PRESENTER: Presenter
Katie Totman, HPO
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SUBJECT: Title
HLC Case DM2022-4509: Determine whether the residential structure located at 664 S Seguin meets the historic landmark eligibility criteria in response to a demolition permit request.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning & Development Services
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: 5
APPLICABLE CRITERIA:
Sec. 66-56. Criteria for the designation of historic landmarks and districts.
A historic landmark or district may be designated if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
(1) Possesses significance in history, architecture, archeology, or culture.
(2) Is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of local, regional, state, or national history.
(3) Is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
(4) Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction.
(5) Represents the work of a master designer, builder, or craftsman.
(6) Represents an established and familiar visual feature of the neighborhood or city.
Sec. 66-60. Alteration certificate required for demolition.
A permit for the demolition of a historic landmark or property within a historic district, including secondary buildings and landscape features, shall not be granted by the (building inspector or other city official) without the review of a completed application for an alteration certificate by the commission, as provided for in sections 66-57, 66-58 and 66-59.
(1) Significant sites and structures. All applications for permits to demolish or move buildings, objects, sites, or structures not included under section above shall be referred to the city historic preservation officer for the purpose of determining whether or not the building, object, site, or structure may have historical, cultural, architectural, or archaeological significance.
(2) The city historic preservation officer shall make such determination within 30 days after receipt of the completed demolition permit application and shall notify the building official in writing. If the building, object, site, or structure is determined to have no cultural, historical, architectural, or archaeological significance, a demolition permit may be issued immediately, provided such application otherwise complies with all City Code requirements.
(3) If said building, object, site, or structure is determined by the city historic preservation officer to have historical significance, the demolition permit shall not be issued and the historic preservation officer shall make such information available to the historic landmark commission for review and recommendations as to whether it should be designated a historic landmark. If the commission concurs on the significance, the commission shall recommend to the city council that the building, object, site, or structure be designated, as appropriate, an exceptional or significant historic landmark.
(4) The procedures and criteria for designation in sections 66-54, 66-55, and 66-56 shall be followed for this type of designation.
(5) If the property owner objects to the designations, a three-fourths vote of the entire city council shall be required for historic designation of property in question.
FINDINGS:
a. A Demolition Review request was submitted to staff for the property located at 664 S Seguin. Staff reviewed the property and determined it potentially met Criteria 1 for landmark eligibility, which is: Possesses significance in history, architecture, archaeology, or culture.
b. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION: The building in question is a residential building with an elongated footprint, a hipped metal roof, an inset front porch with two front doors, wood siding and wood windows. Two of the front windows are replacement windows and not original to the structure.
c. HISTORIC CONTEXT: The house was constructed in February/March 1940 by Felix Garza, Jr. He also built a commercial fruit stand in front of the home fronting S Seguin. The fruit stand was approved for deconstruction at the HLC meeting on October 19, 2022. Felix Garza, Jr. was born on July 10, 1910, in Lampazos Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and was living in New Braunfels by 1930 according to census records. He married Olivia Zamora on November 1, 1930. Together the couple had five children and they lived in the home until about 1950 at which point the family was living at the residential structure next door at 650 S Seguin, which was approved for relocation in October 2022. Felix Garza died in 1951 at the age of 41, and his wife Olivia ran the store until 1961. Olivia Garza also ran a beauty shop out of their home at 650 S Seguin. The property stayed in the Garza family until 2014 when it was sold to Shea Cole Enterprises.
d. EVALUATION: In order to be eligible for historic landmark designation, properties shall meet at least one (1) of the six (6) criteria listed in Section 66-65. Staff evaluated the structure against all six (6) criteria and determined that it was potentially consistent with the following:
1) Possesses significance in history, architecture, archeology, or culture.; the residential building was originally built by Felix Garza, Jr., a Hispanic businessman in New Braunfels. Staff finds that the connection to the Garza family could potentially hold cultural significance.
Recommendation
STAFF ANALYSIS:
Although the structure potentially meets criteria 1 from a cultural standpoint, the context of the site has been altered with the removal of the grocery store that strongly associates the Garza’s with the site.
If the owner is in objection to landmark designation, staff ultimately recommends approval of demolition as a designation over the owner’s objection would require a three-fourths in favor vote of the HLC or Planning Commission and City Council.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. GIS Location Map
2. Property pictures and additional research documents