Protecting the neighborhood

Those who live in the Sunset Boulevard area of central Cape Girardeau describe their neighborhood in glowing terms: It's peaceful and contains beautiful, Victorian homes and pre-World War II bungalows that are well kept with nicely trimmed lawns.

But resident Curtis Prichard says that isn't the case at every house.

Prichard, a 38-year-old drug company representative who lives on Luce Street, points to one house that has trash in the yard. Another has a big couch on the front porch. A third features a lawn with a beer bottle poking above the tall grass.

Those houses have been diced up into multifamily rental units, and Prichard and some of his neighbors are asking the Cape Girardeau Historic Preservation Commission to declare the area a historic district to prevent more homes being turned into multifamily rental properties.

"Nothing against renters," Prichard said, "but I think that in some cases rental homes are occupied by people with no vested interest in the neighborhood. Why should they care about the neighborhood? They're just passing through."

Been handing out leaflefts

Members of the group, which calls itself Save the Sunset Area Project, will attend a special meeting of the commission at 7:30 p.m. today at Franklin School, 215 N. Louisiana. Prichard has been handing out leaflets door-to-door for weeks and said he would be happy if 25 to 30 people showed up.

The historic-preservation ordinance states that the city's Historic Preservation Commission must review and comment on any capital improvement project that involves work within 185 feet of a historic district or historic landmark. That means a house within the district -- Prichard proposes using Broadway, Independence, North West End Boulevard and Caruthers as boundaries -- could not be changed dramatically without commission review.

The commission would issue a "certificate of appropriateness" if any remodeling or changes fell within specified guidelines. No demolition or construction permits affecting the exterior of the homes would be issued for work outside those guidelines.

"It would have to be a major renovation," city planner Kent Bratton said.

Historic districts implement design guidelines agreed upon by the commission and neighbors, Bratton said. At least 75 percent of neighbors within a designated district must approve making the neighborhood a historic district.

Bratton said the neighborhood currently is a mix of single- and multifamily zoning.

"The neighbors will have to work with the commission to come up with what is appropriate for that neighborhood," Bratton said. "They can set their own guidelines to help retain the character of the neighborhood."

Moderate guidelines

While at least one neighbor spoke off the record about a fear of too much regulation, Bratton said guidelines in cases like this tend to be moderate in scope.

"In cities like Charleston, S.C., they can tell you what colors you can use," Bratton said. "I doubt they'd go that far here."

Michelle Warren, 30, doesn't want to overregulate. She just wants to do away with absentee landlords who don't take care of their property.

"What I'm worried about is converting more of these older two-story Victorian homes into apartments," said Warren, who lives across the street from Prichard.

Jim McGowen, 52, lives on Sunset.

"My interest is to preserve the family neighborhood," he said. "Renters bring more people, more traffic in and out, and we don't want that. We want a good residential neighborhood."

Historic-preservation commissioner Betty Voss said she saw no problem with making the neighborhood a historic district if the neighbors want it.

"These districts can be a good tool to protect historic areas in Cape Girardeau," Voss said. "When certain neighborhoods have unique features, then I think that should be preserved. That neighborhood has features that don't exist anywhere else in Cape."

Worries about hospital

Commission vice chairman David Rutherford said he favors making the area a historic district. He said he has heard that some neighbors are afraid Southeast Missouri Hospital will buy up property in the area and make it into a parking lot or something else.

"Some are afraid that the hospital will continue to gobble up real estate and reduce the integrity of the neighborhood," Rutherford said. "I do believe their fears are justified, especially about hospital encroachment," he said.

Rutherford said Sunset is one of the most charming neighborhoods in Cape Girardeau and should be protected.

Southeast Missouri Hospital chief executive officer Jim Wente said he is proud of the hospital's beautification projects and other enhancements it has made over the years.

"Any future development will take the interests of the neighborhood into consideration," he said.

Prichard said he doesn't want to eliminate existing rental units; he just doesn't want his property value further decreased because of rental properties on his block.

"We really are just looking for some peace of mind," he said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137