After eight years on the Historic District Commission, much of it spent as Chair, Steve Holifield attended his final meeting last week. He will begin service on city council after the new year. The other commissioners thanked him for his service, and Holifield joked that he has received as many condolences as congratulations after winning election.
Commissioners moved through a light agenda with little discussion or argument. The agenda began with an application for a new single-family residence at 22 Norris St., for Stuart Sawyer. The house will have a modern residential design and will be 1,300 square feet. The approval also included a deck with 700 square feet. The assessment prepared by City Historic Preservation Officer Kyle Palmer noted that the proposal aligns with other elements on that street.
Jack Moyer represented the Crescent Hotel to ask for approval to replace a set of concrete stairs, which he described as hazardous to the safety of guests and employees. The application was approved without comment.
The city must also go through the HDC, and an application was approved to remove a set of stone stairs at the intersection of Main and Spring streets. The crosswalk at that intersection had been removed by the Arkansas Department of Transportation, but people still try to cross there. The commissioners all agreed that health and safety should take precedence over an existing structure.
In other business:
- Jacob Coburn was introduced as the new building inspector and code enforcement official.
- Chris McClung, at 15 Ravine St., received approval for 92 linear feet of wood privacy fence, six feet tall. The approval included another 115 linear feet of fencing five feet tall. Palmer’s assessment noted that the property is non-contributing, in a secluded area.
- At 40 Hilton St., RT&Beyond received approval for 257 linear feet of new fencing, with two gates. The approval included a concrete pad seven feet square for a hot tub.
- The agenda for Jan. 4 will include the election of officers for the coming year. Level III applications are due by Dec. 28, and other levels are due Dec. 22.
- The commission will continue a discussion about walls at a future meeting, and contractors will be invited to help answer questions.
- New fencing guidelines were added for both historical and non-historical areas after a workshop on fencing. The new guidelines recently adopted did not include enough information in this area.