In mid-August, Eureka Springs City Clerk Ann Armstrong reported that a bid by Paul Minze to put a voter referendum on the ballot to dissolve the Historic District Commission (HDC) in Eureka Springs had failed to get the 146 required certified signatures, saying only 131 signatures had been verified.
In an email at the time to the mayor and city council, Armstrong said that the issue would not appear on the ballot in November. But Minze persisted and said state law allowed those bringing voter referendums to continue collecting signatures until the deadline was passed.
Armstrong said she had called the Secretary of State’s office and was told additional signatures couldn’t be collected.
“Minze’s understanding about getting more signatures varies from what I learned in making a similar call,” Armstrong wrote in an email. “Since I’m not an attorney, I rely on what is explained to me by specialists at the Secretary of State’s office. In this case, the petition has been certified and found to lack the required number of certified signatures: 146.”
Minze said an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling gave him that right. “I’m going by the Supreme Court’s law,” he said.
Minze continued collecting signatures and was successful in getting the required number of signatures – exactly 146 – to take the issue to the voters on Nov. 3. That requirement represents 15 percent of the people who voted in the election two years ago.
The HDC regulates exterior changes to buildings in most of the city, including newer areas where property owners are sometimes unaware they are in the Historic District. Permits for modifications like replacing windows, adding fences, building additions, and other types of modifications must be approved. Certificate of Approval (COA) permits are also needed for new construction.
Minze brought the petition after a legal battle with the HDC over renovation of his home on Mountain St. He maintains that the city issued a Stop Work Order (SWO) over placement of one of four windows facing Mountain St. One window was previously lower than the others, and Minze raised it to line up evenly.
He claims he had a permit to do this, but the city disagrees. The city’s SWO stopped work not only on the windows, but on the entire building, including replacement of a deteriorating roof, until Minze received a court order allowing work to continue.
Minze has objected to the HDC on the grounds the voters never had the opportunity to vote on establishing the district, and that political considerations and favoritism play heavily in their decision making.
“They have no concern for the cost to the homeowners, in my opinion,” Minze said. “In a nutshell, the HDC treats the town as if it were a fiefdom and the property owners are the serfs. The HDC has cost property owners hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years with misinformation and misrepresentation.”
City Historic Preservation Officer Glenna Booth says that dissolving the HDC would be harmful to the city, including making it not possible for property owners to apply for historic preservation grants.
“A local historic district can protect a community’s historic and architectural treasures from demolition, inappropriate alterations, severe deterioration, or new construction that is not in keeping with an area’s historic character,” Booth said. “In a locally designated historic district, most exterior work must first receive a COA before changes are made to a property. This allows the HDC to ensure that changes maintain the historic integrity of the area.”
Minze said voting for his petition to dissolve the commission would not dissolve the Historic District. Booth disagrees.
“The core of both state and local laws is the HDC whose creation and responsibilities are detailed in the ordinance, now Section 2.64 of Eureka Springs Municipal Code,” Booth wrote in an email to the Independent. “Thus, it is not possible to have a local ordinance historic district without an HDC to review applications as the decision-making body under the Arkansas Historic Districts Act. It might be possible to repeal the local ordinance historic district and enact a new zoning design overlay that regulated some aspects of design related to historic character, but that would not include demolition. Also, there would have to be legislation of very detailed rules to apply to the staff level or create another commission. This would not qualify Eureka Springs for a Certified Local Government (CLG) designation.”
Booth said being designated CLG gives access to an enhanced partnership with the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, which is the state historic preservation office, and the National Park Service. It includes training opportunities for HDC commissioners and staff, technical support and grant funding.
Booth said according to the Arkansas CLG Coordinator, experience in Arkansas has shown historic district commissions are a powerful tool for preservation of historic fabric and economic prosperity. She said studies in Arkansas and across the country have consistently shown there are striking differences over time in housing and historic building retention, rates of demolition, property values, vacant buildings, and small business development inside and outside areas (sometimes literally across the street) protected by historic district review boards in favor of the regulated districts.
“Studies also show heritage tourists, which form a large portion of Eureka Springs’ livelihood, regularly spend more and stay longer than other visitors,” Booth wrote. “The unique historic character of Eureka Springs is the lynchpin [sic] of its heritage tourism industry. Since Eureka Springs began our state and national partnerships in historic preservation in 1979, over $15.5 million has been received in grants and tax credits. This does not include the accompanying economic benefits of construction work, retail or heritage tourism jobs which, in turn, ripple out into the community.”