How to Attend an HLC Meeting:
Step By Step
Anyone can attend, and speak, at meetings of the City of Austin’s Historic Landmark Commission (HLC). Here’s everything you need to know to do so:
PARTICIPATION
The HLC offers two options to attend HLC meetings, either in person at City Hall or by registering to speak remotely by calling in. The public may watch the live meeting at http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live. If attending in-person, speakers can register to speak at the sign-in binder located in the Council Chambers lobby prior to the start of the meeting. Call-in speakers must register no later than noon the day before the meeting. Send digital presentations to the Historic Preservation Office by noon the day before the meeting.
To register, call or email the board liaison at (512) 974-1264 or preservation@austintexas.gov with the speaker name, item number(s) to speak on, whether for/against/neutral, a telephone number, and an email address. Speakers will receive an email with a telephone number to call on the day of the meeting. Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to the meeting’s start in order to speak; late callers will not be accepted. Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. All public comments are heard at the start of the HLC meeting.
BASICS
The Historic Landmark Commission is an 11-member board appointed to four-year terms by City Council. Duties include reviewing historic zoning applications; reviewing certificates of appropriateness and tax exemption applications for city landmarks; and reviewing all demolition permits in local historic districts, National Register districts, and for all buildings over 50 years old. 6 votes constitute a simple majority, and 9 votes are a supermajority. The HLC usually meets on the first Wednesday of every month.
BEFORE THE MEETING
The HLC’s monthly meeting schedule, along with its agendas, minutes, and videos of previous meetings, are posted online on the City’s website. Every month the city posts agenda and backup materials no later than 3pm the Friday before each meeting. Check the agenda for cases of interest and review the back-up materials and staff recommendations.
CONTACTING THE HLC
Contact the city’s Historic Preservation Office as soon as possible if you have important information about a case or simply want to share your support or opposition. Address emails to the Historic Landmark Commission and send them to Historic Preservation Office staff. Address snail mail to the Housing and Planning Department, Street-Jones Building, 1000 E. 11th St., Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78702, ATTN: Historic Preservation Office. All comments received by the Preservation Office become part of the permanent record for the case.
NOTICES IN THE MAIL
Property owners and utility account holders within 500 feet of a property being reviewed by the HLC will receive notice in the mail roughly 7-10 days prior to the case’s hearing. Recipients can return the notices to the city with comments. Add as much information to your response as possible, including the address for the property of concern (the notices are only stamped with a long case number that will not be immediately recognizable to HLC members). Write out what it is you are in support of or opposing. For example, “I oppose the demolition of 500 Elm Street because…” Simply checking the “oppose” or “support” boxes does not send a clear message to the HLC, as the proposed action can vary by case.
MEETING LOGISTICS
The meeting location will be stated at the top of the agenda published online by the Friday before the meeting. Most meetings are held in City Council Chambers (301 W. 2nd Street), but occasionally meetings are held at an alternate location, such as the City of Austin Permitting and Development Center at 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, TX 78752. Confirm the location beforehand. Meetings start at 6pm.
At City Hall, you may park under the building free of charge. Enter the garage from Guadalupe Street and bring your ticket inside. You will be asked to walk through a metal detector and put your bags on a conveyor belt for x-ray security screening.
Proceed to council chambers. A parking validation stamp machine will be at the sign-in table in the lobby.
ARRIVING AT THE MEETING
When you enter the chamber, there will be copies of the agenda and a sign-in book. Take an agenda. ONLY sign the book if you wish to SPEAK on a particular case. Unfortunately, there is no mechanism to register your support or opposition for a case at the meeting itself without signing up to speak. (If you are with a group of people, one of whom will speak, you may consider having your speaker request that all the supporters in the audience stand as a show of support). There is a separate sign-up page for each case. Be sure to sign up correctly to indicate your support or opposition for the case (e.g., if the case proposes demolition of a building and you are against the demolition, sign up as “opposed”). TIP: Validate your parking ticket when you arrive so that you don’t forget!
THE MEETING
Before the first case is heard, there will be an opportunity for Public Communication. This agenda item is for members of the public to address the HLC with any general or broader policy concerns that are NOT regarding a case that is already on the agenda.
Review the staff recommendation for your cases of interest. Unless the item appears in section 3.A, the item could be placed on the “consent agenda,” meaning that the HLC will vote to act in accordance with staff’s recommendation without opening a public hearing on the case. This means that the case will be approved with no discussion, unless the owner, a member of the public, or an HLC member requests that the case be discussed. To pull a case for discussion, sign up to speak in the book upon entry, or raise your hand when the Preservation Officer reads through the agenda.
SPEAKING ON A CASE
Speaking on a case is an important way to let the HLC know your position on a case. The HLC considers community value and a range of historical associations – you don’t need to be a professional architectural historian to provide meaningful input! Speakers in favor of the proposed action have the opportunity to speak first. Those opposed speak next, and then those in favor have an opportunity for a rebuttal. The first speaker has 5 minutes, and subsequent speakers each have 3 minutes. “Donating time” to speakers is not allowed, so plan appropriately. Speakers must come down to address the HLC from one of the two podiums – you may not do so from your seat. You may present a PowerPoint, video, or images. Send digital presentations to the Historic Preservation Office by noon the day before the meeting. Thumb drives and USB drives will not be accepted at the meeting.
Remember to state your name for the record at the beginning of your remarks. Try to keep your comments related to the preservation/history aspects of the case. A buzzer will sound after time has expired and you will be asked to wrap up your thoughts. TIP: Do not leave the podium immediately. The Chair will always ask the commissioners if they have any questions for you, and you don’t want to have to return to the podium from halfway back to your seat. Once all speakers have been called, the HLC will move to close the public hearing, which means that no more testimony from the audience will be heard, and the commissioners will discuss and vote on the case.
UNDERSTANDING THE VOTE
HLC members will make a motion, conduct a discussion, and then vote. During discussion, the HLC may ask the staff questions regarding the case. The chair should state whether each motion passes or fails. An action requires at least 6 “yes” votes, which is a majority of the 11 commissioners. If the HLC is divided, with 5 voting “yes” and 4 voting “no,” for example, the motion fails.
If 75 days have passed since a permit for new construction in a National Register Historic District first appears on the agenda, the permit will be released even if the commission cannot come to agreement on a motion. If 180 days have passed since a demolition permit in a National Register Historic District was first filed, the permit will be released even if the commission cannot come to agreement on a motion.
The only way to stop a demolition is for the HLC to initiate historic zoning. When arguing against a demolition, then, you should also argue for historic zoning based on the city’s criteria for historic designation. For cases initiating historic zoning over owner opposition, there must be 9 “yes” votes, which is a supermajority of the 11 members.
“Initiating” historic zoning is also only the first step – this means that the case will return to the HLC at a subsequent meeting for a vote on whether historic zoning will be “Recommended” to Council. Cases that are recommended for historic zoning proceed to the Planning Commission or the Zoning and Platting Commission for a recommendation, and then to City Council for final decision. It is possible that properties that are recommended for historic zoning by the HLC will not receive the necessary votes from City Council to finalize the process.
HLC meetings are videotaped and broadcast live on TV and online. The video is also archived on the City’s website and posted online soon after each meeting.