Demoliton Requests – Historic, NCDs, and Vulnerable Neighborhoods

All parts of our City are at risk for demolition whether protected with a historic or NCD zoning designation, or not.  The recent tactic by some property owners is that all demolition requests are plausible regardless of how ordinances are written, the significance of the structure, or impact on the community.  As a result, we are at immediate risk of losing historically significant landmarks, historically significant neighborhoods, and affordable neighborhoods

THE BENEFITS OF CONTROLLING DEMOLITIONS:

• Maintain livability, affordability, and stability of neighborhoods through renewal rather than large-scale redevelopment;
• Maintain unique character of San Antonio a city of identifiable and relatable neighborhoods

• Preserve historically significant buildings and places whether or not they've been designated by the city or not;
• Preserve neighborhood character and development patterns to maintain unique neighborhood qualities;
• Preserve existing structures and neighborhoods as affordable housing; and
• Preserve embodied energy, and reduce unsustainable resource depletion and disposal through structure rehabilitation.

posted October 25

THE COMMITTEE INTENDS TO PRODUCE THE FOLLOWING DELIVERABLES:

• White paper describing the problem and the recommended solutions to share knowledge with neighborhoods.
• Community brochure (info w/ references, neighborhood how-to)
• T1 letter templates for  individual or organizations’ position statements or communications to commissions, committees, councilpersons, etc.

The committee has created a process flowchart for demolitions.

This "road map" graphic is part of OHP's HDRC Training Video for demos and designations but we use this as a simple graphic to show what that process is and how community can participate.