The Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission ("HAHC") voted at its January 2016 meeting to deny a Certificate of Appropriateness (“COA”), which is treated as a permit, for the alteration and relocation of a house at 107 East 9th Street in the Houston Heights South neighborhood. Due to the house's status as a contributing structure, which means it is significant to the integrity of the historic district, the approval of the HAHC is needed prior to issuing a COA to alter and relocate a structure pursuant to, respectively, Sections 33-241 and 33-243 of the Code of Ordinances, Houston, Texas (the “Code”), cited below. The HAHC found that the application did not meet the criteria of either section, and voted to deny the COA. The Historic Preservation Appeals Board (“HPAB”) upheld the decision of the HAHC at its March 2016 meeting. The applicant is now appealing the decision of the HPAB to City Council as provided by Section 33-253(e) of the Code, cited below. The appeal is governed by Rule 12 of Section 2-2 of the Code, cited below.
The application proposed to elevate an existing historic, contributing structure and construct a garage below it, turning the historic structure into a garage apartment above the newly constructed garage. It also proposed to relocate the contributing structure five feet to the west, and remove the original porch and front door opening to accommodate the alterations.
The Planning Department (the “Department”) opposes the alteration of the structure. Their position is that raising the residence nearly ten feet to construct a garage, and removing key features such as the front door opening and the porch, destroy the historical character of the single-family residence and significantly alters the relationship of the structure to the street. To alter a contributing structure, the application must satisfy several criterias under the City's Code of Ordinances.
The record can be found using the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wxxvbeg9nq9z9x1/Notice%20of%20Appeal%20%28TBK%20hand%20delivered%20it%20042916%29154656.PDF?dl=0