Our Work
Preservation Austin exists to empower Austinites to shape a more inclusive, resilient, and meaningful community culture through preservation. The organization’s Advocacy Committee engages in proactive policy development and coalition building and recommends advocacy issues to the board of directors. Such recommendations include annual policy priorities, which the board adopts at the beginning of each fiscal year, along with case-by-case preservation issues that arise over time.
2023-2024 Advocacy Priorities
Underrepresented Heritage
Focus efforts on historic sites reflecting under-represented groups including, but not limited to, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, the LGBTQIA community, and women. The goal is to better tell the full story of Austin’s diverse history and advocate for saving and interpreting the sites that tell that reflect that history. For example, only 47 of the 629 City of Austin Landmarks honor African American heritage. Data shows that preservation and funding of historic areas can benefit women and minority-owned businesses and slow the effects of gentrification and displacement.
Legacy Businesses
Austin’s legacy businesses are essential to our city’s culture and identity, and the need to protect and uplift them has never been more urgent. In the last several years, many of Austin’s most iconic businesses have shuttered due to economic and development pressures, with others expected to follow in the near future––this list includes Hills Cafe, Threadgills, Dry Creek Cafe, Dirty Martin’s, Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds, and Nau’s Enfield Drug, among others. Too often, traditional preservation policy fails to recognize beloved community anchors for their cultural significance, as many do not qualify for historic designation. Model cities such as San Francisco, San Antonio, and nearby San Marcos have adopted programs to protect and support the legacy businesses most vital to their city’s identity. Following their example, this priority aims to identify, uplift, and create new tools to preserve and sustain legacy businesses citywide and ensure they remain vital cultural landmarks for generations to come.
Preservation Policies
This priority encompasses ongoing and forthcoming policy efforts impacting preservation at the City and State level. This includes:
Continued advocacy, monitoring, and collaboration around the Equity-Based Historic Preservation Plan
Policy recommendations for the piecemeal rewrite of the Land Development Code, including a new Preservation Incentive
Advocating for the adoption of the Historic Design Standards
Developing educational and outreach tools and materials on preservation policy basics for neighborhoods and the development/real estate community
Bill monitoring during the 88th Texas State Legislative Session
