Recommendation 20240501-026: FY 2024-25 Budget — original pdf

Recommendation

HISTORIC LANDMARK COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240501-26 Date: May 1, 2024 Subject: FY 2024-25 Budget Recommenda�on Mo�oned by: Featherston Seconded by: Heimsath Recommenda�on Alloca�on of funds to the Historic Preserva�on Office. See atached document. Descrip�on of Recommenda�on to Council Recommenda�on by the Historic Landmark Commission to Council regarding the FY 2024-25 budget. Ra�onale See atached document. For: Alvarez, Featherston, Koch, Evans, McWhorter, Grogan, Rubio, Larosche Absent: Cas�llo, Dudley, Heimsath ___________________ Sam Fahnestock Staff liaison, Historic Landmark Commission Vote Against: Abstain: Vote: 8-0 Atest: 1  FY 2024-25 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION Historic Landmark Commission Recommenda�on 20240501-26 WHEREAS the City of Aus�n Historic Landmark Commission was established in 1974 to promote historic preserva�on ac�vi�es in Aus�n and advise the Aus�n City Council on maters related to historic preserva�on; and WHEREAS the purpose of the Historic Landmark Commission is to prepare and periodically revise an inventory of the structures and areas that may be eligible for designa�on as historic landmarks, most recently completed in 1984; prepare, review, and propose amendments to a citywide Historic Preserva�on Plan, last adopted in 1981; and review requests to establish or remove a historic designa�on and make recommenda�ons on the requests to the Land Use Commission; and WHEREAS the Historic Landmark Commission and Historic Preserva�on Office seek to respond to 21st- century challenges with improved and new policies, programs, and tools, including transparent and accessible historic review processes, inclusive community outreach, and incen�ves that meet both historic preserva�on and equity goals; and WHEREAS the Na�onal Alliance of Preserva�on Commissions (NAPC) provides technical support and manages an informa�on network to help local commissions accomplish their preserva�on objec�ves, and membership is $150 per commission member; and WHERAS historic surveys are a vital resource WHEREAS the Historic Landmark Commission created a 26-member community working group, the Preserva�on Plan Working Group, on June 28, 2021, to develop a dra� of an equity-based historic preserva�on plan between July 2021 and June 2022 (phase 1 of the planning process); and WHEREAS the Preserva�on Plan Working Group worked diligently to complete the dra� plan during monthly mee�ngs, drawing on research from na�onal best prac�ces, employing an equity evalua�on framework, and incorpora�ng feedback from a community heritage survey, focus groups, a Technical Advisory Group of City staff, and the Preserva�on Plan Commitee of the Historic Landmark Commission; and WHEREAS phase 2 of the planning process includes extensive community engagement around the dra� preserva�on plan, with community members, organiza�onal and ins�tu�onal stakeholders, board and commission members, and others invited to learn about the topics, priori�ze recommenda�ons, iden�fy gaps, iden�fy poten�al partners for implementa�on, and es�mate costs for priority recommenda�ons before the plan is presented to City Council for adop�on; and 2 WHEREAS Council allocated $160,000 to phase 2 of the Equity-Based Preserva�on Plan in the FY2022-23 budget, including s�pends for approximately 12 community ambassadors, and con�nued that support in FY2023-24; and WHEREAS the community ambassadors play important roles in facilita�ng effec�ve, crea�ve outreach to priori�ze communi�es and groups that have been historically marginalized in public decision-making and historic preserva�on ac�vi�es, such as communi�es of color, people with disabili�es, LGBTQIA+ people, low-income households, and renters; and WHEREAS the community ambassador program for the preserva�on plan is modeled on the successful Community Climate and Rain to River community ambassador programs in the Office of Sustainability and the Watershed Protec�on Department; and WHEREAS the Office of Sustainability and the Watershed Protec�on Department have required a full- �me staff member to coordinate their community ambassador programs, and strongly recommend this type of robust support for ambassadors when advising other programs; and WHEREAS con�nuing broad, inclusive community engagement a�er the plan is adopted will be essen�al to ensure that the Equity-Based Preserva�on Plan is able to meet its vision to “ac�vely engage communi�es in protec�ng and sharing important places and stories… [to] use the past to create a shared sense of belonging and to shape an equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and economically vital future for all”; and WHEREAS primary goals of the dra� plan require meaningful, ongoing community engagement, including telling Aus�n’s full history, recognizing cultural heritage, engaging communi�es equitably, and engaging new partners; and WHEREAS the Historic Preserva�on Office does not have the staff capacity to provide the recommended full-�me support for the community ambassador program or con�nuing community engagement priori�es in the plan; and WHEREAS neighborhood surveys are an invaluable tool used by the commission to iden�fy areas and proper�es worthy of historic zoning, and addi�onal funding to facilitate surveys in previously unsurveyed areas of Aus�n that may contain historic resources would greatly benefit both the Historic Landmark Commission and the City of Aus�n as a whole. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Historic Landmark Commission recommends that the Council allocate funds to the Planning Department to con�nue to support the development and implementa�on of the Equity-Based Preserva�on Plan via a staff posi�on to coordinate the community ambassador program and support other community engagement, and allocate $1,650 dollars for NAPC Memberships for each of the members of the Historic Landmark Commission, and increase funding for surveys of poten�ally historic neighborhoods and proper�es. 3