Carman quits panel after email on downtown Little Rock apartment complex

Jennifer Carman resigned her position with the Little Rock Historic District Commission, days after an email she sent to fellow commissioners was cited as a reason to delay voting on a three-story, 50-unit apartment complex downtown.

Carman submitted her resignation in an email to commission members. She also announced the resignation in a post on her Facebook page.

City Attorney Tom Carpenter recommended on Monday that the commission delay voting on a certificate of appropriateness for the $8 million Moses Tucker Real Estate project because of an email Carman sent to commissioners on Saturday expressing her opposition to the project. Carman had recused herself from the vote because she owns property near the proposed development at 901 Scott St. and believed she could still voice her opinion on the project.

Carman said Thursday that she sent the email because she did not believe it constituted "discussion" and because she believed a deputy city attorney had granted households of recused commissioners the right to voice an opinion on the project during a March 14 meeting. She said she believed she had the right to submit feedback on the project as a citizen.

"I'd like to think any reasonable person knows my mind and heart were in the right place," Carman said. "I believed I was complying with exactly what the city attorney's office had encouraged us to do.

"This whole event has made very clear to me," Carman added, "that the city must, truly must, do more to educate those who serve the city as volunteers about what is within the ethical bounds and rights."

Carman told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday that she did not believe she had acted unethically and would consider resigning her position.

City planner Brian Minyard said it is unlikely the spot will be filled before the May 9 meeting. Carman's seat on the commission is designated as a representative of the Quapaw Quarter Association. Mayor Mark Stodola and the city's Board of Directors will fill the vacancy with one of three candidates suggested by the Quapaw Quarter Association.

Rhea Roberts, executive director of the Quapaw Quarter Association, said a recommendation would be made by the organization's 18-member board "as soon as we can."

Even without a full seven-member commission, a vote could still be held, pending Carpenter's review of whether the body had been tainted by the email. Moses Tucker first appeared before the commission on March 14 and has revised its proposal to better meet historic preservation guidelines.

Carman wrote in her Facebook post that she intended to be involved from "the other side of the podium --- where I can continue to participate in lively discussions as a citizen and advocate for the city that I love. Nobody has seen the last of me!"

Business on 04/15/2016

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