighborhood development mean they “know what to look for.”
“I encourage you, if you ever walk by a construction site, to take a look; there will be a bunch of, basically, pieces of paper posted up somewhere in that site, and if you know what you’re looking for and you don’t see those, then that kind of rings alarm bells,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that many small houses like the one previously on 2133 Selby Ave. may contain asbestos or lead in paint and pipes, making it essential that developers take proper steps to ensure their project is not hazardous to the area.
“My mom likes to say that if something happens between 4 p.m. on a Friday and 7 a.m. on a Monday, it doesn’t need a permit, which is absolutely wrong because if you don’t have a permit, then we don’t have assurance that you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, and there’s a good chance if you don’t do what you’re supposed to be doing, that it’s not going to be done safely,” Rodriguez said.
Adam Mueller can be reached at muel7541@stthomas.edu.
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.
