UPDATE: The fence removal will include 4 lots on Main Street. SRG has agreed to manage the lots and keep them free from dumping and squatters.
SRG has received permission from Petra Management to remove chain link fence from the lot at West 3rd and Main. While this may seem to fall in the “Huh? How is this news department”, local neighborhoodies have been waiting a long time for this day.
The chain link fence has long been a visual blight on Main Street. Instead of looking like a community ready to shine it’s retail light, Springfield’s Main Street has resembled a prison camp. If you search for chain link on the SPAR forums you’ll find over 8 pages of references to various chain link related issues, obviously a hot topic.
Why have the fences been up for so long and what’s the big deal? I hear Petra keeps the fence up to prevent lot dumping, a pretty common neighborhood practice where people dump piles of junk on your lot in the middle of the night to avoid paying for disposal. Plus chain link is a pain to remove. Most of the aluminum posts that hold the chain link are anchored with concrete, not fun. SRG has volunteered to remove the chain link with it’s own man power.
I will point out that over the past few years Petra Management and Springfield have tried to mend fences (nice!) over issues with Petra’s tendency to squat on Main Street properties without foreseeable development plans. This is obviously one more step in a positive direction.
On a related note, I have independently confirmed that two Petra properties in Springfield are in “lis pendens“:
written notice that a lawsuit has been filed concerning real estate, involving either the title to the property or a claimed ownership interest in it. The notice is usually filed in the county land records office. Recording a lis pendens against a piece of property alerts a potential purchaser or lender that the property’s title is in question, which makes the property less attractive to a buyer or lender. After the notice is filed, anyone who nevertheless purchases the land or property described in the notice takes subject to the ultimate decision of the lawsuit.
2 properties in lis pendens













