To qualify for a local historic district designation, the ordinance requires that:

1.            a petition be filed requesting local historic district designation by the owners of at least 60% of the land within a proposed local historic district to initiate rezoning of the property;

2.            51% of the structures within a local historic district must be contributing at the time the nomination is placed on the agenda of the Historic Landmark Commission, but not at the time the case is heard by Council;

3.            at least 25% of the contributing buildings within a local historic district must be documented with ownership and occupancy histories in no less than 5 year intervals);

4.            Section 25-2-355(A) clarifying the criteria for designation of a historic landmark and a historic area combining district;

5.            the Historic Landmark Commission to review applications for remodel permits which affect the exterior of a building within a National Register Historic District

The Historic Task Force Recommendations are available by clicking here, the Task Force Report is available by clicking here, and the actual Ordinance is available by clicking here.

On August 24, 2005, the Heritage Society sponsored a seminar on the upcoming local historic districts.  You can download the presentation by Steve Sadowsky, City of Austin Preservation Officer, and the draft application, which is soon to be finalized.  A summary of the new ordinance that was sent out to landmark owners may be obtained by clicking here.  Another summary from the City of Austin Preservation Officer, entitled “LOCAL HISTORIC DISTRICTS IN AUSTIN,” may be obtained by clicking here.  See also, Revisions to Historic Landmark Ordinance that established local historic Districts.

According to the summary, “owner-occupied residential properties would be eligible for a seven-year abatement on the added value of the rehabilitation with the re-investment of 25% of the pre-improvement value of the structure in qualified rehabilitation expenditures, including at least 5% of the pre-improvement value of the structure re-invested in exterior restoration or rehabilitation.”  That’s a mouthful, but essentially, the City won’t tax the increase in value from any improvement/rehabilitation for seven years if (1) at least 25% of the pre-improvement value of the structure is used for “qualified rehabilitation expenditures” and (2) at least 5% of the pre-improvement value of the structure is used for “exterior restoration or rehabilitation.”  Different rules apply for income producing properties.

THIS IS BIG NEWS BECAUSE THE ORDINANCE MAY BE AN EXTREMELY USEFUL TOOL FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

This is confusing. What kinds of historic preservation are there, what does WANG have now, and what do they really mean anyway?
Currently, WANG has no historic preservation protections in place and is not part of the Old West Austin Historic District.

• At the federal level, the Old West Austin Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic places. In addition to being prestigious, federal dollars cannot be used on a project (such as expanding MoPac) that will impact the neighborhood without a lengthy consideration process.
• At the state level, some individual homes in the neighborhood have been designated Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. Owners of designated homes must consult with the Texas Historical Commission before making exterior architectural changes. Some cities offer tax abatements for Texas historic landmark homes, but Austin does not.
• At the city level, some individual homes in the neighborhood have been designated Austin historic landmarks, also known as “H” zoning. Only individual structures can hold this status, which comes with some city tax abatement. It is more difficult to demolish a structure that is a designated city landmark.

Is the “local historic district” some radical idea dreamed up by City Council?
Actually, Austin is the last major Texas city to adopt such a program. River Oaks in Houston, the King William District in San Antonio, and the Tenth Street District in Dallas, for example, are all city historic districts. Smaller cities such as Wichita Falls, Fredericksburg, and Castroville also have historic district programs.

What is the City’s timeline for starting up local historic districts?
The City hopes to have the application process worked out by the end of the year. The City estimates the first district will take about 18 months to create.

If all or part of WANG became a local historic district, would the neighborhood “freeze”?
Not unless we want it to. One of the interesting things about the historic district ordinance is that the district itself creates a “preservation plan” that is reviewed and approved by the City. The preservation plan provides guidelines for new construction in the neighborhood. These guidelines can be very relaxed to very stringent, depending on what the neighborhood chooses.

I have an old/new home. How would I be affected?
Under the LHD ordinance, each home must be designated as either “contributing” or “non-contributing” to the local historic district. Any house that is at least 50 years old, was built during the period of significance for the district, and essentially looks like it did originally may qualify as a “contributing” home. We are allowed to make the criteria for a contributing home more narrow if we wish in our district. We believe the City intends to encourage preservation of contributing homes with the new LHD ordinance. Right now, it is not clear how much control the LHDs will have over the preservation process.

