Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission Public Hearing – April 13, 2026
Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission Public Hearing – April 13, 2026
The Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission (HCLC) met on April 13, 2026, at 2:00 PM to consider a text amendment, a National Register nomination, a historic landmark designation, a sign appeal, a continuance request, and several certificates of appropriateness for new residential construction. All seven commissioners were present. The meeting included public testimony on multiple items and resulted in unanimous approvals on most cases, with a divided vote on the sign appeal.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The commission approved the March 9, 2026, meeting minutes (7-0).
- Text Amendment HCLC-26-094: The commission voted 7-0 to recommend a zoning ordinance amendment clarifying that the HCLC is the executive authority for recommending historic designations or removals to the city council. A support letter from Historic Fort Worth Inc. was noted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- HCLC-26-082 (Sign Appeal at 2505 Rodeo Plaza): The applicant, John Ashley (owner of Ashley Nostalgia) and his sign contractor argued that the proposed projecting sign over the arched window would not damage the building, would be historically accurate (citing examples from other historic districts), and would be visible from Exchange Avenue—critical for their impulse‑based business. The North Fort Worth Historical Society (Melissa Wade Hunter) opposed, stating the sign would obscure the arched window and create visual clutter with an already‑approved wall sign, contrary to the Stockyards Form‑Based Code.
- All other items had either no public testimony or only supportive comments from applicants or their representatives.
Discussion Items
- HCLC-26-081 – National Register Nomination (Binion O'Keefe Storage Company Building): Staff read a resolution supporting the nomination of the 1917 building at 210–212 East 7th Street. The commission approved the resolution 7-0.
- HCLC-26-075 – Landmark Designation (1519 Circle Park – North Fort Worth Baptist Church): Staff found the property met three of eight criteria for significance. The applicant (OZ Industries, on behalf of Irma Park Senior) presented plans to convert the former church into senior affordable housing, highlighting their track record of preserving historic features. No opposition was voiced; the commission voted 7-0 to recommend designation to the city council.
- HCLC-26-082 (Sign Appeal): The commission deliberated at length. Staff recommended denial without prejudice, citing the sign's placement over a significant architectural feature (arched window) and potential visual clutter. The applicant argued the sign was minimally intrusive, floated in front of the window, and would enhance visibility of the arch. Commissioners expressed sympathy but noted the need to follow the Stockyards Form‑Based Code. A motion to deny without prejudice carried 6‑1 (Commissioner Traeger dissenting).
- HCLC-26-073 – Continuance (2341 North Main Street): The applicant requested a continuance to align the design with commission expectations. The commission approved the continuance 7-0 to the May 11, 2026, meeting.
- HCLC-26-053, HCLC-25-200, HCLC-26-065 – Certificates of Appropriateness for New Residences:
- 1104 Stella Street: Approved 7-0 with conditions (window recessing, paired windows, porch post size, etc.).
- 1120 East Cannon Street: Approved 7-0 with conditions (window ratios, garage roof connection removal, door simplification).
- 1204 East Cannon Street: Approved 7-0 with condition (remove rectangular fixed window above the door).
Key Outcomes
- Text amendment (HCLC-26-094): Approved 7-0; recommendation to zoning commission.
- National Register nomination (HCLC-26-081): Approved 7-0.
- Landmark designation (HCLC-26-075): Approved 7-0; recommendation to city council.
- Sign appeal (HCLC-26-082): Denied without prejudice (6-1).
- Continuance (HCLC-26-073): Granted 7-0 to May 11, 2026.
- New residence COAs: All approved unanimously with staff‑recommended conditions.
- Welcome: The commission formally welcomed new Commissioner Walter Peoples.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, by my reckoning, it's straight up two o'clock. Uh we have quorum for the meeting to begin. So we'll call to order the meeting of the historic and cultural landmarks commission for April 13th, 2026. And it asked for the statement regarding the Texas Open Meetings Act. Welcome to the April 13th, 2026 Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission. Our commission requires a quorum of six members to be present and available for voting. The following commissioners are present today. Chair Rick Herring, Commissioner Kelly Traeger, Commissioner Walter Peoples, Commissioner Estris Tucker, Commissioner Corey Malone, Commissioner Tim Haldin, and Commissioner Graham Brasendein. Staff present today are Laura Lie Willet, Anna Alvarez, Jefferson Prado, Trey Qualls, Hi Wan Kim, Enrique Alvarez, Stephanie Scott Sims, Brandon Utterbach, DJ Harrell, and myself, Laura Young. Today's meeting agenda can be found online at WWW dot fortworth Texas.gov. Speaker registration forms must have been turned in prior to the start of the meeting. Today's public hearing is being documented by video conference recording, which will be available on the city's website. To achieve a timely and orderly meeting, the HCLC requests the following rules of procedure be respected. Each case will be called in the sequence listed on the agenda unless otherwise directed by the chair. All answering dialogue shall be directed to the HCLC only. After each staff presentation, the applicant and other proponents will be given a total of seven minutes to speak. Opposition may then speak for seven minutes. Continuation beyond the speaker's allotted time will be subject to the chairman's sole discretion and approval. Following the official close of each case hearing, the HCLC will remain in open session to discuss and vote upon the item in question. During this time, no further public testimony or commentary will be allowed unless directed by the chair. A closed executive session may be held with respect to the posted agenda items to enable the HCLC to receive advice from legal staff. Thank you for your attention. And do we have any announcements from staff today? Um I did have one other announcement. Lots of people came out for it. Choctaw Nation came and spoke. Council members, uh, if you get a chance to look at videos or if you get a chance to go and visit the marker, um, it's very bright and shiny and new. So that's all staff has. All right, thank you for that. Uh any announcements from commissioners today. Hearing none, uh, we'll proceed with the approval of the March 9th minutes. Uh Commissioners would entertain a motion in a second. I'd like to make a motion that we approve March 9th. Um as presented second. All right, we have a motion to accept the minutes by Commissioner Halden and a second by Commissioner Tucker Tucker. Excuse me. Chair Herring, how do you vote? Yay. Commissioner Malone. Yes. Commissioner Brisendine. Yay. Commissioner Holden. Commissioner Tucker. Yay. Commissioner Peoples. And Commissioner Traeger. Yay. Thank you. Motion passed 70.
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