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Planning and Zoning Meeting <br />August 3, 2004 <br />Page 6 <br />historic designations and to get their questions answered. During the <br />meeting Ms. Ridder heard some of the residents say "this infringes on <br />our personal rights ", or we have already spent a lot of time and money <br />preserving our homes so why do we need to be told now what to do. <br />Paris Living owns property on both SW Ft Street and Church Street as <br />well as in some of the areas that are on streets that will eventually be <br />covered by the overlay of this historic district. Ms. Ridder feels that <br />historical preservation is a good tool for economic development, <br />providing outside dollars in the form of tourism, for example. Historic <br />preservation is much more than that, it is much more than those dollars <br />that we will gain, it is about being good stewards of what past <br />generations have left for us. It is about providing a way, a means to <br />preserving that history for future generations. On behalf of Paris <br />Living's Board and those future generations, Ms. Ridder urged the <br />Commission to pass the historic designation. <br />A.W. Clem spoke in favor of the petition stating that several years ago <br />they were considering what to do with their law firm. One decision that <br />was made was to buy the old Texas Hotel from Margie Bell and spend <br />a pot full of money on restoring it. Mr. Clem stated that they could <br />have gutted the building, made it contemporary, put a false front on it <br />but they really had faith in this community. Mr. Clem remembers the <br />homes on Clarksville and Church Street, how beautiful they were. Mr. <br />Clem and others bought several buildings downtown and invested a lot <br />because they really believed the downtown area is going to be a "spiffy <br />place" if the Planning and Zoning Commission does what it is supposed <br />to do. <br />Pike Burkhart, 524 Church, spoke in favor of the petition stating that <br />he thinks Mr. Clem had many good points. Ms. Burkhart's house was <br />built in 1869 and he probably would not have bought the house had he <br />not felt like the City of Paris was headed in the right direction. <br />Organizations have grown out of the grassroots to help save and change <br />