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HISTORIC PRESERVATION APPEALS BOARD (HPAB)

Announcement: Beginning in May, all proceedings of the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission, Houston Preservation Appeals Board will be conducted in person only.

All meetings will adhere to previously stated schedule and location, but there will no longer be a virtual Microsoft TEAMS option available for the public to join or address the Commission. Anyone wanting to provide comments may continue to do so in person or via email, phone or mail. To watch a live broadcast, please visit www.houstontx.gov/htv.

Board Meetings

HPAB/HAHC meeting today has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date

Historic Office of Preservation Board and Commission Training
Thursday, April 25 at 2:30 p.m.

The Houston Architectural and Historical Commission (HAHC) and the Historic Preservation Appeals Board (HPAB) will conduct this meeting in-person at 611 Walker, 6th floor conference room, Houston, TX.

Current Agenda

Call to Order and Roll Call by Chairs

A. Welcome – Interim Director Jennifer Ostlind

B. Houston Office of Preservation Comments - Roman McAllen, HPO and Team

C. Training for Board Members and Commissioners: Ethics, Procedural, Governance, and Operational Matters Kim Mickelson, City Attorney’s Office

Ethics and conflicts of interest
Open government requirements
Changes to the historic program and procedures
Rules of procedure for Commission and Board
Scope of Commission and Board authority and relationship

D. Comments from HAHC and HPAB Members

E. Public Comment

F. Adjournment

The Houston Architectural and Historic Commission and the Historic Preservation Appeals Board each reserve the right to convene in Executive Session as authorized by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas Gov’t Code Chapter 551, under any applicable exception thereto, including but not limited to Sec. 551.071, Consultation with Attorney.

Public Comments

The public may address the Historic Board on agenda items. Please submit comments or sign up to speak at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. All comments are made part of the public meeting record.

Submit comments on an item via email to historicpreservation@houstontx.gov.
You may also call the Historic staff at 832-393-6556. A staff member will take your comments, which will be read and included in the public record.
The Appellant will be allowed to speak first and is allowed five minutes for an opening presentation. All other speakers will be called on in the order of sign up and can speak for one minute. See agenda for speaker guidelines.

Exhibits

If you have materials or graphic information for the Historic Board to consider, submit it via email to historicpreservation@houstontx.gov 24 hours in advance of the scheduled meeting for it to be included in the final agenda packet.

About the Board

The Historic Preservation Appeals Board (HPAB) is a 5-member board that hears appeals of decisions by the Houston Archaeological & Historical Commission (HAHC).

An applicant may appeal the decision of the HAHC by filing a written notice of appeal within 10 days of the HAHC decision (for demolitions, between 90-120 days after the HAHC decision). The written notice of appeal must include the grounds for the appeal and any supplemental material the appellant wishes the Board to review. The HPAB will not consider new information introduced at the hearing itself. Please see the adopted HPAB Procedural Rules (.pdf).

An email to the Planning & Development Department Houston Office of Preservation (HOP) staff is sufficient as written notice. Once an appeal request is received, staff schedules the hearing within 45 days, and notifies all parties of the date and time. The appellant is required to post a public notice sign on the property no later than 10 days prior to the hearing. See sign requirements (.pdf).

The HPAB may find in favor of the appellant, or uphold the decision of HAHC. In order to preserve the right to further appeal to City Council, the appellant may choose to hire a court reporter at the applicant’s expense.

Board Members