YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The future of Spring Grove's Hoke House appears grim following a new announcement.
According to Zach Gulden, the borough manager of Spring Grove, the demolition permit will be issued by the Borough tomorrow as required by law.
This follows a struggle between community members, who want to preserve the historic home, and Rutter's, which owns the land and wants to demolish the building.
The Borough of Spring Grove released the following Facebook statement on Tuesday, Feb. 15 regarding the planned demolition:
"As an initial matter, the Borough of Spring Grove (the “Borough”) fully supports the community working with Rutter's to resolve the future of the Hoke House; however, the improvements are not located on property owned by the Borough. As a result, the Borough has very few options available to it after Rutter's filed the demolition permit on January 17, 2023.
The Borough has, by Ordinance, elected to follow the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (the “UCC”) as it relates to the issuance of demolition permits. Section 403.43 of the UCC, applicable to commercial improvements such as the Hoke House, requires the Borough to grant or deny a demolition permit within thirty (30) days of the filed application. If the Borough took no action, the permit would be deemed approved. More importantly, any permit denial must state the specific reasons for the denial, such as non-compliance with the UCC or the Borough Code.
Generally, the applicant applies for the permit and pays a fee established by the Borough. Within the thirty (30) days prior to taking action on the application, the Borough’s building and codes inspection official inspects the improvements proposed to be demolished. If the structure meets all the requirements established in the UCC and the Borough code, the official approves the application and forwards the approved permit to the Borough manager and the applicant. The applicant then has 180 days within which to commence the demolition or the permit becomes invalid.
In this instance, both the primary and secondary codes officials have inspected the Hoke House and concurred that all requirements have been met. As a result, there is no lawful basis for the Borough to deny the zoning nor building permits. Based on the January 17, 2023 filing date for the application, the Borough has until February 16, 2023 to issue the permits.
We sincerely hope that Rutter's will be receptive to the needs and wishes of our community and can come to a mutual agreement with the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society and/or other involved parties."
Paul Nevin, a spokesperson with Friends of The Hoke House, opposed the decision made by Spring Grove Borough. Nevin said the people of York County voiced they didn't want the removal of the Hoke House but didn't get the results they wanted.
He also cited article one, section 27 of the Pennsylvania State Constitution which states, "The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment."
"The people in Spring Grove and in York County do not want to see the Hoke House end up in a landfill; there are other alternatives," said Nevin. "We presented them to the Spring Grove Borough and Rutter’s has not responded; we would like the opportunity to sit down at the table."
Nevin says he hopes they have an opportunity to preserve the building when it comes down so the history of York County is still respected and passed on.