Design Guideline for Historic Ordinance Needed First

We advocate for ONLY amending the Historic Preservation Ordinance to allow for the creation and adoption of Design Guidelines. We oppose a significant rewrite of the HPO prior to the implementation of Design Guidelines so the public can judge the effectiveness of the guidelines.

The changes proposed by the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission go far beyond that directive set forth by the Mayor to correct and clarify the ordinance. What has been presented are sweeping changes which completely rewrite the ordinance (as visually evidenced by the amount of RED). The adoption of the previous Design Guidelines would alleviate 95% of the issues as 95% of the complaints about the ordinance are related to the lack of guidelines. Further revisions, if required, can occur at a later time.

Tell City Council and the Mayor to reinstate the previous design guideline as an interim solution and to authorize the creation and adoption of new guidelines for existing Historic Districts!