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

Waco's landmark program, created by Ordinance No. 1999-23 on May 4, 1999 and administered by the 12-member Waco Historic Landmark Preservation Commission under Sec. 28-1134, reaches beyond formal historic districts to protect individual sites of cultural or monumental significance anywhere in the city. Sec. 28-1133 defines an eligible object as a material thing of functional, aesthetic, cultural, historical, archaeological, paleontological or natural value, and a site as a location whose historical, cultural, architectural, archaeological, paleontological, or natural value stands on its own regardless of any structure on it, language broad enough to cover monuments, markers, and commemorative sites, not just buildings.

Under Sec. 28-1139(a), a property qualifies for designation if it has cultural, historical, architectural, archaeological, or paleontological significance, is tied to a historically significant person or event, embodies a distinctive construction type or method, represents a master craftsman's work, or is a distinctive and familiar visual feature of the city. Six categories of property automatically qualify under subsection (b): listing on the National Register of Historic Places, designation as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, designation as a state archaeological landmark, high priority rating in the city's officially adopted historic properties survey, or designation as a local landmark by the city council.

Any owner may apply for landmark status under Sec. 28-1140, with notice and hearing procedures matching those for historic district designation. Once designated, Sec. 28-1142 requires a certificate of appropriateness from the commission before any alteration contrary to the property's design guidelines, and before any demolition, and designated landmarks also qualify for a ten-year city ad valorem tax exemption on the increased value from qualifying rehabilitation under Sec. 28-1141.