HDC_12 07 1995MINUTES
LITTLE ROCK HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION
PUBLIC HEARING
DECEMBER 7,1995
5:00 P.M.
The meeting was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Chairman John Bush. A quorum was
present - John Bush, Carl Menyhart and Tommy Jameson. Julie Wiedower and Bob
Roddey were absent. The city attorney's office was represented by Anthony Black. Tony
Bozynski and Shawn Spencer, Neighborhoods and Planning staff, were present.
Chairman Bush asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the November 2, 1995
meeting. The motion was seconded. The motion passed by a vote of 3 ayes, o nays and 2
absent.
Item No. 1 Applicant: Hillcrest Residents Association
Request: To begin the process for establishing a local historic
district for the Hillcrest neighborhood.
Chairman Bush announced Item No. 1. Jean Cockcroft, Paul Crawford, Jim Vandenberg
and John Graves, representatives of the Hillcrest Residents Association, were present. Jean
Cockcroft spoke first and asked the commission to recommend approval of creating a local
district by amending the existing ordinance; expand the commission to add 2 members from
the Hillcrest neighborhood; and to set a public hearing date.
Paul Crawford spoke next and presented some background information on the
neighborhood. Mr. Crawford said the neighborhod was designated a National Register
District because a majority of the structures were at least 50 years old. He then went on to
describe the varous architectural styles found in the neighborhood. Mr Crawford said that
a survey of the neighborhood was completed in 1988 and the neighborhood was placed on
the Naitonal Register in 1990. Mr. Crawford informed the commission tha tthe survey
identified 1098 contributing structures. He concluded by stating, that a local historic
district would help stabilize the neighborhood and the association has undertakien a
thorough process to educate the residents.
Jim Vandenberg then spoke and described the public notification process and the steps the
association has completed. Mr. Vandenberg reviewed the information that was submitted
to the city and discussed the process for establishing the district. He then told the
commission that petitions were circulated in the neighborhood and 1100 plus signatures
were obtained expressing public support for the local district. Mr. Vandenberg informed
the commission that there were a total of 1709 structures within the National Register
boundaries.
Comments were then offered by various individuals, including Commissioner Bush.
John Graves then addressed the commission and summarized the presentation. Mr. Graves
asked that the existing ordinance be amended to include the Hillcrest area and to increase
the size of the Historic District Commission to allow representatives from Hillcrest. He said
there was neighborhood support for the district. Mr. Graves told the commission that a
historic district provides greater protection and there was a need to preserve the housing
stock. Mr. Graves made some concluding remarks and said there was no opposition.
There was a lengthy discussion about the process and support of the Historic District
Commission for establishing a local district for Hillcrest.
Anthony Black, City Attorney's office, dicussed the state statue and the steps involved. Mr.
Black said that setting a date for a public hearing would be somewhat premature. He
continued by saying that the commission must prepare a report and the National Register
nomination document could be used by the commission.
There were a number of questions and discussion about the process continued. The
commission discussed the adoption of the National Register nomination documents as the
report, at the January meeting, and submit the information to the state preservation
program and Little Rock Planning Commission for comment.
Anthony Black spoke again and continued to discuss the process for establishing a local
district. Mr. Black expressed some concerns about short - cutting the process and the
commission should wait 30 days before acting on the final report.
There was additional discussion about the report from the commission and it was decided
to prepare a draft for the January meeting.
Lynn Zollner, Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, spoke and gave the reasons for the
National Register boundaries.
For the record, Commissioner Jameson disclosed that he lives in Hillcrest and supports the
basic concept of forming a local district.
The commission then discussed the possibility of a commission member assisting the staff
with developing the Hillcrest report. After some comments, Commissioner Jameson was
named to serve as the commission's liaison with the staff for the Hillcrest project.
A motion was made to adopt the 1996 calendar. The motion was approved - 3 ayes and 0
nays.
There was a brief discussion about the status of the 1995 CLG grants and the need to start
thinking about possible projects for 1996.
Anthony Black reported on Curran Hall and said there were no new developments.
There was some discussion about Poe Travel and vinyl siding. Commissioner Menyhart
was asked to report on the issue at the next meeting. Comments were offered about the
need for guidelines and a policy for siding.
There being no further business before the Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 6:40
p.m.