Despite a local homeowner and the city spending months compromising, negotiating and working to comply with suggestions from Austin’s Historic Preservation Office, Historic Landmark commissioners were flabbergasted Monday night at the final plans for a multimillion-dollar home in Old West Austin. After the Historic Preservation Office failed to get a supermajority at Council to designate […]
Jessi Devenyns
Posted inWhispers
Austin buyout program cited as exemplary method for increasing flood resilience
In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Nature Conservancy’s Texas chapter and Texas A&M University recently released a study that offers a new model for flood reduction – an innovative approach already being implemented in Austin’s Williamson Creek Central Greenway. Called “clustered buyouts,” the idea is to encourage voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties within cities […]
Posted inPreservation
Which shingles are the right shingles on a historic structure?
Roofs are pesky. Every 25 years or so they need to be replaced, though not usually with an identical material. Over a quarter-century, technology advances, materials become more environmentally friendly, and roof materials can easily affect a home’s energy efficiency. That means historic homes are often left searching for outdated materials or options that mimic […]
Posted inWhispers
Communication between HLC and TCAD comes under fire
Jim Christianson, a former Historic Landmark Commission member with a 22-year tenure, came to warn the commission that “handing out historic zonings like cupcakes” would devalue the tax abatements those with the designation receive in the eyes of City Council. Christianson was referring to properties where modern additions or improvements had been made, like the […]
Posted inPreservation
Schneider-Watson home deemed ‘almost’ historically significant
In the storied neighborhood of Pemberton Heights there’s a little dead-end street known as Green Lanes that houses an enclave of seven homes, including that of Walter E. Long. Two of the original homes on the street have already been demolished, including the home that belonged to Long, and a third was recently approved for […]
Posted inWhispers
There is no clear-cut answer for pecan tree removal in Govalle neighborhood
After five trees were removed last September in the Govalle neighborhood, causing such an uproar that it influenced changes in how the city permits tree removal for demolition permits, things seemed to have calmed down on Gonzales Street. Whether out of respect or to taunt the ghosts of the former pecan grove that was the […]
Posted inWater
Austin Water touts water conservation efforts
Despite Austin’s consistent growth and the city demographer’s prediction that city utilities will need to serve 4 million residents in the next 100 years, Austin Water feels confident that its facilities are up to the challenge. In terms of today’s water usage, “we’re where we were about 20 years and about 300,000 people ago,” Daryl […]
Posted inWhispers
Threshold for heritage tree removal comes into question
At the Feb. 20 meeting of the Environmental Commission, Save Our Springs Alliance attorney Bobby Levinski brought the commissioners’ attention to the heritage tree ordinance and how he believes the law falls short. He referenced a case where the Austin Country Club applied for a permit to remove a single heritage tree on a 180-acre […]
Posted inWater
Permanent zebra mussel solution still 18 months out
Following the odorous indication that a zebra mussel infestation had arrived in Austin waterways earlier this month, Austin Water has been working to come up with a solution to prevent a similar instance from recurring. Austin Water is already working to slow the population of zebra mussels by using chemical retardants in its piping systems and raw […]
Posted inWhispers
Austin Energy Regional Science Festival back for 63rd year
For 63 years, Austin Energy has hosted the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival, which is the largest city-sponsored science fair in the country. With more than 3,000 students from 23 school districts in 12 surrounding counties competing, this four-day competition encourages the foundations of experimentation, presentation, and knowledge pursuit in students. This year, the 1,800 participating projects […]
Posted inWhispers
Historical house gets new home in East Austin
There has been one less casualty in the race to preserve historic homes in Austin. The East Austin home of the first African-American disc jockey, Albert Lavada Durst, also known as “Dr. Hepcat,” was at risk of becoming lost in the sea of redevelopment on East Fourth Street. In order to preserve the home, Cielo Property […]
Posted inPlanning
Board of Adjustment seeks neighborly consent for variance
There are occasions when even though the Board of Adjustment deems a request reasonable, procedure dictates that it is unable to approve the request. Such a petition came before the BoA at its Feb. 11 meeting, when the homeowner of 7309 Bennett Ave. in the St. Johns neighborhood requested to convert the home into an […]