CONTROVERSIAL APPROVAL: Developer Harold Buehler, who received approval this week to build 125 homes, said some of his opponents made valid points while others lied about his work in the inner city. -- PHOTO BY BILL DRIES

Supporters wore blue and opponents wore red.

The political fight over a plan by Buehler Homes to build 125 rental homes on 140 parcels of tax delinquent land was approved this week by the Shelby County Commission.

The 7-4 commission vote at Wednesday’s special meeting came after several delays, a lot of emotion and even more questions.

The vote ended the delays but not necessarily the emotion or questions.

Critics

For nearly 20 years, developer Harold Buehler has been building basic houses for rent and to own in some of the most blighted sections of inner-city Memphis.

The properties can be spotted easily for several reasons. Some are two-story brick buildings with no back doors and small rooms. They are also easily spotted because on some of the streets they are the only housing that survives, surrounded now by vacant lots where older homes once stood.

The different reasons highlight the controversy over Buehler’s most ambitious single project to date – 125 rental homes spread across North Memphis with few of the homes adjacent to one another. The project, under the entity Memphis 2005.0 LLC, includes plans for homes that will be built differently than earlier “Buehler Homes.”

Buehler had agreed to more stringent design review standards even before the commission considered the transfer of tax delinquent property under the Shelby County Homestead program.

For years, Buehler homes have been criticized for not blending in to the surrounding neighborhoods and being too minimal.

Some Memphis City Council members have been similarly critical of Habitat for Humanity houses but not to the degree the Buehler efforts have been criticized.

The coalition of local Community Development Corps. took the unusual step of coming out against the commission resolution this week. Steve Lockwood, spokesman for the group and head of the Frayser CDC, said the group is opposed to even more rental property in neighborhoods that are already more than 50 percent rental.

“Buehler is not the problem,” he told commissioners. “But he is not the solution either.”

Unexpected battle

Buehler said the controversy was unexpected, at least at the level it rose to.

“People were concerned about their communities. I’ve never seen such an uprising in the community about anything,” Buehler said after the vote. “Many people spoke – it’s not about Buehler. It’s about ‘we want our communities better. We want these lots taken care of. We want people to move into our communities. We want jobs.’ So many issues here.”

NOT TOO HAPPY: Shelby County Commissioner Henri Brooks called developer Harold Buehler “a parasite on the poor” during a diatribe before this week’s 7-4 County Commission vote approving the transfer of 140 tax delinquent lots to Buehler for development. -- PHOTO BY BILL DRIES

There was also a lot of politics.

Earlier in the discussion, critics of Buehler homes as well as critics of his delinquent property taxes outnumbered the proponents.

Buehler hired political lobbyist and operative David Upton to get back in the game. Upton organized Buehler tenants, homeowners and construction contractors. The effort included canvassing North Memphis neighborhoods and shooting a video of residents endorsing the Buehler effort.

County Commissioner Henri Brooks was among those wearing red at Wednesday’s commission meeting. Although she later denied being upset, she was seeing red after Buehler’s efforts to win commission approval included a picket line of Buehler residents outside South Bluffs, the gated Downtown community where Brooks has rented since filing for bankruptcy and losing the home she owned on South Parkway to foreclosure.

Brooks had been a vocal opponent of the proposal even before that. Upton, in a written press release alerting the media to the protest, accused Brooks of hypocrisy for renting in the affluent gated community “while blocking the building of brand-new homes in blighted areas in need of housing.”

Brooks reacted strongly.

“When a group of individuals can come to my home and stand around my home where I have grandchildren and a child, I am very concerned. I’m concerned that my home address was released by someone close to Buehler,” she said. “He’s trying to intimidate the advocate for the people. … You don’t intimidate me.”

Brooks also called Buehler “a predator – a parasite on the poor.” And she accused Buehler of paying the protestors.

Upton said the protest was peaceful and legitimate and was outside the gates of South Bluffs with Brooks’ street address inside the development never given out. The address is public record. He also denied paying the protesters or other Buehler supporters.

Next steps

As part of the commission’s resolution this week, Buehler made his previous agreement to settle all delinquent taxes he owes Shelby County – 2007 and earlier – by the end of next year. He will pay the Shelby County trustee $30,000 a month. The $2,000 deposit he makes on each of the lots will also go toward the tax debt.

If he doesn’t meet the payment schedule, he won’t be eligible to buy any more delinquent tax property under the homestead program.

“Some of the criticism is in good faith,” Buehler said after the vote. “Some of it is outright lies.”

With the approval, Buehler will begin preparing title papers and surveying the lots as the first steps toward beginning construction possibly in two or three months.