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LITTLE ROCK HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
MINUTES
Monday, April 9, 2012 5:00 p.m.
Board Room, City Hall
I. Roll Call
Quorum was present being six (6) in number.
Members Present: Marshall Peters
Randy Ripley (in at 5:10)
Loretta Hendrix
Chris Vanlandingham
BJ Bowen
Toni Johnson
Members Absent: Julie Wiedower
City Attorney: Debra Weldon
Staff Present: Brian Minyard
Citizens Present: Ralph Wilcox
Deanna Rust
Bonnie Robertson
Rhea Roberts
II. Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Commissioner Marshall Peters to approve the minutes of January 9,
2012 as submitted. Commissioner BJ Bowen seconded and the minutes were approved with a
vote of 5 ayes and 2 absent.
A motion was made by Commissioner Marshall Peters to approve the minutes of March 12,
2012 as submitted. Commissioner BJ Bowen seconded and the minutes were approved with a
vote of 5 ayes and 2 absent.
Notice requirements were meet on the application to be heard tonight.
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT
723 West Markham Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334
Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435
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STAFF REPORT
ITEM NO. One.
DATE: April 9, 2012
APPLICANT: Deanna Rust, Robertson Law Firm
ADDRESS: 1302 Cumberland
COA REQUEST: Signage
PROJECT BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION:
The subject property is located at 1302 Cumberland. The
property’s legal description is “Lot 12 and the north one-
half of 11, Block 21, Original City of Little Rock, Pulaski
County, Arkansas."
This house was built ca 1880. The 2006 survey form
states: “This modified pediment at entry Queen Anne Style
house has the typical spindle work at gables, cutaway bay
and spindle accents and turned columns with spindle work
balustrade and decorative column brackets at the porch.”
It is considered a "Contributing Structure" to the MacArthur
Park Historic District.
This application is for a sign. The posts and supporting
wood is existing, the new sign is a painted laminate
material added to the wood sign. This sign has been previously installed.
PREVIOUS ACTIONS ON THIS SITE:
On April 23, 1998, a COC was approved for a new roof.
PROPOSAL AND WRITTEN ANALYSIS OF THE APPLICATION BASED OFF OF INTENT
AND GUIDELINES:
The Guidelines state on page 71:
E. SIGNS
Signs should be subordinate to the architecture and overall character throughout
the district. Historic signs should be preserved, including “ghost” signs on the
sides of buildings.
1. Attached to Building:
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND
DEVELOPMENT
723 West Markham Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1334
Phone: (501) 371-4790 Fax: (501) 399-3435
Location of Project
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Signs attached to a building should not cover or obscure architectural features.
Signs may be painted on windows, doors, or small panels at entrances or on
awnings. Small signs may be flush-mounted on a building wall; may be hung on
porches between posts; or may project from the structure. A sign on a masonry
wall should be mounted in the mortar, not the masonry.
2. Free-Standing:
Free-standing signs should be low, small, and constructed of wood or a non-
shiny finish. The recommended size should not exceed six square feet in area.
These signs should be located in landscaped areas. All ground mounted (free
standing) signs in the UU zoning district must be approved by the Board of
Adjustment in addition to the Historic District Commission. Examples of
appropriate signs are illustrated to the right. For signs in the R4-A district, please
consult Staff for further information.
3. Materials for signs:
Materials used for signs should be traditional, such as finished wood, glass,
copper, or bronze, not plywood, plastic, unfinished wood, neon or other internally
lighted materials, or flashing lights. Materials should be compatible with the
building materials.
4. Design of signs:
The design of the signs should be
appropriate to the building, in size,
lettering, and style. Business
logos or symbols are desirable. If
several businesses share a
building, coordinate the signs.
Flashing, rotating, moveable, or
portable signs should not be used.
5. Lighting of signs:
Lighting of signs should be from
remote sources, preferably for the
ground aimed directly at the sign
and shielded from street view.
Lighting should not use visible
bulbs, internal sources or
luminous paint.
The proposed sign for review has used the existing posts and structure. The owners have
attached a painted laminate material to the front of the existing board. The overall sign height is
55 inches tall and the sign face is 46 inches by 32 inches for a total of 10.2 square feet in area.
There is currently no lighting of the sign.
NEIGHBORHOOD COMMENTS AND REACTION: At the time of distribution, there were no
comments regarding this application.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval with the following conditions:
1. Obtaining a sign permit.
Sign as installed
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COMMISSION ACTION: April 9, 2012
Chairman Vanlandingham explained to the applicant that with two commissioners absent, that it
would take 4 positive votes to approve the application and offered the applicant to defer if she
wanted. The Applicant asked to be heard at this meeting.
