Dallas, TX Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

Dallas Development Code Sec. 501 lets the city council create a historic overlay district to protect places and areas of historical, cultural, or architectural importance, but only if the property or area meets at least three of ten listed characteristics: history/heritage/culture, association with a significant historic event, identification with significant persons, distinguishing architecture, work of a notable architect or master builder, historic context with other distinctive sites, unique visual feature carrying cultural significance, archaeological or paleontological value, National/State Historic Landmark eligibility, or representing an era of social or economic history.

The designation procedure can be initiated by five city council members, three city plan commissioners, one landmark commissioner (for a single property) or three landmark commissioners (for a district expansion or new district), or the property owner. Individual-property designations require a minimum of one public hearing by the initiating body to confirm sufficient information exists to proceed. District expansions or new districts require two public hearings plus a community meeting held at a public facility within the affected neighborhood, where the proposing body must present a statement of intent covering the characteristics relied on, historical significance, purpose of the designation, and (for expansions) why the area was left out originally.

Between the first and second hearings, that statement of intent must be revised to add a transcription of the community meeting, benefits and incentives of preservation, additional neighborhood planning goals, and development incentive concepts. Sec. 501(c)(1) also imposes a predesignation moratorium once the designation procedure is initiated, freezing the status quo on the property to prevent an owner from altering or demolishing a resource while the city plan commission and landmark commission evaluate it; an owner can seek relief only by applying for a predesignation certificate of appropriateness or a certificate for demolition or removal. The landmark commission, created under Sec. 103 with 15 members, administers day-to-day historic preservation review citywide once a district or landmark is designated.