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

The city's tax code defines 'historic landmark' as any building, structure, site, area, or land of architectural, landscape architectural, historical, archeological, or cultural importance or value that the city council individually designates for preservation under article 40.03, division 28 (section 18.01.001). Article 18.04 turns that designation into a financial incentive: only properties individually designated as Lubbock Historic Landmarks are eligible, and as an incentive to apply, the zone-case designation fee is waived every January and February (section 18.04.002(c)). A substantially rehabilitated landmark can receive a partial exemption from city ad valorem taxes equal to the tax on fifty percent of approved project costs, running for up to five years and capped at the total eligible project cost (section 18.04.003(a)).

Eligible work is limited to the exterior and to interior elements the Urban Design and Historic Preservation Commission finds necessary to the structure's historic integrity, and the commission must approve the project under sections 40.03.3217 and 40.03.3219 before city council grants the exemption; a denial can be appealed to the council within ten days (section 18.04.003(e)). The commission reviews exempted properties annually, and if a property falls out of an acceptable state of repair the commission can recommend the exemption be terminated (section 18.04.004). Altering or destroying a designated landmark by willful act or negligence during the exemption period triggers recapture, and the owner must notify the planning department and the Lubbock Central Appraisal District (section 18.04.006).