Our guest speaker For March is Mo Parker. Ms Parker will discuss historic overlay zoning, the requirements and benefits for the taxpayer. Join us!
Historic Overlay – What it is and isn’t (provided by Bill Minter, the Abilene Preservation League)
February 23rd, 2011
Yesterday’s Landmarks Commission meeting (and this morning’s story in the ARN) revealed that some info is needed about what Historic Overlay really means. Here’s a plain-English version to try to address some misconceptions that may exist about what Historic Overlay might mean to the former Abilene High – Lincoln campus.
Historic Overlay… What it is:
- Makes it more difficult to demolish a building, but demolition is still possible.
- Provides an educational process for owners, with staff support and advice
- Provides a way for a property to be contributing to the look and feel of its surrounding neighborhood
- Requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before major changes are made to the exterior and provides a procedure for obtaining the Certificate of Appropriateness
- For individuals and for-profit companies, provides ad valorem tax savings from the city portion of their tax bill
- Eligibility for a plaque, “Abilene Historic Landmark”
- Improves the case for state (Texas Recorded State Landmark) and national (National Register for Historic Places) designations
- Is usually desired and requested by the owner
- Need for a Certificate of Appropriateness (C.A.) is triggered by a building permit application, or a demolition permit application.
Historic Overlay… What it is not:
- Is not analogous to “frozen in time”
- Does not affect what the owner can do with the interior
- No certificate is required for regular maintenance, including painting, unless there is a significant change in the color
- Does not prohibit changes like window replacement
- Selective demolition, removal of accessory buildings for redevelopment, can be allowed with a C.A.
- Modern additions can be allowed with a C.A.
The Land Development Code, Section 2.3.4.4, provides the following criteria:
- Historical, archaeological or cultural significance or value to the development, heritage or cultural, characteristics of the city, state or county
- Association with events or persons of significance
- The building style distinctive of a type, period or method of construction or architecture
- Yielding or may yield historical information
- Unique location contributing to a familiar visual feature of a neighborhood
- Represents the work of a master, designer, architect, builder or craftsman
