By Jim Walsh | East Valley Tribune
It’s been a long journey for West Side-Clark Addition, a little-known neighborhood just west of downtown Mesa viewed as the city’s first example of suburbanization, but the persistence of neighborhood activists finally paid off.
Already recognized on the National Register of Historic Places, West Side- Clark Addition finally won recognition as an official Mesa Historic District, 13 years after residents started the historic preservation process in 2004 and seven years after it was awarded federal historic status.
The eclectic West Side-Clark Addition became Mesa’s seventh historic district when the Mesa City Council voted Monday to approve the neighborhood’s application. The designation adds historic overlay zoning, which protects homeowners against property owners making major changes to the appearance of houses.
