Mayor Kirk Watson, City Of Austin | City Of Austin website
Mayor Kirk Watson, City Of Austin | City Of Austin website
The City of Austin has adopted a new vision for preserving historic buildings, marking the first comprehensive update in over 40 years. The City Council approved the Equity-Based Preservation Plan on Thursday, which was developed by community members to use historic preservation as a tool for promoting equity, inclusivity, and sustainability.
The plan includes 14 goals and 107 recommendations aimed at honoring Austin's history, protecting cultural assets like legacy businesses and murals, preventing displacement, and promoting sustainability. It encourages broader community participation in heritage preservation and provides guidance on identifying important places and supporting those who maintain historic properties.
The Historic Landmark Commission initiated the planning process in 2021 with the creation of the Preservation Plan Working Group. This group of 26 community members worked alongside city staff and technical experts to draft the plan. "Asking a community working group to create a major new plan involved a lot of trust," said Cara Bertron from the City of Austin Planning Department. "The final plan is a remarkable testament to what this rich collaboration can achieve."
Extensive community engagement played a crucial role in finalizing the plan. Over 2,500 residents gave feedback through public meetings, surveys, and events earlier this year. Additional outreach was conducted with nine paid community ambassadors and five organizations that received mini-grants: Anderson CDC, Creative Action, East Austin Conservancy, Taiwanese American Professionals—Austin chapter, and Tomorrow’s Promise Foundation.
Planning Director Lauren Middleton-Pratt highlighted the importance of robust engagement efforts: “Robust engagement helps ensure that this plan represents the goals and priorities of every Austinite.”
The plan also addresses inequity issues while emphasizing benefits such as affordable housing stabilization, economic development through job creation and heritage tourism, and environmental sustainability by reducing construction waste.
JuanRaymon Rubio from both the Historic Landmark Commission and Preservation Plan Working Group noted that "Preservation supports a sense of place" in rapidly growing cities like Austin. Lindsey Derrington from Preservation Austin expressed support for realizing its goals with city stakeholders.
Implementation will begin immediately under the Planning Department's leadership in collaboration with other departments and partners. A progress-tracking dashboard will be launched publicly in January 2025.
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