FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council indefinitely tabled a proposal dealing with purchasing property in a historically Black neighborhood so a consultant with the nonprofit behind the request can explore turning the area into a historic district.
Council members voted 7-0 to indefinitely table a proposal from the Northwest Arkansas Black Heritage Association that would have had the city buy property in the Spout Spring neighborhood to give to the nonprofit for redevelopment. The proposal will expire at the end of the year unless a council member brings it back off the table.
Emma Willis of Rogers, acting as a consultant on behalf of NWA Black Heritage, asked the council to table the proposal so that a new one could be brought forward. The council had discussed the proposal in June and September and had several questions about how the city could legally buy private property and transfer it to a nonprofit.
Instead, NWA Black Heritage has proposed turning the Spout Spring neighborhood east of downtown into a historic district, Willis said. Having the land recognized as a historic district with the state would help spur its economic recovery and housing development with select properties used to promote tourism, which would help stabilize the tax base, she said.
Willis asked the council to table the original proposal to have time to work on a new proposal. The proposed boundary for the district, referred to as the Historic Black District of Spout Spring Branch, roughly touches Spring Street to the north, Wood Avenue to the east, 15th Street to the south and College Avenue to the west.
A majority of property owners would have to agree in order for the neighborhood to become a historic district. Willis said the association would need about 360 signatures out of a total of 690 properties. The association is working on a strategy to collect the necessary signatures, complete with community meetings, Willis said. She asked for the city's support in the endeavor.
"This is an opportunity to set a precedent. The reason we're requesting partnership is because this is not usually a conversation we have, when it comes to preserving historically Black spaces," Willis said. "I see it as an opportunity to live in the spirit of the city of Fayetteville, ask for community engagement and partnership, and draft something that I think will show the rest of the state and this country what it is to know our history, as well as preserve it."
Several Black families moved to an area east of the Washington County Courthouse in the years after the Civil War. The area was known as the Spout Spring neighborhood, named for the creek running through it.
In the early 1900s, nearly 300 Black families owned property in the neighborhood, according to research from Sharon Killian, board president of the Northwest Arkansas Black Heritage Association. However, their numbers dwindled over generations, largely because of intentional city policies to drive Black residents out of the area, she said.
Council members expressed support for the initiative. Sarah Moore said she agreed creating the district would create a destination to help stabilize the area.
"I'm excited to see what comes of this," she said.
In other business, the council voted 7-0 to codify a process for shutting off water, sewer and solid waste pickup service for illegal short-term rentals. The policy would apply to Type II rentals, which are those rented to guests for fewer than 30 days at a time that do not have a full-time occupant living there.
Type II owners must get a conditional use permit from the Planning Commission, as well as a business license and building safety inspection. An estimated 300 short-term rentals are either operating illegally in the city or have an unknown status. The city has capped the number of Type II short-term rentals allowed at 475. As of September, 395 have been licensed.
Council action
Fayettevilles City Council met Tuesday and approved:
A $491,000 contract with DC Sparks Construction in Rogers to expand the fleet shop.
A $1.7 million contract with Flintco in Springdale to construct Fire Station No. 2 at Woolsey Avenue and North Street.
A $181,812 contract with Halff Associates in Richardson, Texas, to design features at Combs White River Park.
Source: Fayetteville