District 1 - Misael Ramos
What is your favorite historic building or legacy business in your district, and why?
My favorite historic building is Victory East Grill, also known as the Victory Grill. This venerable establishment was once a stop on the Chitlin Circuit, hosting acts like B.B. King, Gatemouth Brown, W.C. Clark, Billie Holiday, and James Brown. The Victory Grill is a monument to Black history and culture in our district & the city at large. The fact that it’s still standing and has transformed into a new space for Black residents of this generation to enjoy is an awesome testament to our resilience and creativity. I proudly launched my first Block Walk from the Historic Victory Grill and was proud to tell the story of this storied venue to the community of volunteers, both new Austinites and long-time residents alike.
In 2024, Austin City Council adopted the Equity-Based Historic Preservation Plan to replace Austin’s 1981 historic preservation plan with a more inclusive, community-oriented vision for the City’s preservation program. Its proposed policies, programs, and tools aim to protect Austin’s unique heritage and shape an equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and economically vital future for all. The plan's 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 the budget allocations needed to support them, to ensure that the future of preservation in Austin is proactive, collaborative, and accessible to all? Please explain.
I emphatically support the plan's recommended policy changes. I proudly served on the initial working group for the Equity-Based HPP & worked on significant parts of it. Our team sculpted some really amazing strategies, recommendations, and tools that if enacted would well serve constituents not only in D1 but across our city. Some of these concepts are indeed referenced below, including the legacy business preservation fund and the creative reuse fund, which would help maintain established attractions and reimagine historic spaces respectively. We can engage the newer generations of our communities in the vital history of this place we all call home.
Historic places play a significant role in Austin’s economy. South Congress, the Paramount Theatre, and Barton Springs are beloved to locals and tourists alike, as are legacy businesses like Broken Spoke, Cisco’s, and the Continental Club. These places support local jobs and local dollars in addition to embodying our local heritage. They define our identity and make Austin a destination in so many ways.
If elected, how would you leverage historic places to generate economic benefits for Austin?
When planning to run, Historic Preservation and Equitable Economic Development were top of mind priorities for me. Currently Preservation Austin does an amazing job with their “passport” that they do every year in which they highlight various businesses, historic landmarks, neighborhoods and historic buildings.
I believe there is rich history & heritage all throughout Austin that, if cultivated with care and intention, could allow our City to become an attractive destination as a big city that still has a small-town feel, rooted in history and teeming with legacy attractions that make people want to visit us, with revenue going directly to Austin residents.
In our neighborhood, RWHC, we are strategizing to create an attractive hub for history aficionados to visit, experience rare architecture, and learn about the ongoing struggle for civil rights and economic equity.
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?
I would absolutely support the creation of a similar program for the City of Austin. I would work to provide financial resources that can support legacy businesses and ensure staff are paid a thriving wage and afford the city they help make special. Our legacy businesses are economic engines and cultural hubs, and their continued survival is important to me and many D1 constituents. I’ve been inspired by the efforts of San Antonio activists and leaders, and I would be happy to collaborate with Council Members in San Antonio, some of whom will be joining me later this month for community outreach in District 1.
Preservation Austin, Austin Infill Coalition, and AIA Austin partnered on a Preservation Bonus that City Council adopted as part of HOME Phase 1 in 2023. The bonus exchanges increased development entitlements for preserving single-family homes built before 1961 to preserve more naturally affordable, historic-aged homes while supporting density. Since the adoption of this tool, however, fewer than 10 residential infill projects have used the Preservation Bonus. Research conducted by Cedar shows that expanding entitlements for Preservation Bonus projects, such as increased impervious cover and allowing four units per lot, could generate 10x as many housing units as the current bonus allows, and save more historic-aged houses from demolition (see report HERE).
If elected, would you support increasing entitlements for Preservation Bonus projects to preserve existing housing and support Austin’s affordability goals? Why or why not?
As a long-time preservationist, I’ve prioritized cultivating our connection to history, affordability in our neighborhoods, and putting equity first. That’s why during the “HOME” debate I advocated for density that is truly affordable and distributed throughout our City in an equitable way.
I was skeptical about the effectiveness of the Preservation Bonus planned for “HOME” Phase 1 and spoke earlier this year at a Teach-In about the results of “HOME” for historic and affordable neighborhoods, noting that there were only a few projects that used the Preservation Bonus.
I support increasing entitlements if there are meaningful affordability requirements and preservation requirements, with follow-up for enforcement.
Historic resource surveys inventory historic neighborhoods and make recommendations on buildings and districts 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 this survey, this historic district may not have been possible.
If elected, will you support annual funding for historic surveys and the City’s preservation office? Please explain your answer.
Yes! I would absolutely support the annual funding for historic surveys! As the President of the Rogers-Washington-Holy Cross neighborhood, I am proud to have led among my neighbors to win historic district designation. Annual funding for historic surveys will help to maintain preservation in the District and keep communities rooted in place. The City’s preservation office must be properly supported in order to continue the important work of funding the communities most at risk of displacement.
Local historic districts, established by City Council through historic zoning overlays, are one of the most important preservation tools available to protect Austin’s historic and cultural resources. The City of Austin’s existing historic resource surveys include recommendations for designating dozens of new local historic districts across our city. Proactive zoning efforts for historic districts are the most effective way to protect heritage in a city changing as rapidly as ours. Before 2021, a simple majority of City Council votes was required to establish a local historic district as long as 51 percent of all property owners within a proposed district’s boundary approved. Since 2021, however, state law requires a supermajority vote by Council to designate a local historic district if just one property owner within the proposed boundaries objects. Austin currently has only 8 local historic districts and has not designated a district since state law changed.
If elected, would you support the proactive designation of local historic districts that the City’s historic resource surveys identify as priorities? Would you do so even if a minority of property owners object? Why or why not?
Yes, if the majority of the residents support this designation, and I believe that this is a powerful tool for municipal equity and historic preservation. In my experience, households may have the right to opt-out as a contributing home to the historic district where applicable. As with all big decisions, there ought be a community process to engage folks & see if pertinent authorities can address any objections & bring dissenters into the fold.
When my neighborhood was going through our historic designation process, we brought neighbors in by organizing community events and engaging with our neighbors, meetings around neighbors’ coffee tables, and people expressed their concerns and sometimes didn’t want to be a part of it, but with this community process, they could be a part of group buy-in and connections in the neighborhood, and sometimes change their minds.
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 am a member of the African American Cultural Heritage District as part of the leadership for the organization. I believe that we need to be spearheading the creation and maintenance of historic districts to promote cultural heritage and ensure that these cultures are not lost to time. District 1 was once a 32% Black District and due to discriminatory policies and displacement dynamics, African Americans have been pushed out of the city as a whole. Now only making up a small portion of the District, we must prioritize the historic preservation of the community.