The Historical District designation of these two areas brings questions for many home buyers and some people new to the community. 

The ordinance applies to the alteration, restoration, construction, relocation or demolition of any building within a historical district.  It does not affect ordinary maintenance and repair of a building, paint colors, the interior of the building, or the use to be made of the building. 

If you own a piece of property within the designated Historic District, it means that if you want to make a significant change to the property, you need to discuss the changes with the historic preservation officer (currently Randy Pace - email: randy.pace@cityofhouston.net) to assure compliance with the ordinance and apply to the Houston Archeological and Historical Commission (HAHC - an eleven member body appointed by the Mayor and City Council) for a Certificate of Appropriateness.  There is no fee for this certificate.

The goal here is to educate the home owner on what the expectations of the neighborhood are so that the change would be compatible with the historical character of the neighborhood.  If the owner does not want to follow the recommendations of the HAHC, they can wait 90 days from the time the application is filed and then perform their work. 

Advantages of doing the work within the recommendations of the HAHC include a reduction in the City of Houston property tax portion of your Harris County Appraisal District tax bill for the improvement portion of the project for 15 years.  As a designated City of Houston historic building, your property will be exempt from compliance with Energy Code requirements in the Building Code in addition to a 50% discount on building permit fees.

For more information on this topic, please visit http://www.houstonheights.org/historicdistrictmaps.htm.  Please note - as of now, Jan. 26^th, 2010 - the maps you will see at this link are outdated and the maps I have included above are current and accurate.  The Houston Heights Association is in the process of updating their website, at which time this link may or may not work.
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