The City of Dallas Landmark Commission voted unanimously on Monday to certify a finding of “demolition-by-neglect” for an Oak Cliff historic landmark.

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The 107-year-old Oak Cliff United Methodist Church on East Jefferson at South Marsalis has cracks in exterior walls, deteriorating masonry, a broken water-distribution system and cracked window sills, according to a report from the city’s Office of Historic Preservation.

Representatives from that office visited the site on Sept. 8.

The sanctuary, education and youth buildings all have deterioration that result in water damage, according to a presentation from historic preservation Director Murray Miller.

Deteriorating paint on the sanctuary has left wood exposed to the elements, Miller said. The education building has cracked walls, damaged windows sills and sashes and deteriorating parapets.

To be clear, demolition-by-neglect does not mean the building can be demolished. On the contrary, it is a preservation tool that allows the Office of Historic Preservation to work with code enforcement to require a historic property owner to make repairs.

The finding for demolition-by-neglect means the preservation and code enforcement offices will come up with a list of needed repairs. Once the owners are given notice, they will have 30 days to begin the work. After that, there will be check-ups every 30 days, and the owners could be fined for noncompliance.

Public records show that the Nayeb Group purchased the property in January 2020. The real estate company’s lawyer appeared at the hearing to argue that it was a violation of due process, but the city attorney’s office didn’t agree.

“Any structure left to its own devices will eventually collapse,” preservation Director Miller said in the meeting. “The purpose of maintenance is to prevent deferred maintenance.”

The church is part of Oak Cliff’s original central business district and has been vacant since 2015, when its congregation merged with Tyler Street Church.