A four-unit apartment building owned by John Rankine and Bill King has been vacant for more than two years after a fire that took place on St. Patrick’s Day in 2022, severely damaging the building at 1 Washington St.
Work to repair the building began soon after the incident and went on for months until former city building inspector Jacob Coburn issued a stop work order in December 2022, Rankine said. Coburn was recently fired by Mayor Butch Berry.
“We got right on it and we were working really hard,” Rankine told members of the Eureka Springs Planning Commission during one of a handful of show-cause hearings that took place at the commission’s Sept. 10 meeting. “First, I cleared it with the city that we would be able to maintain our nonconforming use. We got on it and worked hard until December 2022. We got all new electric in there. We got all new heat and air, separate units for each one. We got all new plumbing. We were well on our way to completion. We were pretty much close to sheet rocking and insulating.
“Then we got the new building inspector and he shut us down several times. We tried to work with him. Every time we did it he kept moving the goalposts on us. Finally, when he made it clear that we were never going to be able to finish the project short of tearing it down and starting over with a new building, we gave up on it and just thought we would wait him out. We waited him out and now we are back on the job and we’re working with the new building inspector. We’re working with the fire marshal. We’re ready to move forward, get this job done.”
Rankine’s property was one of six that were involved in show-cause hearings at the Sept. 10 meeting. The apartment building owned by Rankine and King was one of four properties that had their show-cause hearings delayed because of issues such as renovations or construction issues.
“I understand this was previously a multifamily housing unit and given the need for housing, affording housing, in this town, I think we should do everything we can possibly do to make sure this is continued and brought back,” commissioner Michael Welch said at the Sept. 10 meeting. “I understand that there were conflicts with the previous building inspector, which I understand a lot of people did, and the mayor corrected that by firing him. Now, we have a new [building inspector] and I think they should get an extension on their time to work with these new people and try to get this housing unit approved because we desperately need housing for peeple in this town.”
Other commissioners agreed and approved postponing the hearing until January, giving Rankine and King enough time to finish renovations and obtain a new Certificate of Occupancy.
“Right now we’re not pulling your legally- nonconforming and we won’t do that until we have more information based on your updates,” said commission chair Susan Harman.
Rankine said he and King are more than ready to get the project completed and provide housing for future tenants.
“It’s going to be nicer, safer,” Rankine said. “They’re going to be better apartments than they ever were.”
Other properties that had their show-cause hearing postponed included a bed and breakfast at 5 Ridgeway that has been closed since February for repairs, according to owner Draxie Rogers. A condition of a Conditional Use Permit is that the business can’t be closed for a period of more than 180 days, commissioners said.
Rogers told commissioners that her goal was to have her business back up and running by the end of October.
“Given what she’s just told us, I would like to make a motion that we postpone this show cause and that prior to her opening she has to bring us the fire marshal certificate and code enforcement certificate of occupancy …,” commissioner Ann Tandy- Sallee said.
Another bed and breakfast located at 7 Kingshighway has new owners and is also being renovated. Commissioners postponed the show-cause hearing until a Certificate of Occupancy is obtained.
A 30-day postponement of a hearing was approved for a bed and breakfast located at 8 Washington St. Commissioners said they would delay the hearing until the monthly meeting in October when owners would be expected to prove that tourism taxes were paid to the city advertising and promotion commission and that a manager was living on site at the property, as regulations require.
Also, commissioners said the property’s advertising on AirBnb is misleading and needs to specify that the property is a bed and breakfast and not tourist lodging.
The commission also voted to revoke the legal non-conforming status of a 11 Singleton, which no longer operates as a bed and breakfast, and 256 Spring St., a tourist lodging location that commissioners said hasn’t had a business license since 2022.
