Historic commission to weigh house relocation, facade work and signs Oct. 13

Property owners and nearby residents face a decision next week on proposed changes to four historic properties, including a request that could lead to moving or demolishing a house.

By Comal.News Government Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published October 7, 2026 at 5:59 PM CDT3 min read

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Architectural drawings of a house and window lie beside a pencil, with a building and blue trees in the background. — Illustration: Architectural plans suggest proposed changes to historic properties; the scene does not depict the commission meeting.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Comal.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Comal.News original illustration ↗

The New Braunfels Historic Landmark Commission is scheduled to consider four alteration requests Oct. 13, including a proposal to move or demolish a house at 375 Magazine Avenue.

The Oct. 13 agenda lists applications for that house, a ramp and facade work on East Coll Street, two downtown signs and eight replacement windows on South Academy Avenue. These are requests awaiting consideration, not commission decisions.

A house proposed for relocation

For item 5C, HST26-336, the Sophienburg Museum & Archives requests permission to relocate the primary structure at 375 Magazine Avenue, with demolition requested if moving it proves infeasible for structural, financial, logistical or site reasons. The applicant’s packet statement says relocation is preferred. It describes a proposed preservation-campus expansion involving this lot and three surrounding lots, while saying final plans for the vacant lot have not been developed. The relocation preference, demolition alternative and campus concept are the applicant’s proposals; the commission has yet to act on them. Readers can examine the applicant’s explanation in the agenda packet.

Ramp and facade at the Carl Stock house

Staff describes the 195 E. Coll Street building as the circa-1846 Carl Stock house. Under item 5A, HST26-311, Isaac Pruna seeks a certificate of alteration for an ADA ramp, a railing along Comal Avenue, and removal of front siding to expose the building’s fachwerk and apply German schmear. Staff finds the ramp and railing generally consistent with preservation criteria because they avoid direct structural impact and can be removed. That finding is a recommendation for commissioners to consider, not an approval.

At 195 E. Coll Street, staff recommends retaining the front wood siding or replacing it with matching simple lap siding because the packet does not establish that the facade’s fachwerk was historically exposed. The distinction matters to the property owner’s proposed exterior work: commissioners can weigh the access changes and facade treatment on the evidence presented for each. The staff analysis appears in the packet’s item 5A report.

Downtown signs and Academy Avenue windows

For item 5B, HST26-316, Nancy Hierl requests alteration approval for two metal wall signs at 297 and 299 W. San Antonio Street: Ruff Town, measuring 44 by 52 inches, and The Rescued Closet, measuring 36 by 52 inches. Staff reports that the signs were already installed when it inspected the circa-1925 Downtown Historic District building Sept. 29. Its report says a certificate and sign permit are still required for the signs to remain. Staff recommends approval, finding the signs generally compatible and removable without impairing the building. The pending certificate request and separate permit requirement are useful distinctions for customers and the businesses.

Item 5D, HST26-337, is Andrew Muller’s request to replace eight windows at 205 S. Academy Avenue. The published agenda identifies the proposed work but does not itself decide whether the replacement will be allowed. Commissioners’ consideration of that request will be a separate item from the downtown signs and the two other property applications.

Other business and how to participate

The commission is scheduled to meet at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 13 in the Tejas Room at City Hall, 550 Landa Street. The agenda also calls for approval of the Aug. 11 meeting minutes, a citizens’ communications period for concerns outside the listed business, updates from Preservation Texas and the Comal County Historical Commission, and routine opening and closing steps. The agenda says the commission cannot take action during the general citizens’ communications period. Residents interested in a particular property can identify its item number—5A through 5D—when following the meeting and the later action record.

The next verification point is the Oct. 13 meeting record: it will show how commissioners handle each application and any conditions they discuss. The city’s Oct. 13 agenda identifies the four requests and meeting location; the linked packet provides the applicant and staff material for the proposals described above.

From the source record

Meeting previewHistoric Landmark Commission agenda, Oct. 13

Four certificate-of-alteration requests are listed as items 5A through 5D.

City of New Braunfels agenda ↗

Document graphic based on the commission’s published Oct. 13 agenda.