HomeMy WebLinkAboutHillcrest President Concerns
Hillcrest Residents Association
Short Term Rentals – Zoning Concerns:
July 7, 2023
The Hillcrest Residents Association has appreciated the opportunity to be part of the process as the City has
developed an Ordinance on Short Term Rentals (STRs). Since early in the discussion, the Hillcrest Residents
Association has agreed that Short Term Rentals have many positive aspects (such as tourism, economic
improvements, and the opportunity to further preserve our historic outbuildings and architecture ), but there Is a
need to guard against potential negative effects (change in neighborhood character, additional noise and traffic,
etc.).
Since Hillcrest is the neighborhood with the highest percentage of STRs in Little Rock, there is a great deal of
interest among residents to continue monitoring the development of STRs as the implementation process of the
City’s Ordinance is developed.
For the Hillcrest neighborhood, the STRs that are of greatest concern are the non owner -occupied properties that
are designated as STR-2 in the Ordinance. We are glad that these will require a PZD Application and will have to
go before the Planning Commission. This will be an important way for the neighborhood residents to provide
feedback and express concerns.
We are concerned, however, because we have heard that properties in Hillcrest seeking an STR-2 designation
will need to request re-zoning to a PD-Commercial designation. This zoning change is alarming to the
neighborhood for a number of reasons:
1. Commercial zoning on most neighborhood streets in the Hillcrest area is not consistent with the City of
Little Rock Master Plan.
2. Any Commercial zoning could potentially affect the application of the Hillcrest Design Overlay District,
which has specific requirements for the neighborhood’s residential streets.
3. This practice could lead to poorly planned, spotty Commercial zoning in the residential areas of
Hillcrest.
4. The Commercial re-zoning of these properties would result in a permanent change to the zoning, which
would change the character of the streets and affect property value.
In general, any Commercial zoning in Hillcrest (other than the current commercial and non-residential areas on
Kavanaugh and Markham) is seen as a threat to our neighborhood character, and will be consistently opposed
by the Hillcrest Residents Association. With the way the STR Ordinance is currently written and enforced, this
means that the Hillcrest Residents Association oppose s any application for an STR-2 designation for a property
that is currently zoned Residential in the Hillcrest neighborhood.
We thank the City Directors and the Planning Department for taking on the challenge of addressing Short Term
Rentals, and we appreciate the opportunity to give input on this important issue in our City.
Pittman Ware
President
The Hillcrest Residents Association