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57. Regular Meeting December 9, 2002 Page 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS, TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS FOR THE DEMOLITION OF STRUCTURES IN THE PROPOSED DUNBAR HISTORIC DISTRICT IN THE 200 THROUGH 600 BLOCKS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DRIVE, THE 200 THROUGH 500 BLOCKS OF CENTRE STREET, AND THE 200 BLOCKS OF HERNDON STREET, SHADY LANE, SOUTH COMANCHE STREET AND SOUTH FREDERICKSBURG STREET; INCLUDING PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS; PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Mayor Habingreither opened the public hearing and asked if anyone wished to speak. 1) Johnnie Armstead urged the Council to pass this Ordinance which would stop the issuance of permits for the demolition of structures. She stated she was afraid of losing any more history in the Dunbar area. Recently one of the houses which was torn down was the house that Henry Bush lived in. 2) Richard Gachot stated he is a member of the Historic Preservation Commission. He provided the Council with a map showing the location of the demolished structures. He encouraged the Council to adopt this moratorium. 3) Ollie Giles stated she was born in the Dunbar area and currently lives there. She encouraged the Council to help preserve her neighborhood and stop tearing down any more history. 4) Rodney VanOudekerke stated he is the Chairman of the Historical Preservation Commission. He stated a public hearing was held on November 18, 2002, to hear from the residents in this area. The Dunbar neighborhood asked for the Historic Preservation Commission to help in identifying the areas most at risk. The Historic Preservation Commission chose Guadalupe Street. He stated they are asking tor 180 days to have the opportunity to identify what needs to be preserved. 5) Sherwood Bishop stated preserving the history in this neighborhood has been a concern for some time. Recently there has been some demolition of several historical structures. He stated no one is speaking against a 180-day moratorium and feels this time would be useful to come up with a plan regarding saving the neighborhood. 6) Ollie Giles stated she is also concerned with the zoning in this neighborhood. These homes which are being torn down are being rezoned as "C". She feels they should be zoned "R- 1". 7) Lucy Gamez stated she has lived in this neighborhood for 50 years and does not want to see any more demolition being done. No one else wished to speak, so Mayor Habingreither then closed the public hearing. Mr. Mihalkanin moved for adoption of the Ordinance on emergency and Ms. Tatum seconded the motion. Ms. Tatum inquired what is the process for becoming an Historic District. Holly Mullins, Senior Planner with the Planning Department, stated the Historic Preservation Commission presents a report to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Texas Historic Commission. Sixty days later a public hearing occurs, and then the issue is presented to the City Council, She stated this is a 4-month process. Ms. Tatum asked what restricti":ms will be placed on the neighborhood if this becomes an Historic District. Ms. Mullins stated all exterior changes have to be approved by the local Historic Preservation Commission. Mr. Taylor inquired why the zoning would change to "c" after being zoned residential. Ms. Mullins stated the MLK existing zoning is "C", although some areas are residential. Mr. Mayhew asked how many buildings have been torn down. Richard Gachot stated 150 buildings have been torn down since 1960 and 4 torn down near the Calaboose. Ms. Tatum inquired what determines a priority with the Texas