Clark Park Conservation District

[UPDATE: The City Council voted against the proposed conservation district. From today's News-Gazette (full article with even more information here):

Champaign council rejects conservation district for Clark Park neighborhood
In a 6-to-3 vote Tuesday, the city council defeated a bid by some west Champaign residents to incorporate more than 200 area homes into a conservation district...

Council members Greg Stock and Alicia Beck, who voted for the measure, criticized the application process and urged the council to look at single-family zoning restrictions currently in place.

Stock, Beck and Matt Gladney — a resident of Clark Park who also voted yes on the measure — agreed that the conservation-district application should have been approved based purely on its merits and how it conforms to the language of the ordinance...

But for the rest of the council, it appeared a conservation district was not the right way to deal with issues brought up by Clark Park residents.

Council member Clarissa Fourman said she had decided to vote "no" before Tuesday, condemning what she called an "elitist conversation" that ultimately diverted a year's worth of planning and development department attention to a "healthy neighborhood" and away from "unhealthy neighborhoods."]

The No Giant Houses issue in Champaign has taken a leap further into local government. From Julie McClure's SPLOG on Smile Politely:

Champaign City Council will decide on Clark Park Conservation District proposal next week
...
Homeowners in the Clark Park area are concerned with the City of Champaign exploring the possibility of allowing larger homes to be built on the smaller lots in their neighborhood.

A group of these concerned homeowners formed a steering committee to apply for Clark Park to be designated a Conservation District. This is not quite as intense as a Historic Preservation District, but it would put some restrictions on new construction or at least slow down the process and subject it to more scrutiny.

This proposal has passed through the first two steps in the process: the Historic Preservation Commission and the Plan Commission, and will now face a vote by the City Council this Tuesday.

More information and links at the full article here. The issue information page from the City of Champaign website has a nice rundown of the governing basics and timeline. Here's a quick excerpt:

The City Council vote on this matter is scheduled for Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.  The City of Champaign welcomes input on this matter–including correspondence, phone calls, protest forms and petitions–up until the meeting date.  Citizens will have a final opportunity to share verbal comments with City Council at the meeting (limited to 5 minutes per individual)...

A Conservation District is a specific geographic area containing a concentration of historically or architecturally significant structures that contribute to the visual characteristics or distinctive atmosphere of a neighborhood. The significance of the structures within a Conservation District does not rise to the same level as the significance of designated landmarks or Historic Districts, so the criteria for approval are correspondingly less rigorous. A Conservation District imposes some limitations on a property owner’s ability to modify the exterior of their structure or build or demolish structures in part or in whole.

[Updated: originally posted 1/11/2019 at 9:49pm]