Posting Language
Title
Conduct a public hearing and consider an ordinance amending the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan to adopt and incorporate the Equity-Based Preservation Plan, a historic preservation plan, as an element of the City’s comprehensive plan. Funding: This item has no fiscal impact.
De
Lead Department
Planning Department.
Prior Council Action:
September 12, 2024 - Council approved Resolution No. 20240912-083, which initiated an amendment to the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan to add the Equity-Based Preservation Plan, a historic preservation plan, to the City’s comprehensive plan.
For More Information:
Cara Bertron, Planning Department, (512) 974-1446, cara.bertron@austintexas.gov <mailto:cara.bertron@austintexas.gov>.
Council Committee, Boards and Commission Action:
September 9, 2024 - Commission on Aging recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 10-0.
October 2, 2024 - Historic Landmark Commission recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 9-0.
October 9, 2024 - Comprehensive Plan Joint Committee recommended that the Planning Commission recommend that Council amend the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan to include the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 5-0.
October 14, 2024 - LGBTQ+ Resource Advisory Commission recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 9-0.
October 15, 2024 - Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 8-0.
October 21, 2024 - Planning Commission recommended that Council amend the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan to include the Equity-Based Preservation Plan and implement the plan, particularly a Transfer of Development Rights program and a community ambassador program, by a vote of 10-0.
October 28, 2024 - Design Commission recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 10-0.
October 28, 2024 - Parks and Recreation Board recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Preservation Plan by a vote of 7-0.
November 6, 2024 - Austin Youth Council review scheduled.
November 8, 2024 - Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities review scheduled.
November 12, 2024 - Community Development Commission review scheduled.
November 12, 2024 - African American Advisory Commission review scheduled.
November 13, 2024 - Zero Waste Advisory Commission review scheduled.
November 19, 2024 - Zoning and Platting Commission review scheduled.
Additional Backup Information:
In 2021, the Historic Landmark Commission initiated the development of a new historic preservation plan to replace Austin’s existing preservation plan from 1981. The Commission created a community working group, the Preservation Plan Working Group, to develop the plan. In this phase, the Preservation Plan Working Group (Working Group) comprised 26 community members who lived in 19 ZIP codes across the city and reflected Austin’s racial and ethnic diversity. Working Group members brought a range of experiences, perspectives, and expertise to the planning process. They received input and feedback from 275 community members through:
• A community heritage survey
• Focus groups of representatives from cultural and heritage organizations, legacy businesses, and neighborhood organizations
• A Technical Advisory Group of City staff from 12 departments
• A Technical Assistance Panel facilitated by the Urban Land Institute
The Working Group met monthly from June 2021 to June 2022, with subcommittee meetings between many of the full-group meetings. It presented the Historic Landmark Commission with the draft Equity-Based Preservation Plan on September 7, 2022.
From February through May 2024, staff coordinated a robust, inclusive community engagement process. Community members were engaged through a number of methods, including:
• SpeakUp Austin website (www.speakupaustin.org/ATXpresplan <http://www.speakupaustin.org/ATXpresplan>, 34,000 views);
• Online and paper surveys in multiple languages (2,083 surveys completed);
• Email newsletters, both plan-specific (1,400 subscribers) and from other City departments and organizational partners;
• Social media from the City of Austin (organic and paid) and organizational partners;
• Flyer distribution at locations, events, and presentations;
• Four City-hosted outreach events held at community hubs in East, West, and South Austin (350 attendees);
• Pop-up tabling at 45 community events around Austin (1,000+ people engaged);
• 31 presentations to community groups and professional stakeholder organizations, including online discussions hosted by Urban Land Institute (ULI) Austin and U.S. Green Building Council Texas (USGBC Texas);
• 29 small-group and one-on-one conversations held by community ambassadors and mini-grant partner organizations;
• Briefings to 17 City boards and commissions (all listed in the previous section, as well as the Building and Standards Commission, Downtown Commission, Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Resource Advisory Commission, and Tourism Commission);
• Article in Austin Utilities Now newsletter mailed to households citywide in April, 2024;
• Online survey distributed to 4,400 randomly selected service area households via email by Austin Energy;
• Distribution of plan information to Small Business Week participants in April 2024 by EDD staff;
• Slide in rotation on ATXN broadcast and the Permitting and Development Center;
• Earned and paid media in The Austin Chronicle, The Austin Common, Austin Monitor, Austin South Asian, The Daily Texan, El Mundo, KAZI-FM, KUT, and The Villager;
• Mini-grants to five community organizations to conduct outreach and engagement around the draft plan: Anderson Community Development Corporation, Creative Action, East Austin Conservancy, Taiwanese American Professionals - Austin Chapter (TAP-ATX), and Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation (TPF); and
• Outreach via nine paid community ambassadors to conduct outreach and engagement around the draft plan.
In June and July 2024, the Working Group and the Preservation Plan Committee of the Historic Landmark Commission met four times. Together, the groups reviewed community feedback on the draft plan, then revised and finalized the plan.
Council initiated this amendment on September 12, 2024.