Guidelines for Little Rock's MacArthur Park Historic District under review

The boundaries of Little Rock's MacArthur Park Historic District are shown in this Arkansas Democrat-Gazette graphic.
The boundaries of Little Rock's MacArthur Park Historic District are shown in this Arkansas Democrat-Gazette graphic.

Little Rock officials are considering pursuing a comprehensive update to the design guidelines that govern construction and rehabilitation within the city’s MacArthur Park Historic District.

Hannah Ratzlaff, an urban designer in the Little Rock Planning and Development Department, told members of the Little Rock Historic District Commission during a meeting on Thursday that the last major update to the guidelines occurred in 2016.

She also referred to the “really gorgeous” design guidelines in other jurisdictions that convey regulations and advice for maintenance or repairs while also serving as a resource for property owners.

Ratzlaff asked commission members to contribute to a list of goals for the process. City officials expect to issue a request for qualifications to identify a consultant who will assist with the potential rewrite.

The MacArthur Park Historic District is the only so-called local-ordinance district created by Little Rock municipal ordinance.

Its boundaries encompass MacArthur Park and the surrounding area. MacArthur Park is the oldest Little Rock city park, home to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts and the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.

Because of the local-ordinance district designation, members of the Historic District Commission must give approval before changes or additions to the exterior of structures as well as new construction can be carried out within the district.

“This manual is designed to guide property owners with respect to whether Historic District Commission approval is required for a particular project, the procedural steps that must be followed to submit a proposal for review by the Commission, and the design standards that will be considered by the Commission in making its determination of appropriateness,” says the introduction to the latest edition of the design guidelines published online.

Earlier during the meeting on Thursday, Ratzlaff addressed the recent defeat of measures that would have created a new local-ordinance district for the Little Rock Central High School neighborhood.

The Little Rock Board of Directors in unanimous voice votes on March 7 rejected two ordinances tied to the proposed district — one to establish the district, and the other to increase the Historic District Commission’s membership from seven to nine.

Because it was an initiative of the Planning and Development Department, no further action was required by the Historic District Commission or Planning Commission following the city board’s decision, Ratzlaff said.

However, she noted that Historic District Commission members could choose to start the process on their own and pursue the Central High School proposal again if they wished.

Grant funding that had been intended to help create design guidelines for the new local-ordinance district instead will be redirected to support the comprehensive new design guidelines for MacArthur Park, she said.

Asked by commission Chair Amber Jones if he would like to add anything, Ward 1 City Director Virgil Miller Jr., who was in attendance at the meeting, referred to the opposition to the Central High School proposal from two neighborhood associations.

“I’m a smart politician,” Miller said. He suggested members of the Wright Avenue Neighborhood Association, one of the two neighborhood groups that were opposed, might want to come back with their own ideas related to a local-ordinance district.

Additionally, the Historic District Commission on Thursday voted to accept a new design for the commission’s logo from a series of eight options before them that were designed by commission member Mark Hinson.

The Historic District Commission previously used as its logo a depiction of a Doric-style Greek column.

The new logo is circular with a dark inner part, a multi-colored outer ring and water droplets meant to represent Little Rock’s location on the Arkansas River.

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