photo by: Journal-World Photo Illustration

Lawrence Journal-World Editorial

Downtown Lawrence felt a bit like a gated community run by a co-op board last week. You know the type, or maybe have driven by them in Johnson County. They are places where you have to appreciate a certain set of sensibilities, if you hope to fit in.

When the city’s Historic Resources Commission on Thursday unanimously rejected a plan for a five-story apartment and retail building at 11th and Massachusetts streets, a certain set of sensibilities were at play.

One HRC member explained his vote against the project by talking about how the proposed site is a “very, very special place in our community.” So that there is no confusion here, the proposed site is the former Allen Press property at the northeast corner of 11th and Massachusetts streets. It is so special that it has been a thinly paved parking lot and a largely vacant industrial building for about 20 years.

Granted, the site is at a gateway to downtown, and it is across the street from both the Douglas County Courthouse and the Watkins Museum of History, both of which are historic and beautiful buildings. Those two buildings are the rub. HRC members really did not like the idea of a big building — it would have 550 bedrooms — being so close to the courthouse and Watkins.

This is where a significant number of Lawrence residents become confused about historic preservation. Seemingly, large majorities of residents appreciate historic preservation when it means that we shouldn’t be tearing down old buildings along Massachusetts Street that help define the character and feel of downtown. It appears, though, that no one is arguing these Allen Press structures are those types of buildings.

Instead, the argument is that a big, new building will somehow diminish the importance of the two beautiful buildings that are across the street. In technical terms, it is called protecting the “environs” of those historic buildings. But why would a new building — even if you think it is ugly — cause you to think less of the courthouse or Watkins? Maybe it does for some people, but it clearly doesn’t for others. Why should the some get to rule the day over the others? Especially when one of the others is the person paying the money for taxes, maintenance and other expenses of the proposed site?

Think of this from the owner’s perspective. The HRC and the city “allowed” downtown to change many times over the years. It was allowed to change so much so that the downtown really wasn’t a suitable place to run a printing plant anymore. The plant conflicted with the uses of downtown living and an entertainment district. So, the printing plant was moved at a considerable cost. You can’t blame the owner if he is thinking, “now, you don’t want to change?” While we all get the luxury of soft feelings about this aesthetic or that, the owner has the burden of hard expenses.

But make no mistake. The Lawrence historic preservation community is full of very good people who are civic minded. No one is making these decisions to hurt or hold back Lawrence. They are speaking from their hearts. Potentially, though, that is a problem. The heart is usually a better dreamer than it is a planner.

It seems that the community largely agrees that more living units are vital to the health of downtown. Many downtown businesses support this proposed development for that reason. It seems that the community wants more density and less urban sprawl, which, of course, requires redevelopment of properties like this one. The heart and the head seem to be in conflict here.

It is hard to criticize a group like the HRC, which really does want to protect what makes Lawrence special. But that group needs to do a better job of explaining why we should adopt some broad vision of historic preservation rather than a more narrow one.

It seems that some want buildings like the courthouse and Watkins to be time machines. They aren’t. We will never stand at 11th and Massachusetts and be fooled into believing that we are in the time period of when those grand buildings were constructed.

Protect the beautiful and historic buildings, but let the environment around them change. It is only appropriate to do so. After all, there has never been a day in history when it hasn’t.