The San Marcos City Council might be looking at changes in the appeals process regarding certificates of appropriateness for historical properties owned by the city.
At its meeting Tuesday night, council held a discussion on options for changing the current Land Development Code, which states that the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is responsible for issuing certificates of appropriateness for the “construction, alteration, restoration, relocation or demolition of a structure within an historic district or at a local historic landmark” and that appeals of the HPC’s decisions are taken to the Zoning Board of Adjustments. There are no exceptions to this arrangement for city-owned structures or landmarks, meaning the city council has no place in the decision-making process or appeals process even if city property is involved.
“Y’all will recall that we were discussing the designation of … Cape’s Dam as being historical,” Mayor Jane Hughson said. “We were concerned about the appeals process. So it is possible, if we want to do that, to change the ordinance that allows appeals for city-owned projects to come to the city council and leave all other appeals as they are now.”