Brian Minyard, Staff, made a brief presentation to the Commission including that the property
was in Capitol Zoning District and had a Conservation easement on it.
Commissioner Marshall Peters asked if the existing sign had been approved previously. Mr.
Minyard stated that he could not find any record of the sign’s approval in the files.
Bonnie Robertson asked for approval of the sign. The logo and business information have been
added to the sign and it has been painted to match the house. She pled ignorance for not
getting prior approval.
There were no citizens to speak for or against the application.
Commissioner Peters made a motion to approve the sign as submitted with Staff
recommendations and Commissioner Toni Johnson seconded. The motion was approved with
5 ayes and 2 absent.
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III. Other Matters
Enforcement issues
Lincoln House at 7th and Cumberland was noted for installing gutters without a COA.
Commissioner Marshall Peters asked Staff to drive by the 1400 block of Cumberland or Rock to
check on any enforcement issues.
Certificates of Compliance
Staff has issued a COC for the Bein House for roofing repair.
Dunbar Survey
Mr. Minyard stated that the Commission was given a graphic for the contributing and non-
contributing structures and read from an email from AHPP that stated there were 263
contributing and 386 non-contributing structures and vacant lots. All lots that were historically
vacant were not counted. The numbers do not add up to have a district for the entire area. Mr.
Minyard stated that he had asked that his grant application be revised to cover a portion of the
area instead of the entire area in a National Register District.
Ralph Wilcox, AHPP, spoke of the period of significance in the Dunbar area being up to 1961,
(fifty yeas ago). Commissioner Loretta Hendrix asked about the bungalows in the
neighborhood. She asked if Mr. Wilcox has looked at all of the information. He stated that the
numbers that Mr. Minyard stated was based on his office’s review. She wanted to know why
they are non-contributing. Mr. Wilcox stated that non-contributing buildings are such because
they are either too new (age) or they have had incompatible alterations, windows, siding, etc.
They are not non-contributing because of style. She asked if the bungalows and cottages were
surveyed. He continued that every structure was surveyed, no matter the size or style of the
structure.
Chairman Chris Vanlandingham stated that Commissioner Hendrix had questions about
particular properties and asked if there was somewhere she could go and see the records to
see which are contributing and which are not. Mr. Wilcox stated that she was welcome to come
to the AHPP office and view the files. Commissioner Hendrix asked if she needed an
appointment. Mr. Wilcox said yes, since they are out of the office on a regular basis.
Commissioner Hendrix asked if other commissioners were interested in going, and maybe
having a roundtable, etc. for a presentation from AHPP. No other commissioners spoke.
Commissioner Hendrix stated that she would call for an appointment.
Commissioner Peters asked if Staff had a spreadsheet of contributing and non-contributing to
share with the Commissioners. Mr. Minyard asked Mr. Wilcox to send it to him and that he
would send it out to the Commissioners.
Commissioner Randy Ripley asked if Mr. Wilcox was surprised by the results. Mr. Wilcox stated
that if the vacant lots were not counted, it would probably be a district. But the Feds require
vacant lots to be incorporated into the survey.
Commissioner Hendrix asked, based on Mr. Wilcox’s experience, what will be the future fallout
of the survey. Will there be a full blown district? Mr. Wilcox said it depended on the
neighborhoods actions of continuing to demolish structures, and the change and alterations to
existing structures. Commissioner Hendrix stated that she wanted to get the community
together and slow the train down on this project. She stated she wanted boundaries expanded.
Mr. Wilcox stated that they would have to deal with National Park Standards to create a National
Register District. Commissioner Hendrix said she was making a website for a nearby city to
address issues similar to this. Mr. Wilcox said that a smaller National Register District could be
created.
Commissioner Peters added that this is not our survey; it was conducted through the Housing
and Neighborhood Programs office. Mr. Wilcox is just here as a courtesy.
Marshall Peters
Chairman Chris Vanlandingham acknowledged the service of Commissioner Marshall Peters,
who has served on the commission for over nine years. Chairman Vanlandingham personally
thanked him for his service and stated that his expertise will be missed.
Citizen Communication
Rhea Roberts, of the Quapaw Quarter Association, invited the commissioners to the Spring
Tour of Homes on May 12 and 13th. She also invited them to a showing of "The Greenest
Building" next Monday at 5:00 as part of the "Preservation Conversations" series.
VI. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
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