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Board reviews certificate-of-appropriateness rules and discusses expanding McKinney historic overlay
Summary
Planning staff reviewed when Certificates of Appropriateness (COAs) are required inside McKinney's Historic Overlay District and board members discussed outreach and options to extend protection to high‑priority properties outside the overlay.
City planning manager Cassie Baumgartner gave the Historic Preservation Advisory Board a refresher on the certificate of appropriateness (COA) process on June 5 and answered questions about how the Historic Overlay District and the Historic Neighborhood Improvement Zone (H and I Z) incentives interact with preservation tools.
Baumgartner said the Unified Development Code (UDC) defines a COA as a determination that proposed work within the Historic Overlay District or on any locally designated historic landmark is compatible with the historic character. For residential properties the board reviews changes visible from the public right of way; for commercial properties, staff reviews exterior work regardless of whether it faces a street or alley. She also noted that, under current rules, a COA for demolition is required only inside the H overlay.
Board members raised concerns that significant, high‑priority properties outside the designated overlay do not receive the same review. Baumgartner said the city’s 2023 Historic Resource Survey identified additional properties that might be eligible for individual designation or district expansion, but staff cannot impose protections on properties outside the overlay without owners’ consent or a formal expansion process that typically involves Planning and Zoning and City Council.
A board member said recent demolitions of high‑priority houses outside the overlay underlined the limits of current protections and urged the city to pursue outreach and incentives. Baumgartner and other staff noted possible options: individually designating properties, creating smaller patch districts, or pursuing a broader overlay expansion. Any designation would require public outreach and property owner consent; some incentives, such as H and I Z tax exemptions, are available only to properties meeting additional eligibility rules (for example, a homestead exemption requirement for certain incentives).
Board members and staff discussed next steps for mapping and outreach. Baumgartner said the city is preparing a web map of survey results (expected mid‑August) and that staff will evaluate survey recommendations to identify areas where owners might be interested in designation. She said education and incentives tend to be the most effective early steps; a change to code or the overlay boundary would be a longer process.
No board action was taken on expansion at the June 5 meeting; staff will continue outreach and planning. The board also recorded routine votes earlier in the meeting, including approval of the consent agenda and a motion to table a separate COA request for 401 North Bradley until the Aug. 7 meeting.
