Sioux Falls Neighborhood Fights Against Historic Designation

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Property owners in a Sioux Falls neighborhood have blocked nominating the area for the National Register of Historic Places.

The Register is the federal government's list of properties it considers worthy of recognition and preservation. A resident of the Pendar Lane neighborhood in Sioux Falls had asked that it be nominated.

The South Dakota State Historical Society says letters of objection were received from more than half of the neighborhood homeowners after they found out what was going on. Historic Preservation Director Ted Spencer says the society won't be nominating the area.

The city paid a consulting firm $30,000 to start the nomination process. Neighborhood resident Joe Hurly says the city should have asked residents before spending the money. City Planner Mike Cooper calls it "a lesson learned."

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