Letter: Columbia Councilman Moe Baddourah's Bold Move

The Palmetto Compress controversy wasn’t Columbia’s finest moment.

Regardless of one’s opinion on the issue, most can probably agree that the question of whether to give the former cotton warehouse an historic designation could and should have been decided long ago. Instead, those in charge waited until someone was about to sell it, and someone was about to purchase it, before deciding to (clumsily) step in.

First, Mayor Steve Benjamin applied for historic status for the building. Then, the Mayor withdrew his request, saying that renovating the building, as opposed to demolishing it, “has unfortunately proven to not be economically feasible.” (The State, Sept. 23, 2012.)

The Mayor’s request and subsequent change-of-heart triggered months of drama that culminated in the city actually buying the building. Even worse, the purchase was done using public funds set aside to cover the health care costs of city retirees. City council’s 5-2 vote approving the purchase was done over the strenuous objections of firefighters, police, and other current and future city retirees.

It’d be an understatement to say that proper planning could have prevented such drama – and such a risky gamble of retiree benefits.

To their credit, two Council members – Leona Plaugh and Moe Baddourah – voted against the purchase – noting that, among other things, that there was no guarantee that a buyer would step forward to purchase the warehouse from the city.

Moe, in particular, was frustrated by the city’s lack of planning, which in this case had very real consequences.

In the interest of openness, let me state upfront that I’m one of Moe’s constituents. As I’m one to speak my mind, and Moe places a priority on returning constituent phone calls, I’ve had many discussions with my Councilman about city matters such as Palmetto Compress and Bull Street.

Even after the Palmetto Compress debacle, Moe told me he worried that city leaders didn’t appear to have learned a lesson; there still didn’t seem to be much will for a meaningful discussion about long-term, comprehensive planning.

He was eager to prompt such a discussion in order to avoid a repeat of Palmetto Compress episode. So he went to City Hall and filed requests to designate several buildings on the Bull Street as historic landmarks.

A bold move? Yes. Controversial? Certainly.

But, as Moe told me, such a remarkable move was needed if he was to get people’s attention and truly foster a much-needed discussion about long-term planning -- including deciding which buildings should be saved due to their historical value. “I don’t want the city to end up buying another building,” he told me.

Obviously, no one knows what the future holds for Bull Street. But the larger point is that we’re having the discussion now, not on the eve of a contract with a developer.

The only potential developer for the Bull Street property who is considered to be serious is Bob Hughes. According to The State newspaper, the city has been “quietly” negotiating a development agreement with Hughes.

Forget for a moment that this “negotiation” has been going on for six years now.  One of the main problems with the Palmetto Compress controversy was that the negotiations were done “quietly” – i.e. secretly.

And one of Moe’s ideas for comprehensive planning is that any such negotiations should be done openly and with buy-in from the public… you know, so our city’s retirees don’t end up buying another building, or some similar violation of sound public policy.

It’s worth noting that Moe revised his request to make it compatible with the so-called “Duany plan” – a conceptual plan created in 2005 following a study conducted by the internationally-renowned planning firm Duany and Associates. That plan was crafted following a week-long charette with buy-in from the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, City Hall, the Historic Columbia Foundation and the public at large.

All of the buildings designated as “historic” under Moe’s plan were also designated that way under the Duany plan, which Bob Hughes has agreed to.

Moe’s request to designate the buildings as historic landmarks is nothing to fear. It’s merely wise planning. It’s asking city leaders to be pro-active about our land-use goals, so that we don’t find ourselves in another “Palmetto Compress” situation.

But while there’s nothing to fear in Moe’s Bull Street move, there’s much to fear if the city fails to see the bigger picture seize this opportunity to discuss the value of forward-thinking planning.

Let’s learn our lesson and plan for the future.

Like Moe, I don’t want to have to buy another building due to a lack of planning.

John Adams

Columbia resident