[Source: Kate Nolan, Arizona Republic] -- Already named a National Historic Landmark, Taliesin West is nearing its designation as a Scottsdale historic site. A Jan. 12 public hearing and open house will review a zoning change proposed by the city's Historic Preservation Commission to designate 10.6 acres of the 540-acre north Scottsdale campus as HP, or historic preservation.Proposed boundaries for the historic section were worked out by the commission and Taliesin's owner, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Within the planned boundaries are buildings Wright and his apprentices designed and built, starting in the 1930s.
The open house/hearing at 4 p.m. at the Scottsdale Community Design Studio on Indian School Road will give the public an opportunity to inspect plans and ask questions. Beverly Hart, chief operating officer of the foundation, said the proposed rezoning is the start of an effort to update zoning for the entire campus. "There are really two processes - the historic core designation and a special-campus designation," Hart said. The second effort would ensure that the foundation's use of the property conforms to its public education mission. The property's current zoning supports residential and mixed-use development. [Photo source: Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.]
