A public hearing is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. Thursday by the Capitol Zoning District Commission, 410 South Battery, on a rule change to lift building height restrictions around the Capitol from three to five stories. This is prompted by a request by developer John Burkhalter, a major supporter of Gov. Mike Beebe, to build an office building at Sixth and Woodlane Streets. At a previous hearing, Wayne Woods of the Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods ad agency, another important political player, said his firm was considering being a tenant in the building.
An opponent of the increased building height successfully stopped earlier approval of the deal by a lawsuit over the failure of the commission to adopt a formal rules change to allow the taller building.
The Quapaw Quarter Association, which works to preserve historic neighborhoods, has announced its opposition to the plan and explains on the jump. Protection of views of the Capitol is part of the group’s objection, but not all.