GOVERNMENT Houston considers adding conservation districts to ordinance code
BY LEAH FOREMAN
owners to become a conservation district. Public hearings would then ensue before a district is approved. Beginning in 2020, Houston’s plan- ning department conducted a series of focus groups regarding conservation districts. Despite this, residents— including public speakers at the Feb. 22 hearing—expressed concerns over the process feeling rushed. “One of the things we are asking for today is more time to engage with civic staff,” said John Rentz, president of the Houston Real Estate Council. Deed restrictions would always take precedence over the potential ordi- nance, said Margaret Wallace Brown, director of the Houston Planning & Development Department. Mayor Sylvester Turner said the draft ordinance has potential to benefit areas like Independence Heights. Other areas where conservation dis- tricts could be proposed include Acres Homes and Freedmen’s Town. “These are communities that have represented, in large part, historically
Different districts
Historically and culturally sig- nificant neighborhoods—like Inde- pendence Heights, settled by Black people in the 1900s as the first African American municipality in Texas—are the sites of recent change and loss of character, according to officials with the city of Houston’s planning department. Now, the city is pushing for pres- ervation of these neighborhoods through a proposed conservation district ordinance. Houston City Council hosted a public hearing Feb. 22 to discuss the ordinance, which would enable neighborhoods to choose from a menu of standards for lot exteriors and apply for conservation district status. A conservation district differs from a historic district, an option already available to city residents that has a fixed set of standards. A draft ordinance released Feb. 13 requires neighborhoods that apply to get approval from 51% of property
If conservation districts are approved by the city of Houston, they would allow for a simpler way to preserve neighborhoods than historic districts.
Historic district
Proposed conservation district
67% of residents must be in favor for district to be created
51% of residents must be in favor for district to be created
67%
51%
All applications for alterations, additions, new construction and demolition must adhere to same standards, with some exceptions District must be approved by Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission
Residents choose from a menu of standards to determine what applies to the maintenance of the neighborhood
Does not typically deal with historic materials
SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON PLANING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT/COMMUNITY IMPACT
disenfranchised communities,” Turner said. “These communities are being gentrified. They are being wiped out.” Roman McAllen, an officer with the Houston Office of Preservation, also presented the draft ordinance to the city’s Super Neighborhood Alliance on Feb. 13 and to its Livable Places Action
Committee on Feb. 21. Wallace Brown said she will also be speaking at the Super Neighborhood Alliance’s March 13 meeting to discuss conservation districts in greater detail. As of press time March 1, it was unclear when the council may get a chance to vote on the ordinance.
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