The Minneapolis Zoning and Planning Commission granted an appeal from the Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association to halt the process to determine if the neighborhood would become a local historic district. âÄúItâÄôs recognition that weâÄôre heading in the right direction,âÄù said PPERRIA president Dick Poppele. In March, the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission voted to extend the period of interim protection for Prospect Park to allow time for further investigations into designating the neighborhood as a local historic district. Shortly after, PPERRIA appealed the decision. Residents expressed concerns with large application fees and lengthy processes that were required to make certain alterations to the exterior of their properties under the interim protection. Residents said they also worried about a lack of sufficient knowledge about what changes would likely be approved. City Councilmember Cam Gordon, who originally nominated Prospect Park to become a local historic district, said he later recommended the process be halted because of residentsâÄô concerns that the potential restrictions were too burdensome. PPERRIA recently received a grant from The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs to investigate the possibility of becoming a neighborhood conservation district, which some residents feel would be a more reasonable alternative to local historic designation. This would not be possible unless changes are made to the current city code.