Mayor - Carmen Llanes Pulido
What is your favorite historic place in your district and why?
The AGE of Central Texas building. It tells a lot of stories, including that of a confederate widows home and a state hospital for many grown survivors of Rubella. Since being purchased by the Kocurek family and donated to AGE, it serves as a nonprofit office rental space to my organization, GAVA, as well as VSA, Council on At-Risk Youth, and many other important nonprofits. The heritage trees, central location, stories of haunting, and deeply affordable rents show us how important old buildings are to our community health and the diversity of women and people of color owned businesses, today, regardless of the history of its origins.
The City of Austin will soon adopt a new Equity-Based Historic Preservation Plan to replace Austin’s 1981 historic preservation plan with an inclusive, community-oriented process and outcome. Its proposed policies, programs, and tools will help the City Council, Historic Landmark Commission, City departments, and partners address challenges and support thriving communities. The plan is set to be adopted by Council later this year, and its future success will rely on buy-in from Council to execute its recommendations.
If elected, would you support the plan’s recommended policy changes and budget allocations to ensure that the future of preservation in Austin is proactive, collaborative, and accessible to all? Please explain.
YES
I would support the plan and appreciate the efforts to bring a greater equity lens and human-centered approach to historic preservation. I am, however, concerned about the conflicting incentives and lack of protection of recent changes to the land development code that do not respect the goals and existing rules of historic preservation. As mayor I would champion our historic and cultural preservation goals and amend current policies or renegotiate them if they are overturned, to achieve a balance of allowing new development while stewarding a balance of preservation for existing buildings and landmarks, that centers people and culture.
Research shows that older, smaller homes are more naturally affordable for renters and owners than new construction. Last year, Preservation Austin, Austin Infill Coalition, and AIA Austin partnered on a new Preservation Bonus that was adopted as a part of HOME Phase 1. The bonus exchanges increased development entitlements for preserving single-family homes built before 1961. Research conducted by Cedar shows that expanding entitlements for Preservation Bonus projects to include increased impervious cover and an additional developable unit can generate 10x as many housing units as the current bonus allows (see report HERE).
If elected, would you support increasing entitlements for Preservation Bonus projects to maximize the effectiveness of the bonus, preserve existing housing, and support sustainability and affordability goals? Why or why not?
NO
I am wary of the Cedar modeling and the presumptions about zoning generating additional housing. There are myriad reasons why properties are developed or redeveloped or not developed at all. It’s important to remember that in our current code, prior to HOME 1&2, removal of compatibility standards, and ETOD plus its density bonuses, and DB90, we had capacity for 1.3 million more units. Most single family properties had the entitlements to build an ADU, but the process is cost prohibitive for most. This preservation bonus allows four units, which is highly exclusive as an entitlement to anyone without significant capital and credit to redevelop. I would rather see short term rentals limited or prohibited, at the very least, and more enforcement of our existing standards.
Historic resource surveys inventory historic neighborhoods and make recommendations for buildings and districts that are eligible for historic designation. Accurate and up-to-date surveys enable City staff, elected officials, and citizens alike to make decisions about which properties and neighborhoods ought to be protected. For example, in 2020 the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross neighborhood successfully became Austin's first local historic district dedicated exclusively to Black heritage. This effort relied on data gathered in the 2016 East Austin Historic Resource Survey to define the district's boundaries and identify contributing structures. Without the 2016 survey, this historic district may not have been possible.
If elected, will you support continued funding for surveys and the City’s preservation office? Will you honor the findings of these surveys by supporting historic zoning for individual landmarks and districts? Please explain your answer.
YES
Collecting our oral and written history for these neighborhoods as a critical part of preserving culture and learning from the past, so we can adapt to the future.
