Thank you to all those neighbors who showed up at the Memphis City Council on April 10th to support our Landmarks status application. It passed, making Cooper-Young the first historic overlay district granted in Memphis in 20 years.
But with a contingency. The Cooper-Young Historic Overlay application was approved with the intention (introduced by Councilman Kemp Conrad) to hold the meeting minutes while an ordinance is developed and approved to address some of the issues council members see with Landmarks as a regulating body, primarily that the Landmarks Commission is the final say in a project in a historic overlay district and that the only way to appeal is legally.
Conrad said they will work with the Landmarks Commission and Cooper-Young to achieve both groups’ goals as well as those of the city council. During this process, CY will be protected as a historic overlay district, meaning anything requiring a certificate will go before the Landmarks Commission.
We will keep you updated, as always. — Stephanie Gonzalez
