East Austin demolition forces landmark commission to grapple with higher powers

Though their comments held no official weight, Historic Landmark Commission members had things to say about a state law that prohibits the city from intervening in the demolition or relocation of buildings owned by religious organizations.

Kalan Contreras of the city’s Preservation Office explained that the state laws that govern historic preservation were modified in 2019 when House Bill 2496 passed. Notably, the bill changed the threshold to approve historic zoning over a property owner’s objections. 

The bill also stipulated that property owned by a religious organization cannot be designated historic without owner consent. In Austin, that means city staff will approve all applications for the demolition or relocation of a building owned by a religious organization without going through the normal process at the Historic Landmark Commission, per a 2021 memo.

At their most recent meeting, commissioners learned of the fate of 2940 E. 12th St. in this manner – during a briefing held after the demolition of the 1935 building was approved.

Though there is little the commission can do about a state law, interim Chair Ben Heimsath took the opportunity to speak on his concerns. He said that the relatively new state law was “fixing a problem that never really existed” and, as far as he could tell, “really came about for no particular reason other than, I think, somebody just wanted to take a swipe at historic preservation, frankly.” 

The 12th Street case, he said, did not focus on “a particularly important building.” But the same process would apply to a historic asset, should it be owned by a religious organization, and state law would block commissioners from “jurisdiction, oversight or even comment” until after a demolition had been approved by city staff.

Commissioner Witt Featherston recalled a case that saw Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Oltorf Street demolished piece by piece while commissioners’ hands were tied due to an administrative snafu. Though that church was not owned by a religious organization at the time, Featherston pondered a “doomsday scenario” that could see religious organizations maintaining ownership and demolishing historic churches while under contract.

“Well, let’s not give anyone any ideas,” said Heimsath. “But I think we should make people aware this is a loophole. … It wound up making some people feel good, but it really opened up a loophole that’s big enough – in some cases – to drive a demolition truck through.”

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