Historic district fight to be decided

Judy Odierna

Monday, March 3, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.

A hotly contested battle over creating the first historic district in Las Vegas could culminate this week before the City Council.

The council will decide Wednesday whether to create the John S. Park Historic District. The item has drawn heavy opposition from neighbors. The city's Planning Commission voted 4-3 in favor of the designation.

The proposed John S. Park Historic District is southeast of Charleston Boulevard and Las Vegas Boulevard South. It would be bounded by Park Paseo and Franklin Avenue, and Ninth Street and Fifth Place.

The area is also being submitted to the National Register of Historic Places for designation.

If the district is approved, major changes to homes would have to be approved by the Historic Preservation Commission.

Local governments can also choose to place additional restrictions on changes to homes.

Residents say they don't want the designation because they want the option of selling their properties for commercial use. Residents who were in favor of the designation, and some members of the Planning Commission, said they would oppose commercial development whether the area received the designation or not.

The John S. Park Neighborhood Association has been seeking the designation since August 2000, when it wrote a letter to the city requesting a neighborhood plan be developed. The City Council adopted a five-step action plan, which included the designation as one of the steps.