Austin will say goodbye to another Fehr and Granger home after a short-handed Historic Landmark Commission failed to move forward with a recommendation for historic zoning at its most recent meeting. Unlike most cases where the Historic Preservation Office weighs in on one side or the other, in this case staff was “neutral” about the […]
Preservation
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Commission facing limited options, West Line demolition postponed
The Historic Landmark Commission once again exercised one of the few options it has and postponed a demolition in the West Line Historic District at its most recent meeting. Commissioner Kevin Koch pointed out that the commission’s options were “quite limited” given the fact that the home at 802 Pressler St. is in a national historic […]
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Push to landmark 1960s dairy homestead gets new life, and death, at City Hall
For a second time, the Historic Landmark Commission has denied historic zoning for a home that was once the site of the Schieffer Dairy. Though the house at 3901 Brookview Road is now headed for demolition, it has spurred the neighborhood to push for the creation of a new local historic district to prevent such […]
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Bouldin demolition raises odd questions, provides no answers at Historic Landmark Commission
There was a great deal of confusion on the dais at the Historic Landmark Commission meeting Monday night following a plea from a homeowner opposed to the proposed demolition of her own home. “I really don’t understand how it works. I’m really not even sure who it is that wants it demolished,” said homeowner Joanne […]
Posted inThe Code
Historic Landmark Commission reforms hit a bump
Despite an agreement across sides that the current process is “Kafkaesque,” the Planning Commission did not vote to support an amendment that would change the number of Historic Landmark commissioners it takes to recommend historic zoning over the objections of property owners. Currently, the Historic Landmark Commission must recommend historic zoning in such cases with […]
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Controversy swirls over Montopolis historic school site eyed for development
The city’s Community Development Commission weighed in on the effort to stop a contentious development project proposed for a historic piece of property in East Austin. At Tuesday’s meeting the development commission voted 13-0 to ask the city to halt any work to demolish a historic school building located on Montopolis Drive just south of […]
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West Line home plans unsettle landmark commission
Despite some strong indications that it might be fruitless, Historic Landmark commissioners voted May 22 to postpone a recommendation for a new Old West Austin home in the hopes that something different might be built. Last year, the Historic Landmark Commission took several months and about six hearings to contemplate the demolition of the 1915 […]
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Council upholds demolition of two West Campus properties
After waiting nearly 400 days, a property owner in the West Campus neighborhood will be able to demolish two buildings that have been held up by neighbors seeking to get them classified as historic landmarks. City Council voted narrowly Thursday to reject an appeal of a decision by the Historic Landmark Commission last year to […]
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Planning Commission initiates historic zoning for Emancipation Park site
A week before the release of the Mayor’s Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Equities’ 70-page report, the Planning Commission took a small step during its March 28 meeting in fixing what local historian Fred McGhee called a “broken historic preservation process” by initiating historic zoning for 2724 E. 12th Street, one of the […]
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Austin’s new historic district: Aldridge Place
It’s been a long time coming, but City Council approved the Aldridge Place Local Historic District last week, making it the fourth such district in the city. Council members approved the district in a vote of 8-3 with Council members Jimmy Flannigan, Greg Casar and Ellen Troxclair voting in opposition. The newly created district is […]
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No historic zoning for Tobin House without demolition threat
Despite agreement from city staff and concerned neighbors that the house would make a fine landmark, the Historic Landmark Commission opted to drop its pursuit of historic zoning for Old Austin’s Tobin House at its most recent meeting. The reason? Since the last time the commission met, the owners of 405 W. 14th St. has […]
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Panel considers a maybe-historic home in Old West Austin
In a somewhat unusual turn of events, the Historic Landmark Commission did not seem convinced that a 1939 home in the Old West Austin Historic District is all that historic, but it is open to hearing more about the house, following a postponement at its most recent meeting. The house, which is located at 1409 […]