We know based on our research that between 2010 and the end of 2021, finalized residential demolitions per year rose from 271 to 622, an increase of 130%. These older buildings are often constructed with more sustainable materials than new buildings and provide more affordable housing than new construction. Rehabilitation rather than demolition of existing structures also reduces waste and is more sustainable. In 2020, construction and demolition debris accounted for approximately 25% of all waste produced in Travis County's three municipal solid waste landfills. Cities such as San Antonio and Portland have adopted deconstruction ordinances to slow demolitions and divert landfill waste.
If elected, would you support policy solutions that encourage sustainable building practices via preservation? How do you think our community can embrace this as part of our efforts to create a more sustainable and equitable Austin?
YES
I championed an affordability requirement for HOME, and took issue with the idea that an affordability requirement for home would be a “poison pill” to generating more housing; I actually think that it is a way of disincentivizing affordable housing being torn down. I think simply listening to people about the affordable rents that they currently pay in existing market affordable housing, especially rented, single-family homes and duplexes, can go along way and changing the conversation about affordable housing. Simply breaking this conversation down into monthly rental rates and tax bills makes it much more accessible to the general public and helps us to define the problem for we are solving.
Many Texas cities establish historic districts to protect their heritage by preventing demolitions and ensuring new construction is compatible with surrounding historic buildings. Dallas has 21 districts, Houston has 19, and San Antonio has 27, while Austin has only 8. The creation of new historic districts was made more difficult following the adoption of HB1474 by the Texas State Legislature in 2021, which requires a supermajority of Council to vote in favor of a local historic district if even one owner in the district objects.
Do you support the establishment of more Local Historic Districts to protect Austin’s historic neighborhoods? Why or why not?
YES
Anyone who has paid close attention to Austin’s historic preservation knows that there is unfortunately an imbalance in areas preserved east of I-35 and we still need more local tools and intentional programs and processes to increase the equity in our historic preservation.
In 2023 City Council officially proclaimed October as Legacy Business Month in honor of Preservation Austin’s inaugural Legacy Business Month passport program, which encourages Austinites to support participating businesses and broadly promotes their heritage. The city’s explosive growth has made protections and financial support for legacy businesses more important than ever. City governments in San Francisco and San Antonio have adopted ground-breaking legacy business programs to protect and support their cities’ legacy businesses through designation, education, and directly supporting businesses with financial resources.
If elected, would you support creating a similar program for the City of Austin? Why or why not?
YES
While I support this in theory, I also know that in reality, it is very difficult for most small business owners to access and navigate City programs, and it is almost impossible to keep them in place because of the rent increases they are facing. I would support this initiative, but I would also bring an anti-displacement and local preservation lens to our land of development code decisions so that we are not just thinking about displacement in terms of residential housing, but also in terms of small businesses.
Underrepresented Heritage is one of Preservation Austin’s Advocacy Priorities. East Austin continues to experience increased rates of displacement and demolition of historic places significant to its Black and Brown neighborhoods. Recently, we’ve advocated for historic zoning for properties in East Austin such as the Sinnigson House and 1500 E. 12th Street. Often, the designation of these properties is supported by our Historic Preservation Office, the Historic Landmark Commission, and Planning Commission, but fail at City Council due to a lack of supermajority votes needed to designate over an owner’s objections.
If elected, would you support designating properties over an owner’s objections? What is your threshold for determining if a property merits designation? Please explain.
YES
In some cases, I would support designation over an owner’s objections. Threshold for determining whether the property merits designation would include existing use, and whether the property is being used for affordable housing, as well as the financial constraints of the owner. I do think we need to be prepared to reevaluate the design standard requirements and limitations placed on an owner when designation is granted, and look for adaptations that might allow us to more equitably address objections while still preserving a property.
As a member of Austin City Council, what is one policy or initiative you would enact to ensure the preservation of our city’s historic and cultural heritage?
I would bring back priority to small area planning, wherein we can intentionally plan growth, new density, and other necessary change, while looking at a case by case basis at specific areas that we want to preserve, and making wise decisions about energy, conservation, affordability, public space, and historic preservation at the same time.