Large crowd gathers at planning meeting on College Hill designation

Friday, May 21, 2004

The proposal to establish a new historic district in the College Hill neighborhood sparked a two-hour debate Thursday night, which Planning Commissioner Larkin Ritter summarized as community good versus individual rightsCommunity good won out 7-3, as members of the City-County Planning Commission of Warren County sent the district designation on to the Bowling Green City Commission. Linda Dickerson, Hester Whitfield and Craig Dowell voted against the district, while Tim Huston and Rick Dubose abstained from the discussion and voting. Huston is connected with Sigma Nu Fraternity and Dubose works for Western Kentucky University, both of which voiced some opposition to the plan. The area lies between College and Park streets and 15th and 12th avenues. Wherever possible, houses on both sides of those streets are included, with district boundaries running down alleys in the centers of blocks. The areas neighborhood association has been pushing for a historic district since 2002, Planning Commission Executive Director Andy Gillies said. The city already has similar districts around Fountain Square and Upper East Main Avenue. This will be our third and largest historic district, he said. The district will not change existing zoning, but will protect the historic character of building exteriors, Gillies said. Warren County Historic Preservation Planner Robin Zeigler said that property owners in the area would have to get certificate of appropriateness for major exterior changes, but not for interior maintenance or minor changes such as painting. Nor will the historic designation require people to restore their homes to original appearance, but only offer guidelines for any voluntary restoration or future changes, she said. Of main buildings in the area, excluding garages and sheds, 91 percent are considered to have historic value, Zeigler said. Were here to protect our homes, were here to protect our streets, were here to protect our neighborhoods, so that the legacy of our forefathers will be here for generations to come, said Dorian Walker, chairman of the historic preservation board and a resident of the proposed district. But Park Street resident Jimmy Brown, speaking also for his grandmother and father who live in the area, argued that the historic designation would limit peoples freedom to alter their homes. Some residents may not be able to afford historic methods and materials of repair, he said. Responding to similar comments from Dowell, Walker said that hes putting new siding on a historic home he owns there now. He has found that historic materials are not necessarily more expensive. Its cheaper than vinyl. And guess what? Its wood! Walker said. Its what that house was made of 104 years ago, and its cheaper. Sigma Nu Fraternity, which owns houses at 1303 and 1311 College St. on the districts edge, wants to be left out, said Julie Shadoan, attorney for the fraternity. Sigma Nus would like to move to a new house in a Greek Village planned near Western, but if that plan falls through, the group wants to demolish at least one of its houses and build a larger one, Shadoan said. This historic designation would prevent them from doing that. She said that it appeared the purpose of the district was to drive fraternities out. Gene Tice, Westerns vice president for Student Affairs and Campus Services, asked that the universitys property at 1425 State St., on the edge of the district, also be removed from the plan. In addition, he asked that the north side of College Street, between 13th and 14th avenues, be excluded from the district. If future Greek organizations cant afford houses in a Greek Village, this designation would exclude them from establishing houses in part of the area where such groups are currently allowed, Tice said. Dickerson asked why those three properties were not simply removed. Zeigler answered that the historic preservation board felt that they fit the historic description, and really wants to keep blocks intact. KohlsThe development plan for a Kohls Department Store on Gary Farms Boulevard, adjacent to Home Depot, passed quickly. Kohls Department Stores and Auburndale Gary Limited Partnership filed plans for an 88,408-square-foot store, with a possible 19,840-foot expansion. The Menominee, Wis.-based discount retailer sells a wide variety of clothing, shoes, housewares, bedding, luggage and similar items in nearly 600 stores. The developer has agreed to install a traffic light at the corner of Westpark Drive which is planned to parallel Campbell Lane, running between Kohls and Home Depot and Gary Farms Boulevard, said Landscape Architect Brian Shirley. Greek Village After the long wrangle over the College Hill Historic District, a city-backed redevelopment plan for the area just north of that passed after only a brief presentation from consultant Will Linder. No comments, no questions this is going to be a quick one, isnt it? Chairwoman Velma Runner said. The area runs between College Street and the CSX Railroad, from Westerns campus to 12th Avenue. Bowling Green is promoting the plan to aid Western in establishing a Greek Village of new houses for fraternities, sororities and other university-related organizations. The first section of it could be started within the next year. Within that area, the space along the present 14th Avenue and the block-wide strip between Center and Kentucky streets will be set aside for a Greek Village, to develop over 20 years. The rest will be divided into residential, mixed-use and some commercial sites, according to planning maps. Establishing that area would not require any Greek organizations to move from their current houses, but would encourage it, said Linder, author of the plan. A tentative drawing of the project shows 11 Greek houses, ranging from 6,000 to 10,000 square feet, arranged in a U-shape within those blocks, with parking and a large green space in the center. The streets in the area would see major changes as well, with 14th Avenue being closed and rebuilt half a block to the northeast, and 13th Avenue closed from Center Street to the CSX Railroad, when money becomes available for buying rights of way and construction. Buying right of way for the 14th Avenue realignment may go into the citys 2005 capital improvement budget, with road construction in 2007, said Alice Burks assistant to the citys Housing and Community Development Director Special Projects. The city plans to sell about $2 million in bonds to buy and clear land for the Greek Village through eminent domain if necessary and Western would repay the money, as it is doing under a current arrangement for the renovation of E.A. Diddle Arena. We try really hard not to have to condemn properties, Burks saidThe redevelopment area overlaps the College Hill Historic District on the Sigma Nu properties, she noted. If the city commission approves the historic district, city staff will ask commissioners to remove the Sigma Nus from the redevelopment area, Burks said. The plan will go to the city commission for final approval. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700