Preserving THE PAST
Freedmen’s Town
1 Freedmen’s Town National Historic Register
2 Freedmen’s Town Heritage District and neighborhood boundary
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SAM HOUSTON PARK
Swathes of land in Independence Heights and Freedmen’s Town are on the National Historic Register, but local advocates said these neighborhoods need local protections—which a conservation ordinance would provide. GLOSSARY OF TERMS CONSERVATION DISTRICT: May estab- lish a set of speci c design requirements intended to serve the public interest in preserving and protecting neighborhoods with architectural or cultural importance HISTORIC DISTRICT: Helps to preserve the architectural character of buildings and neighborhoods that have a clearly identi - able pattern and periods of development, with little exception HERITAGE DISTRICT: A recognizable section of the city that is distinguished by a unique community identity and history NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: This is the federal government’s list of districts, sites, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation. Designations on this list do not constitute local protections. GENTRIFICATION: A process of neigh- borhood change that involves economic change in a historically disinvested neigh- borhood by means of real estate develop- ment and an in ux of new residents
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Two historic shotgun-style homes in Freedmen’s Town sit abandoned behind barbed wire fencing.
The Freedmen’s Town Conservancy is fundraising to buy two lots on Saulnier Street to prevent demolition.
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SOURCE: CITY OF HOUSTON PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY IMPACT
Debating the draft Conversations around conservation districts began more than a decade ago for Independence Heights, which rst discussed it in 2012 during Houston’s Livable Centers study. A conservation district would be a more attainable form of protection than historic districts, which o er a higher
This ordinance would inherently limit the types of development allowed in a neighborhood. Planning and Devel- opment Department Director Margaret Wallace Brown said deed restrictions will always take precedence over this potential ordinance. The idea for the conservation ordi- nance was inspired by neighborhoods like Independence Heights, Turner said at the Feb. 22 public hearing. “These commu- nities are being gentri ed; they are being wiped out,” he said. At the March
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This ordinance would pave the way for local protections for six neigh- borhoods: Independence Heights, Freedmen’s Town, Manchester/Mag- nolia Park, Plesantville, Piney Point and Acres Homes. It would also allow for future conservation districts, after the initial six. At a March 28 Houston City Council meeting, ahead of a vote, the conser- vation district ordinance was tagged by At-large Council Member Michael Kubosh. Kubosh cited questions over the data that determined the need for these six neighborhoods, which are represented by Council Members Abbie Kamin, Karla Cisneros, Tarsha Jackson, Robert Gallegos and Ti any Thomas. Kamin, who represents Freedmen’s Town, noted at the meeting these neighborhoods are seeing a rapid era- sure of their history. “They’re the ones that are having to react, plot by plot, to these issues and [they] can’t keep up with it and things are falling through,” Kamin said. Independence Heights was settled by Black people in the 1900s and became the rst African American municipality in Texas while Freedmen’s Town was founded by newly freed slaves during the Reconstruction Era, beginning in 1865, said Roman McAllen, o cer with the Houston O ce of Preservation. Both of these Houston neighbor- hoods are on the National Historic Register, added in 1997 and 1984, respectively, but this national recog- nition provides no local protections of the integrity of historic neighborhoods, McAllen said. “If you’re on the national regis- ter, just the way the law is written, it doesn’t require that that building or house be preserved,” McAllen said. “So local laws and local rules and local ordinances are what impact local buildings.”
buy-in, requiring a minimum of 67% approval from res- idents compared to 51% for the six pilot neighbor- hoods of the con- servation district. A conservation district would also provide exible standards neigh- borhoods can pick and choose from—such as roof
WE AIM … TO MAKE SURE THAT THE HERITAGE IS FRONT AND CENTER, AND THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PLACE IS SPECIAL. ZION ESCOBAR, PRESIDENT
28 city council meeting, Turner called the initial six “pilots” in the conservation dis-
tracking change
OF THE FREEDMEN’S TOWN CONSERVANCY
SOURCES: CITY OF HOUSTON PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, URBAN DISPLACEMENT PROJECT COMMUNITY IMPACT 1997 Is the year Independence Heights was added to the National Historic Register. 1984 Is the year Freedmen’s Town was added to the National Historic Register. 46 Homes in Independence Heights that have gone through the General Land O ce homes process since 2017, 18 of which are in the beginning stages. 2 Homes in Freedmen’s Town that have gone through the GLO homes process since 2017. One is completed, and one is an inactive application. 53 Historic structures remaining out of 580 in Freedmen’s Town. Historic neighborhoods in Houston, such as Independence Heights and Freedmen’s Town, are being gentri ed, losing their character along the way. 290 Entries in the National Register of Historic Places for Houston. Of those, only 13 focus on the history of African American residents. 74,827 New homes were constructed in the Inner Loop from 2005 18.
pitch and building setback—for how to maintain the character of their neigh- borhoods. It di ers from a historic district, which has standards that are more xed A heritage district is the third type of local district for protecting a neigh- borhood with a unique identity and culture. Heritage districts only apply to publicly-owned land. Beginning in 2020, the Planning and Development Department conducted a series of focus groups regarding con- servation districts. Despite this resi- dents—including public speakers at the Feb. 22 public hearing at Houston City Council—expressed concerns over the process feeling rushed. The draft for the ordinance has pro- gressed through the city in a matter of months, since it was published in February. “One of the things we are asking for today is more time to engage with civic sta ,” said John Rentz, president of the Houston Real Estate Council.
trict program. Tanya Debose, a fth-generation Independence Heights resident, said the conservation district ordinance would be just another tool for residents in the historic preservation toolbox. “What the conservation district does is it allows us in the community who own the property, to say, ‘Here’s what we know as the identity of our com- munity. These are the elements that we feel like need to be protected,’” she said. “That if anyone drove into this space, they can know that something great happened here, something his- toric happened here.” Neighborhoods to note Independence Heights—which encompasses about 45 blocks, north of Greater Heights, including numbered blocks from 30th Street to 45th Street— is home to many vacant lots and faces a high rate of residential development, Debose said. There are several con- struction projects on 38th Street alone,
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