What is the WANG board doing about the local historic district issue?
The board has formed a committee dedicated to this issue. These board members have been attending meetings of city officials, talking with board members from other, nearby neighborhood associations, reviewing information disseminated by the City, and generally trying to stay abreast of developments. The City is currently refining the application process and discussing questions and concerns arising as groups consider the ordinance. There are still unanswered questions about historic districts and the application process.

I have an opinion/question about local historic districts as applied to West Austin that I would like to share with the board. What are my options?
The board would like to hear from you! One of our primary goals is to help the neighborhood get what it wants. You can email us at wang@DeepEddy.Com or send a letter to WANG, P.O. Box 5722, Austin, TX 78763-5722. Of course, you are also welcome to contact any board member—we are listed in every newsletter.

So, is WANG going to become an Austin historic district?
That depends on what you, our neighbors, decide is best for the neighborhood. We on the board are trying to learn as much as we can about this new option so that we can share the information with you. Then together we can make an informed decision regarding our home!

What would the process be if the neighborhood decides to pursue a LHD designation?
It appears that we would first fill out a detailed application and submit it to the City Historic Preservation Office. An important part of the application is a list of all the property owners who support the application. Sixty percent of the neighborhood must support the application for it to proceed. Once the application is complete the City Historic Preservation Office would send it to the Historic Landmark Commission and then to Zoning & Platting for consideration at a public meeting of each body. Each body would recommend to grant or deny the application. Then, these recommendations would go to City Council for a final public meeting. City Council must vote to grant the LHD designation for it to take effect.

Based in part on the work done by the Pemberton Heights Neighborhood Association, WANG has defined the following set of Guiding Principals for what we think our neighbors would want – and would not want – in an LHD. Is this what you want? Please review and let us know.
Outreach/Process

“Our goal is to maintain the uniqueness of West Austin, the quality of life that comes from that uniqueness, and the value of owning a home in this neighborhood. The City has written the LHD ordinance to create incentives for preservation of historic areas of Austin. Each historic district creates its own unique Preservation Plan. By forming an LHD and developing a Preservation Plan, neighbors are agreeing to restrict their own building options in exchange for having similar restrictions applicable to all other building projects in the neighborhood.

“The Board will guide the development of the Preservation Plan in a way that encourages input from all affected property owners from the proposed LHD, with the goal of developing a Preservation Plan that reflects the broad consensus values of the affected property owners from the proposed LHD.”
Property Values

“The intent of the LHD is to enhance property values for homeowner-residents by creating and maintaining a neighborhood sought by potential residents not only for its convenient location but also for its unique community of authentic historic homes and sympathetic newer construction.

“Recognizing that historic preservation requires a shared commitment and vision by those affected, the LHD is intended to favor investment in the neighborhood by owner-residents over the financial interests of development speculators.”
Predictability

“The Preservation Plan will provide clarity and predictability regarding new construction, remodeling, and preservation in the neighborhood, and should reduce the need for neighbor to confront neighbor over development proposals. The plan should not be burdensome or time-consuming to those who comply with it.”
Landscape and Amenities

“We will look for ways to maintain the tree cover and the open public and private landscaping that currently exist in West Austin. We will seek opportunities to keep traffic noise levels down and provide historically sensitive public amenities as part of the Preservation Plan.”
Lot Size

“The Preservation Plan will maintain the traditional arrangement and rhythm of houses along streets in West Austin. Except for undeveloped tracts, lot splits, combining lots, or creating lots that do not front on a street will be strongly discouraged.”
Neighborhood “Feel”

“A primary goal of the guidelines on lot size, scale of house to yard, architectural style, and open landscaping is to preserve the neighborhood’s unique character, which is created by the narrow streets, mature trees, uniform set-backs, and diversity of historic architectural styles.”
Scale: House and Yard

“The design guidelines will identify and quantify the setbacks, heights, and building mass relative to lot size generally used by contributing homes in the neighborhood, and provide standards for new construction so that the traditional proportions of landscape to improvements in the neighborhood are respected. It will encourage the traditional orientation of homes on lots, the open front yards customary in the neighborhood, and the preservation of mature trees.”
Architectural Design

In order to protect the historic integrity and feel of the West Austin neighborhood, we foresee new design guidelines defining set-backs, materials, landscaping, fencing, and the overall design of new structures. Our goals in the development of these architectural design guidelines are:

1. That they encourage new construction that is respectful of and sympathetic to the traditional residential design in the neighborhood, while allowing for contemporary interpretations and style.

