Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br />June 5, 2003 <br />Page 9 <br />have access to state and federal Architects who give them a lot of information. As <br />they are dealing with historic properties, those things can be talked through, and <br />planned ahead before they start trying to get building permits to do things. <br />Councilwoman Neeley asked if this includes the commercial downtown property. <br />Mrs. Wilson said that was correct. She said that this is the overlay district as it is <br />proposed and it corresponds to a district that was recognized in 1985 by the <br />National Register when a historical survey was completed and it is already <br />considered a National Register Historic District. She said they are simply <br />incorporating it into the local Code of Ordinances so that they can protect what is <br />there. <br />Councilman Guest wanted to know if there was anything like a flow chart to <br />simplify the process. Ms. Wilson said they could create something like that. <br />Councilman Guest said that would eliminate a lot confusion. She said they could <br />do that very quickly and get that out as they have been talking about having a town <br />meeting format sort of thing for everybody that is in that district to come back. <br />Ms. Wilson informed the Council that everyone in the district has been sent <br />certified letters of the hearings. <br />Arvin Starrett, 629 S. Church, came forward stating that the subject at hand is <br />simply one of entrepreneurial opportunity and economic development for our city. <br />He said that it is an opportunity that is rooted in our past but looks very much to <br />our future. They are talking about a product. He described historic preservation <br />as a product where you live or work, as a product that you drive by every day, and, <br />in most cases, a product that usually is not organized or delivered to the consumer. <br />The economic benefits of this historic preservation, in particular, is both the public <br />policy side and related business and development opportunities in an industry that <br />is called Heritage Tourism. He said that recently the Texas House of <br />Representatives identified the Heritage Tourism Program of the Texas Historical <br />Commission as the most significant economic development program in rural Texas <br />for the past decade. Cities in Texas that have an active historic preservation <br />program can increase property values by as much as 20%. Private property owners <br />invest more than one hundred and seventy-two million dollars in historic building <br />