District 7 - Todd Shaw
What is your favorite historic place in your district and why?
The Air-Conditioned Village is my favorite. Although sadly, the district and none of the homes received historic designation. Because I worked at Austin Energy on the On-Site Energy Resources team in charge of constructing chilled water plants that support air conditioning of many of the buildings in Downtown, and in the Mueller and Domain developments, I always wonder about how different Austin was before air conditioning. While serving on the Allandale Neighborhood Association, the chair lived in one of the 22 homes and proposed the idea of making the remaining homes a historic district. I love reading the accounts of the families that were the test subjects and how their quality of life improved dramatically with air conditioning. Now it something we take for granted. My son who is now an interning architect in New Orleans had this article accepted into Atlas Obscura. I guess I had some positive influence on him.
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
East Austin has experienced rapid gentrification and many buildings that are important to preserving our BIPOC community's history have been demolished. As we increase our housing density, we need to pause and make sure we understand the historic importance of what we are about to erase before it is gone. My family loved to explore all the wonderful work of John Saunders Chase, but there are so many other buildings that are important to the Austin's story.
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?
YES
I was the Planning Commission Chair and served on the working group that was involved with crafting the Preservation Bonus language that was passed on to Council. I voted in favor of Preservation Bonus and helped get a majority of Commissioners to also vote in favor. I would explore other development entitlements so that there are more incentives options. For example, in flood prone areas, increased impervious cover may be not be a viable incentive.
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
I am a data person. We have done a very poor job in identifying the historic significance of buildings and districts. This needs to be a top priority as we decide which areas to add more density.
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
If San Antonio can do this, surely Austin can pass similar ordinances. As an environmental engineer that created recycling programs at Austin Energy for over 20 years, I am a strong advocate for adding to structures instead of demolition. We also need stronger requirements for recycling demolition debris.
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
We need to ramp up the research to identify these historic areas ahead of time and zoning cases. While on Planning Commission, often the information regarding the historic significant was just brought to light as a result of the zoning case. With any new land code ordinances, we need to already have these areas mapped out and create specific development requirements for Historic Districts.
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
This would be a great way to attract visitors to Austin. This works for San Francisco and San Antonio. As people visit this great City, we can direct them to buildings that tell the Austin story.
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
As a Planning Commissioner so many of these cases came before the Commission and I always enjoyed hearing the history of the occupants. However, the architectural design can also be a reason for historic zoning. I really try to make sure that historic justification can meet the requirements in the code. Too often, I saw the cost for repairs weigh too heavily in the decision to zone the structure as historic. This again, points to the need to continue surveying our City to identify those structures that are significant.
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?
We need to increase the budget to focus on surveying our neighborhoods to identify those with historic significance. With the data, we will set ourselves up for success and have information available to the communities.