2. That all new design guidelines be objective and measurable, so that it is obvious when a structure is in compliance and when it isn’t. We are opposed to subjective guidelines that add uncertainty to the design and construction process.

3. That the guidelines be simple and focus on big issues. They should not be ‘fussy’ or too detailed.

1. We complete an LHD Nomination Form, which must include:

· Maps, detailed building inventory, photographs

· Final Preservation Plan (i.e. design standards. )

· List of property owners and their support (60% required)

2. We submit the application to City Historic Preservation Office.

3. Historic Preservation Office reviews the application for reasonable completeness and notifies us of deficiencies. We rectify deficiencies.

4. The Historic Preservation Office reviews the application in detail and prepares it for an Historic Landmark Commission meeting.

5. The City notifies property owners and neighborhood associations within the proposed district prior to the Historic Landmark Commission meeting.

6. The Historic Landmark Commission reviews the application at a public meeting, recommends to grant/deny or requests additional information.

7. Zoning and Platting reviews the application at a public meeting, recommends to grant/deny.

8. City Council holds a public meeting and decides whether to promulgate an ordinance establishing the district.

9. If the LHD is established, the City changes its zoning maps to show the district and all properties within the district have HD added to their zoning (SF-3-HD).

West Austin is composed of stable, quiet, inner-city neighborhoods which contain traditional residential development and park land shaded by a wealth of beautiful trees. The many qualities of our neighborhood that attracted many of us to move here continue to create demand for this attractive, conveniently-located residential neighborhood. This demand has created pressure to increase the density of inner-city neighborhoods and to replace existing houses with new construction. Too often, the new developments are oversized structures that disrupt the architectural and historic character of the existing neighborhood, diminishing livability and destroying the amenities that originally made the neighborhood an attractive place to live.

At the West Austin Neighborhood Group meetings, residents have expressed a growing concern that teardown trends in the neighborhood are irreparably changing the character of our neighborhood as fine historic homes are demolished to make way for much larger, new houses. In addition, the residents have overwhelmingly expressed a desire to maintain the neighborhood’s current land use pattern. On the other hand, we are homeowners ourselves and we recognize the difficult issues involved in trying to preserve a neighborhood while also respecting the rights of the property owners within it. We value our freedom, and the long-term value of our property is important to us.

In recent years, WANG has been reporting on the progress of the City’s efforts to pass an historic preservation ordinance that would allow for the establishment of local historic districts (“LHDs”). The stated purpose of these LHDs is to preserve the areas. The neighbors in a LHD will devise a “preservation plan” to introduce new guidelines for regulating new development and preserving the older traditional homes in West Austin. However, LHD’s are intended to be flexible and to conform to the desires of the individual neighborhood. As an incentive to promote preservation, the City will grant some tax abatements for preservation efforts.

While the final details are still being worked out, the procedural requirements for obtaining an LHD designation are simple. After a neighborhood develops its own guidelines for historic preservation and new development, the neighborhood requests an LHD designation from the Historic Landmarks Commission and then the City Council. (More on the process here.) Before the final request is made, however, 60% of the property owners in the affected neighborhood (which may be all or part of the WANG area) would have to approve of the final plan.

At this point, we will start a neighborhood dialog on whether and how to proceed. Information will be provided to the neighborhood on the advantages and drawbacks of having an LHD for all or part of our neighborhood. In the dialog, we will also discuss what features are appropriate for our neighborhood and which are not. We have agreed to an important set of guiding principals for what we feel we should have in an LHD. To assist with the dialog, please take the time to review the materials we have for you here, and please make sure you complete our LHD opinion survey on the web site. We won’t know what is important to you unless you tell us.

Erik Cary

2005/2006 President

West Austin Neighborhood Group