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standards booklet. <br />He said the River Bend area was stagnant; imposing a <br />historic district would further stifle property <br />values. He lauded the residents' wish to maintain the <br />neighborhood, but pointed out that the city already <br />had a Code Enforcement department. He said that <br />Memorial Hospital, which many of the petitioners had <br />portrayed as a villain, was in fact one of the area's <br />larger employers. He asked the HPC to take a vote from <br />all the property owners within the proposed district. <br />Mr. Gene Forsyth of 216 E. Navarre then said he had <br />initially signed in favor of the petition. He had now <br />changed his mind because he felt a district would be <br />too restrictive. <br />Mr. Chris Simons spoke again. He said he feared at <br />least a short-term drop in property values would <br />result from district designation. Renters would no <br />longer be able to afford to live there. <br />Mr. Francis Henningfeld of 222 E. Navarre St. <br />questioned how a historic district could save the area <br />from Memorial Hospital. He said existing mechanisms <br />(police, code enforcement) were adequate to protect <br />the neighborhood. <br />Ms. Georgia Shaw of the E. Wayne LHD then briefly <br />described some of the benefits of historic districts. <br />The crucial reason for the district, she said, was to <br />forestall commercial encroachment. <br />Mr. Sylvester spoke in rebuttal. He said the district <br />committee had attempted to make clear the distinction <br />between "rehabilitative" and "conservation" districts <br />clear. District standards had not yet been written. <br />Also, he felt district support should be measured <br />chiefly in terms of the percentage of owner/occupant <br />support. While the area did not have the obvious <br />historic stature of an area such as West Washington, <br />it did contain many old homes, and was worth <br />preserving. <br />Mr. Oxian said history was only a small factor in the <br />designation of a district; there were also matters <br />such as culture, architecture etc. to consider. <br />Secondly, district standards varied from district to <br />district; set standards applied only to landmarks. <br />River Bend would write its own standards; once they <br />were passed, the HPC would enforce them. <br />Mrs. Sporleder affirmed the district's eligibility to <br />become a historic district. It had long been <br />