Spreading the word: Preservation Plan Working Group
The Historic Landmark Commission recently created a Preservation Plan Working Group to draft a new historic preservation plan focused on community heritage and equity. The new plan will replace Austin’s 40-year-old preservation plan and include recommendations for historic preservation policies, tools, and programmatic changes at the City level. Local businesses—especially legacy businesses and businesses in historic buildings—have been identified as important stakeholders who will participate in the planning process in some way.
The Preservation Plan Working Group application deadline is June 14 and updates will be on the project website. The working group will include 20-30 people who will meet 10-12 times between July 2021 and June 2022. After the group provides the draft historic preservation plan to the Historic Landmark Commission, broad community engagement and feedback will be collected in a second phase of the project (expected to happen in 2022-23).
If people are interested in local heritage and improving Austin’s historic preservation program, this is an exciting opportunity to get involved. They are seeking Austinites from a variety of backgrounds, diverse cultural and racial identities, and all geographic parts of the city; no formal experience with historic preservation is required. The working group will tackle some pressing questions:
· Whose heritage is celebrated in Austin’s historic properties? What stories are missing?
· Who benefits from municipal historic preservation policies, programs, and incentives?
· How can historic preservation tools help address affordability and displacement?
Compensation of $25/hour is available for working group members who are not being paid to participate as part of their jobs. Participation is expected to take 40-50 hours over 12 months, including preparation for meetings. While some meetings will be held virtually, the City of Austin commits to ensuring that technology access is not a barrier to participation.
The application deadline is Monday, June 14, at 11:59 p.m. Apply online or call (512) 974-3393 to get a paper application.
Details
May 27, 2021
Housing Authority of the City of Austin