Members of the El Dorado Historic District Commission held a follow-up discussion Thursday about a Community Open House that was held earlier this week as a part of the planning process for a citywide historic preservation plan.
Commissioners agreed they needed to clear up questions about some of the information that was presented during the open house, which served as a public awareness/education campaign about the preservation plan and the planning process, which began this summer.
Attendees also had the opportunity to offer input for the plan, which will identify historic buildings, sites and neighborhoods and recommend potential projects to enhance the city’s historic preservation program and boost economic development.
The open house was hosted by the EHDC and the Lakota Group, an Illinois-based urban design firm that is drafting the plan.
“It was fairly well attended. You had a diverse group of people there,” Elizabeth Eggleston, executive director of the EHDC, said of the open house.
“Different people in the community made recommendations, so they’ll (the Lakota Group) go back and incorporate them into the plan,” Eggleston said.
Another purpose of the open house was to provide residents with information to separate facts from myths in regard to historic districts.
On Thursday, Commissioner Linda Rathbun, chairman of the EHDC, cited one of the “Myth vs. Fact” informational items that was included in materials that were presented during the open house.
Per the materials, the EHDC and its city ordinance does not regulate exterior paint colors on buildings within the city’s commercial and residential historic districts.
“We do regulate exterior colors,” Rathbun said, pointing to two instances over the years in which she said the EHDC was involved in selecting exterior paint colors while considering Certificate of Appropriateness requests for businesses within the city’s commercial historic district.
COAs are required for most exterior projects within the district, which covers most of downtown El Dorado.
Eggleston said the commission does not regulate exterior colors but encourages the use of a paint palette that contains colors that have been deemed appropriate for local historic districts by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
“We can have some input. We can have some discussion with them about it,” Eggleston said.
Referring to one of the examples that Rathbun mentioned, Eggleston said a former downtown business painted the trim of the building pink and the commission suggested that the business owner take a look at the NTHP-approved paint palette, which is available at Sherwin-Williams.
“They left it as a primer color and it turned into a dispute between the property owner and the tenant about who was going to pay for it and (the property owner) was not going to go to any expense to paint it,” Eggleston said.
The issue lasted for several months in 2010 and grew contentious, with the business owner opting to cover the primer with a coat of Chinese red paint, which was ultimately approved by the EHDC.
Rathbun said she thought a similar issue arose in 2018 when the commission reviewed a COA request from the Latest Wrinkle, a boutique featuring women’s clothing and accessories that opened last year at 104 E. Elm.
“Didn’t we deny their request and they came back with different colors and we approved it?” Rathbun asked.
Eggleston said exterior colors at the Latest Wrinkle were recommended by an exterior design consultant with Main Street Arkansas.
Rathbun said commissioners needed to clarify the matter.
The commission also discussed options for setting up large informational placards that were displayed during the open house.
One potential location, they said, was the lobby of City Hall to provide more residents to learn about and provide feedback for the citywide historic preservation plan, which is expected to be completed in August 2020.
“It’ll be like a second open house,” Eggleston said, adding that the stockholders and steering committee for the project have not yet seen the placards.
The group also discussed the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium. However, Eggleston noted that while more people may have the chance to peruse the placards during events at the auditorium, the facility is not open daily and does not have regularly scheduled operating hours.
Commissioners agreed to speak with Mayor Veronica Smith-Creer about the matter.