Kerr center preservation guidelines taking shape

After months of pushing for the historic preservation of the landmark Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale, advocates of the longtime entertainment venue are now one small step closer to seeing their dream become reality.

That is, if language covering the center's parking lot and interior structures at 6110 N. Scottsdale Road can be addressed in the proposed conservation easement by Arizona State University, the property's owner. The proposed easement would protect the exterior of the buildings for 50 years.

Five of the seven Historic Preservation commissioners who were present at the standing room only public meeting voted unanimously Thursday evening to postpone their vote on the easement and continue negotiations with ASU over specific wording. That came after they heard nearly two hours of passionate testimonials by some of the 50 Kerr Cultural Center supporters on hand who questioned whether the late philanthropist Louise Lincoln Kerr's wishes for the center - which she bequeathed to ASU upon her death 30 years ago - would continue to be fulfilled by the proposed document.

Patricia Myers, co-chairwoman of the advocacy group the Concerned Citizens for the Kerr Cultural Center said she was most concerned that if the center's parking lot, which she estimates has 100 parking spaces, was not specifically addressed in the easement - a contractual document between ASU and Scottsdale - that the intended usage of the building as a concert hall could be in jeopardy if patrons had no place to park.

"The building was willed by Louise Lincoln Kerr as a cultural arts center. We want to see the buildings and the usage preserved," said Myers, adding she hopes "ASU will listen to its constituency and respect its wishes and concerns."

Frank Gray, general manager of planning and development services for Scottsdale, who's been in a series of meetings for the past month with city preservation officers and ASU representatives, said there are a number of documents other than the easement that cover the issues raised at the meeting. Gray said Kerr's will covered the property's intended usage and that the parking lot is covered in that usage. He said throughout the meetings that ASU never expressed interest in doing anything different with the property.

Myers and the center's supporters say they want to see Kerr's wishes, outlined in her will, added to the proposed easement.

Technically, usage issues are not found in easement documents, explained Don Meserve, a planner with the city's Historic Preservation office. "The Historic Preservation Commission's responsibility is to protect historic resources. We're not charged with protecting uses," Meserve said.

Paul Berumen, ASU's director of local government relations, said ASU feels it has succeeded in meeting the property's preservation requirements in the easement's current draft, and said this is the first time the issue of the buildings' interiors has been raised with regard to inclusion.

Berumen said he is open to return to negotiations with the city.

"I believe we can come to an agreement to address everyone's concerns," Berumen said.

The Historic Preservation Commission plans to reconvene on the issue at a public meeting on April 10.