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page 12 would help cut down on crime. Presentations opposing the district then commenced. Mr. Max Moore of 602 Harrison spoke first. He said he had submitted a petition, with 50 signatures, opposing the district. He said the city could not manage so large a district. The majority of properties within the boundaries were rental properties. The petitioners had told him a historic district would rid the neighborhood of landlords; also, they had implied that funds for home repair would become available if a district were declared. He now knew there were no such funds. Further, he thought it destructive to oppose the landlords, and advocated working with them, not against them. If the landlords moved out, their properties would simply fall into ruin_ Mr. Oxian said the district was in no way anti -landlord. Mr. Moore said every businessman on the stretch of Lincolnway West bordering the district had signed his opposing petition. Mr. Oxian pointed out that Lincoln West lay outside the district boundaries. Mr. Moore declared that a district would not help the neighborhood. It was so crime -ridden, he said, that residents were afraid to go out at night. It needed sidewalks, curbs, and street signs. These basic needs should be met before any talk of a historic district began. Further, the area was not middle-income; it was low-income. Few residents could afford district standards. Thus, while he was not opposed in principle to historic districts, he felt his own area was a poor candidate. The owner of 620 Harrison said he owned, and was remodeling, three properties within the proposed district. He agreed that there were prime historic areas within the boundaries, and said he had witnessed the neighborhood's decline over the last 17 years. This decay, however, he ascribed to a lack of investment capital for homeowners. Landlords proliferated there because they generally invested very little in their properties. Because these landlords were unwilling to invest, they would simply abandon their properties if standards were imposed. What the neighborhood really needed, he concluded, was financing, not a historic district. Mr. Oxian said that, in other districts, landlords had so far complied with standards.