The Midland City Council has approved a study for bringing in more retail development and an updated law setting standards for run-down buildings, with downtown being a key part of both topics.
“Mainly compliance is what we’re trying to get,” Midland City Councilman J. Ross Lacy said. “We’re trying to get these homeowners to move forward, to get their building up to code. So we don’t have to tear it down.”
Lacy said an ordinance update passed unanimously at the city council meeting, giving the city the power to demolish a run-down building, if it doesn’t meet city code, six months after being notified.
“It’s going to make every building individually listed and have its own public hearing, as we go forward and try to clean our city up and get rid of these structures,” said Lacy.
One downtown business owner who knows of a building that needs the city’s attention, Susie’s South Forty’s Susie Hitchcock-Hall, who said the abandoned storage building next to her factory should be near the top of the city’s list.
“Oh my goodness, there’s all kinds of things, I don’t know where to start, but that’s the way it is with a lot of the older buildings in downtown Midland,” said Hall.
Another item passed by city council could help bring more retail development to the city in years to come, including downtown.
“What the city council approved is a retail study and analysis that will basically allow us to provide information to developers and retailers who want to know more about Midland’s demographic and economic information,” said City of Midland spokesperson Sara Bustilloz.
Bustilloz said the study will take eight months and the city hasn’t done this since 2012.
“We’ve seen our sales tax drop about 20% since the down cycle began, so having more retail in town is something that would really benefit us, to be able to provide essential services, without having to raise taxes,” said Bustilloz.
Bustilloz said even though Midland’s experiencing a downturn in the oil economy, people aren’t leaving the city in droves and they’re actually seeing the population grow.
(Information from YourBasin.com)