The new area designation could be a response to the preservation of some of Houston’s historic districts.

Lucio Vasquez/Houston Public Media

The city of Houston is trying to find another way to preserve the history of some of its neighborhoods. The city’s Department of Planning and Development is proposing the city to add a so-called conservation area to its Conservation Ordinance.

Currently, the City may designate areas as Historic or Heritage Districts, but for some communities, these requirements may be difficult to meet. Margaret Wallace Brown, director of city planning, told Houston Matters that conservation gives communities a voice when it comes to developing their neighborhoods.

“We’re talking about the ability of a neighborhood to determine what’s important to them, and then the city can regulate that based on community input,” she said.

Conservation areas provide areas with an easier path to protecting the area’s character, which would not be the case if the area were trying to obtain a historic designation.

To designate an area as historic district requires community members to receive a set of properties they wish to designate, and at least 50% of the properties must be designated as contributing to the neighborhood itself. Then 67% of property owners must agree to the designation of the proposed area.

“It’s really difficult to get that kind of ownership response, especially in areas where there can be lower ownership and higher rents,” Wales Brown said.

Houston has 22 historic districts including Houston Heights, Old Sixth Ward and Cortland Place.

Wallace Brown said that when it comes to historic districts, there are a lot of issues with what is regulated. Any improvements made to the appearance of the structure must go through a process with the planning department. Conservation counties are more about what community members want to regulate.

Under the proposed area, community members can choose between 19 elements to regulate that range from weight, minimum lot size, lot width, lot height, front, side, and back setbacks, building height, significant building demolition, driveways, or architectural style. .

“The beauty of protected areas is that they are adapted to the needs of society,” said Wales Brown. “Of these 19 potential things that they could regulate, the community will choose five, six, or whatever they want – and each conservation area in the city is different from the historic areas that regulate the same thing in each area.”

Wallace Brown said many of Houston’s older communities no longer have restrictions on activism. Thus, a protected area designation gives them the opportunity to determine what is important to them in their area without having to go through legal restrictions or homeowner association requirements.

She said areas like Independence Heights and Freedmen’s City, which is also a heritage area, are good examples of areas that would benefit from conservation status.

Heritage areas are areas where communities can protect the right of way. This allows neighborhoods to work with the city to approve art installations and take care of streets and sidewalks.

“There are other communities that are historical in nature, but there may not be much material left in them,” she said. Residents can go to LetsTalkHouston.org send comments. The City Council will vote on Wednesday to set a date for a public hearing where residents can weigh in on the proposed appointment.