Teardowns Prompt Historic Preservation Effort in San Antonio

Alamo Heights is taking steps to protect its historic properties, launching an initiative to establish a preservation program for residential and commercial structures amid a trend of teardowns.

The town’s officials are in the early stages of drafting a historic preservation framework that would introduce permits to designating properties as historic, protect local landmarks and allow the city council to create historic districts, the San Antonio Business Journal reported. The initiative aims to discourage demolitions that alter the character of the affluent midtown enclave.

Alamo Heights, a suburb that lies entirely within San Antonio, would hire a historic preservation officer and form a review board to evaluate preservation cases.

The effort stems, in part, from a growing trend of longtime homes being torn down and replaced with modern structures that don’t always align with the surrounding neighborhood, City Manager Buddy Kuhn said.

The suburb’s ability to regulate development is limited, making preservation efforts more challenging, he said.

A notable example came last year when residents packed a city council meeting in hopes of preventing the demolition of a home on Estes Avenue. Despite their efforts, the teardown proceeded.

Kuhn identified the Cottage District, a cluster of a few hundred homes west of Alamo Heights City Hall, as a potential candidate for historic district designation. Under the draft plan, at least 51 percent of homeowners in a proposed district would need to support the designation before council approval.

Community engagement will play a key role in shaping the final ordinance, with surveys and public input guiding next steps, Kuhn said. A work session is scheduled for next month, and final adoption of the plan would be further down the road.

— Andrew Terrell