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Home My WebLink AboutEmail Correspondence - P. Dodds Info Request 120721-----Original Message----- From: Thrower, Torrence Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 8:38 AM To: 'Paul Dodds' <paul@dodds.us> Subject: RE: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning See you soon... -----Original Message----- From: Paul Dodds [mailto:paul@dodds.us] Sent: Wednesday, December 8, 2021 8:32 AM To: Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> Subject: Re: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. HI Torrence, Thanks very much. Can I come around 10 AM? Paul On Dec 8, 2021, at 08:28, Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> wrote: Paul, This morning will be fine, however you did not propose a time. I want to be available to provide file and not in a meeting or out of the office. -----Original Message----- From: Thrower, Torrence Sent: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 4:11 PM To: 'Paul Dodds' <paul@dodds.us> Cc: Moore, Monte <MMoore@littlerock.gov>; Price, Romie G. <rprice@littlerock.gov> Subject: RE: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning You are welcome to visit our offices to view the file and make copies of what you are requesting. Provide a time and I will be sure the file is available. TT -----Original Message----- From: Paul Dodds [mailto:paul@dodds.us] Sent: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 3:41 PM To: Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> Cc: Moore, Monte <MMoore@littlerock.gov>; Price, Romie G. <rprice@littlerock.gov> Subject: Re: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Thanks very much. I will write what I can as a letter without the full background documents. On Dec 7, 2021, at 15:28, Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> wrote: I will reference the file and see. However, staff is preparing for the PC meeting this Thursday and that takes priority at the moment. I will follow up with you as soon as possible. TT -----Original Message----- From: Paul Dodds [mailto:paul@dodds.us] Sent: Monday, December 6, 2021 6:21 PM To: Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> Cc: Denise Leeson <dannleeson@gmail.com>; Joyce Matthews <jmatthe_75503@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Thanks very much, Torrence. Interesting reading, and generally reflects my understanding of what was proposed and the opposition to the plans then. This was definitely presented to the City as a quasi-public undertaking, designed to benefit all. Other than a few literature evenings at Dr. McGraw’s house, the developers really did almost nothing they promised to do when this POD was approved 16 years ago, over the neighborhood’s objections and against staff recommendations not to give approval. Are there any other papers available from 2005 or 2006 related to this? Section 4 of the Ordinance refers to final plan approval being needed before the change in zoning is final. Do you have the final plan, and records relating to its approval? Do you have the application submitted to Planning Staff at the time? I appreciate any further information you can provide. Yours truly, Paul Dodds On Dec 6, 2021, at 16:15, Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> wrote: https://littlerockgov.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Development/ElHfRSoTPe9AhGMdFEYygcgBLtw3yqIHEENyU85pDsdMCw?e=vAnq1t Paul, The link provides the information regarding 1417 S Park Street. -----Original Message----- From: Paul Dodds [mailto:paul@dodds.us] Sent: Monday, December 6, 2021 2:01 PM To: Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> Subject: Re: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Thanks very much. I will send this link to my neighbors who might want to be on webex. I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me today. The fact that much in Little Rock’s ordinances don’t make sense, and perhaps even more, in the interpretations of them by the legal department, is something I have long struggled with. My apologies at my difficulty trying to understand what you were saying. Others had told me that there was a three year deadline to complete approved projects under planned developments, but were apparently misinformed. Yours truly, Paul Dodds On Dec 6, 2021, at 12:50, Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> wrote: lrzoning@littlerock.gov -----Original Message----- From: Paul Dodds [mailto:paul@dodds.us] Sent: Monday, December 6, 2021 8:17 AM To: Moore, Monte <MMoore@littlerock.gov>; Thrower, Torrence <tthrower@littlerock.gov> Cc: Joyce Matthews <jmatthe_75503@yahoo.com>; Denise Leeson <dannleeson@gmail.com> Subject: 1417 S. Park Party House Rezoning Importance: High CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Monte and Torrence, I will be submitting a detailed letter of objection to the planned party house rezoning of 1417 S. Park Street and hope to be able to appear online at the hearing on Thursday to speak. Would you be able to send me information about whether or how an online appearance is possible? I do not feel safe coming in person to speak at a Planning Board meeting under current COVID conditions. I could not find any instructions on the Planning web site about online participation. Staff approval of a party house use for 1417 S. Park seems heavily based on the fact that four homes across from Central High were already rezoned as POD in 2006. The staff report treats this request as a modest expansion of an existing commercial use. It is not. It is a dangerous and destabilizing expansion in a residential area that needs protection. The last thing we need is a poorly defined and unclearly planned party house to profit California owners. They are lovely people, but they are far away and their implementation track record is deeply worrisome. You may not be aware that all four houses in the POD are vacant, and have been for a long time. The other two owned by Hayes Properties (formerly owned personally by Grace Blagdon and her daughter) are gutted shells, in terrible repair. They were never renovated for the purpose intended and approved under the ordinance authorizing the rezoning. The one owned by the Washington family is also in very poor repair, and was never renovated. The only house that has been fixed up is 1417 S. Park, and I am quite sure it was never used for the research center, community oriented purpose proposed. I participated in many meetings about the POD in 2005 and 2006, and raised concerns then about the viability of the project proposals, now long since failed. The POD was approved over neighborhood objections. Time has proven that neighborhood fears were well grounded. These projects never got off the ground. Neither the neighbors nor the City ever got the benefits hoped for by permitting the original light commercial rezoning of these very important residences across from Central HIgh. This fact was ignored in the staff report in support of the proposed party house. It needs attention. To prepare my letter for the Planning Department and Commission, I request access to the Planning Department records about the original POD application process, the approved plans for the POD and what the City has done to ensure compliance with the original POD terms. I believe that the original POD should be reviewed in detail. Given sixteen years of quite evident non-compliance, I believe further that the POD should be revoked entirely, not used as a basis to justify an invasive expansion of commercial use in a residential area. Please let me know if I have to file a FOIA request to receive this information, which I could not find on line. Thank you very much. Paul Dodds Managing Director Urban Frontier LLC 501 791 4135