A Lawrence developer says he’s now forced to demolish an old stone building in East Lawrence because of a parking-related lawsuit filed by the owner of properties across the street.
The building at 900 Pennsylvania St. housed Charlie’s East Side Grill & Bar from 1980 until the restaurant closed in 2014. It has sat vacant since.
Brad Ziegler, who now owns the building, said demolition was never previously on the table. He said a lawsuit in which Marci Francisco is part of the plaintiff group has directly caused his plans for a restaurant there to stall.
“If not for two years of litigation from Marci’s company against the City’s approvals for the project, the building would be saved and the project completed by now,” Ziegler said, via an email response from his attorney, Patrick Watkins. “At this point, however, I’m not able to try and wait out additional lawsuits and litigation trying to save the building.”
Francisco — who is also the senator who represents Lawrence in the Kansas Legislature — disagrees.
“I’m not tying his hands,” she said.
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Ziegler requested to deviate from the standard zoning requirement and provide four onsite parking spaces instead of 21, citing inadequate space on the 0.13-acre industrially zoned property.
City staff had declared the request did not meet all five criteria required for a variance and recommended the Board of Zoning Appeals deny it, according to the Jan. 5, 2023 agenda item. However, the BZA voted 4-3 to approve the variance during that meeting.
Francisco, a co-owner of Penn Street Line, was the sole public commenter during the meeting, opposing the variance because she said shared street parking would burden her tenants. She suggested rezoning the property for residential use as an alternative solution because it’s located on a residential block and she believes the building was originally built as a home. Representatives of Penn Street wrote in one letter to the city commission that it was originally built as a farmhouse in 1870.
Penn Street Line is an LLC composed of nine people, including Francisco and her husband. The company owns the rental house at 901 Pennsylvania St. and the 905 Pennsylvania St. lot used as a community garden. Ziegler said Francisco didn’t participate in his public engagement efforts, but Francisco said he never consulted with her as a neighbor.
Some other neighbors shared concerns about Ziegler’s project at a previous Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission meeting and at a Lawrence City Commission meeting. But there were voices in favor of the project at those meetings, as well.
In February 2023, Penn Street Line sued the BZA, arguing it didn’t provide sufficient reasoning to approve the variance.
“My concern was never with Brad Ziegler and his plans for development,” Francisco said. “He did want to keep the building, and I love that, but you should provide some parking if that is the requirement, right? And you don’t get to say ‘We should have 21 spaces, and we think four is enough.’”
Ziegler purchased 900 Pennsylvania St. in December 2022. He said he planned to rehabilitate and build onto the existing structure for a small neighborhood restaurant.
One of the required criteria for a zoning variance is that it arises from a condition that’s unique to the property and is not created by actions by the property owner or applicant. Francisco said the BZA’s approval was unlawful, based on a 2019 Kansas statute.
“So, Ziegler would like to expand, that’s why he needs more parking, right? But that’s his action,” she said.
Francisco recommended Ziegler purchase the empty lot that’s adjacent to the property. But Watkins said the lot is not for sale because developer Tony Krsnich is working on an affordable housing project there. Plus, he said, Ziegler had several options besides street parking, including an agreement with Krsnich, who owns off-street parking lots in the area.
Penn Street Line in its lawsuit also took issue with the BZA’s lack of approved minutes of the meeting at that time. Case records say the BZA and Ziegler believed the agenda, staff report and YouTube video recording of the meeting were sufficient documentation of the minutes.
Ultimately, Douglas County District Judge Mark Simpson in March 2024 sided with the BZA and also denied Penn Street Line’s subsequent requests for reconsideration.
Penn Street Line elevated the issue to the Kansas Court of Appeals in December 2024, and the appeal is ongoing.
Francisco said she recently made a serious offer to Ziegler to purchase the 900 Pennsylvania St. property for twice the appraised value. Ziegler said Francisco has expressed interest but has never made a fair offer.
Ziegler’s restaurant wouldn’t have relied on street parking nearly as much as the former Charlie’s, Watkins said.
“It’s always been my intention to save this building,” Ziegler said. “That’s why I purchased it in the first place. I filed what I think were very sensible plans for a small restaurant, just like what has operated in this building over the last three decades.”
Ziegler applied for a demolition permit on March 31.
Brian Jimenez, city code official and assistant director of planning and development services, said the city gave Ziegler some typical review comments, including to confirm all utilities are properly disconnected. Ziegler will then need to resubmit the application.
Jimenez said there’s a 30-day waiting period on all demolitions — unless they’re deemed unsafe, which is not applicable in this case — before the city considers approving them.
Despite its age, the building is not on any known historic registry.
If approved, the entire existing stone structure would come down, clearing the 900 Pennsylvania St. property for development that doesn’t require all the variances.
“I have to come up with something that can be built and used on this property,” Ziegler said.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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