District 7 - Gary Bledsoe
What is your favorite historic place in your district and why?
Parts of Milwood (where I live) are properties first owned by formerly enslaved people, including Rubin Hancock (upon emancipation, he took the last name Hancock from Judge John Hancock). Rubin and others who purchased these properties were from a plantation owned by Judge Hancock which is now Rosedale. The St. Stephens Missionary Baptist Church, near my home, was formed by the Rev. Jacob Fontaine in 1887 to provide a place for these African Americans to worship and is a registered National Historical Site.
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
The Equity-Based Preservation Plan is a well written plan that delves deeply into the Austin Community and had broad citizen input. The Plan is designed to more accurately tell our history in an equitable manner and encourages input and participation from citizens. This is important to potential collaboration and understanding between Austin's various communities. There may be provisions of the plan that may be inconsistent with parts of other ordinances or plans relating to land use, but this one is the fairest and most equitable historically, and will have the added benefit of providing some guardrails against environmentally risky construction, and preserving more history while potentially providing for more affordable homes. The Plan as proposed should be adopted and considered superior to another adopted policies that may be inconsistent with it.
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
It is important to assess the impact of each entitlement associated with any Preservation Bonus project, but they could be helpful. We know that early data indicates that increased development entitlements under HOME 1 have not resulted in preservation of single-family homes, nor affordable apartments being preserved or built. Austin has lost much of its reasonably priced housing in the last 4 years. In 2021, our District 7 lost the most housing to demolition, 125 permits representing 20% of the demolition permits granted to destroy a total of 622 units city-wide.
The cited Cedar "research" report relied upon by some real estate and developer demonstrates nothing but speculation and in fact, admits the report's conclusions are unproven. See Disclaimers on last page, "The analysis generated through Cedar's software application, including any parcel count, unit projections, development scenarios, or other outputs...are for preliminary informational purposes only. The Outputs are not to be construed as professional advice [or] official documentation...The user of these Outputs acknowledges and agrees that: 1. The Outputs are provided "as-is" without any warranties...5. Cedar's software application may not consider all factors or potential issues relevant to a site, and Cedar does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or applicability of the Outputs..."
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
Historic Districts make Austin more interesting. I appreciate the effort and dedication that preservationists contribute, and they should not be ignored by the city council.
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
In most instances, this would be a preferable practice. A family now involved in such a challenge contacted me, and my interaction with that family suggests we should also review the processes now being utilized by the City to determine how it will handle such efforts to protect historical structures. We must do more to educate our citizens about history and its importance and all the history that they have in their lives every day.
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
As part of a larger and more comprehensive plan, I support these efforts. State law is an impediment, of course. Growth, preservation of history and affordability are all potentially compatible if we are intentional about getting this done, instead of playing politics.
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
I'm in favor of promoting Legacy Businesses, but I'm not sure about whether financial resources should be used to help them directly since that could be deemed as a gift of public funds. We can educate our citizens about the people and businesses who help make up our unique community and provide opportunities for these businesses consistent with state and federal constitutional law.
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.
NO
I'm not likely to override a property owner's objections, but saying there may never be an instance would not be an appropriate response at this time. When a person purchases a significant historical legacy property, awareness of its importance is known. Demolitions by speculators are putting profit over our commonwealth and the shared history and stories of the people who built Austin. A property would be significant not only for its architecture or design, but also for its association with important events or persons.
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?
The council passed "The People's Plan" in 2018 as a concept but has never enacted its principles. An important part of that was to expand the use of Neighborhood Conservation Combining Districts and Historic Districts to preserve Austin's historically black and brown neighborhoods and I would support that. We must also look at similar action for other ethnic and racial communities while doing so with an equity lens.
I want to help create Good People's Roundtables to recognize our diversity in the truest sense of the word. Building relationships brings down barriers. As a young traveler in Europe in a private train car with a man from El Salvador, two women from Belgium who spoke 14 languages, a man from Poland who also spoke Russian, and I spoke English and some Spanish, we had such a great and positive time enjoying each other's company. Roundtable gatherings help build communities like that.