Texas Capitol View Corridors

In 1931, the City of Austin enacted a local ordinance limiting the height of new buildings to a maximum of 200 feet (61 m), aiming to preserve the visual preeminence of the Texas State Capitol. From that time until the early 1960s, only the University of Texas Main Building Tower was built higher than the limit, using an exception allowing for additional height with a greater setback. On November 10, 1962, the Austin Statesman announced that real-estate developers were planning a new high-rise residential building adjacent to the capitol called the Westgate Tower.[1] The proposed design for the tower significantly exceeded the city's height limit (though it compensated with a setback for the upper portion).[2]

The prospect of so tall a structure so close to the capitol attracted significant opposition as plans proceeded. In January 1963, Texas Governor Price Daniel voiced his opposition to the proposed tower in his final address to the Texas Legislature.[1] Resistance continued as construction progressed, with State Representative Henry Grover of Houston introducing a bill to condemn the property in February 1965,[3] which was defeated in March in the Texas House of Representatives by only two votes.[4] The Westgate was eventually completed in 1966, but the controversy over the preservation of the capitol's visual presence that dogged its construction continued to grow.[1]

The Westgate was followed by even taller structures: first the Dobie Center (designed in 1968), and then a series of ever larger downtown bank towers, culminating in the 395-foot (120 m) One American Center (designed in 1982).[1] In early 1983, inspired by the Westgate and these other structures, State Senator Lloyd Doggett and State Representative Gerald Hill advanced Senate Bill 176, "Relating to preservation of the view of the State Capitol from certain points and prohibition of certain construction." This bill proposed a list of protected "Capitol View Corridors" along which construction would not be permitted, so as to protect the capitol's visibility from a series of points around Austin.[5]

The bill passed through the Texas Senate and House of Representatives in the spring of 1983, ultimately being signed into law on May 3, 1983 and coming into effect immediately.[6] It was later recodified in 2001 by House Bill 2812, which established the current version of the statute in the Texas Government Code Chapter 3151, entitled "Preservation of View of State Capitol." This code defines the thirty state-protected viewing corridors and prohibits any construction that would intersect one of them.[7] In 1985 the City of Austin adopted a corresponding Capitol View Protection Ordinance,[8] so that the majority of the corridors are protected under the Austin Code of Ordinances Chapter 25-2 Appendix A, entitled "Boundaries of the Capitol View Corridors", as well as under state law.[9]

The 360 Condominiums Tower has a setback to avoid obstructing a Capitol View Corridor.

Since their creation, the Capital View Corridors have frequently been the focus of conflict among various groups in Austin and in the Texas government. On one hand, cultural conservation and historical preservation organizations have generally supported the restrictions, arguing that the capitol views form an important part of Austin's cultural heritage and are threatened by the city's growth and land development.[19][20] On the other hand, both private and public entities looking to build in Austin (especially downtown) have expressed concern about the corridors' impact on investment, on property tax receipts, and on the supply of jobs and housing.[15][21]

A number of high-rise buildings in central Austin have been designed with diagonal floor plans to avoid obstructing a viewing corridor, such as the Fifth & West Residences Tower; other towers suddenly become narrower when they reach the height of a viewing plane, like the 360 Condominiums Tower.[18] Some major civic development projects have received exemptions from the corridor protections, including the redevelopment of the former Mueller Airport and the expansion of the University of Texas football stadium;[10] in other cases, structures already completed have been condemned and rebuilt because of the corridors, including a newly built water intake facility for the Waller Creek Tunnel.[22] Low-lying corridors prevent essentially all construction on certain blocks downtown.[10][23]

The protected capitol terminating vista along Congress Avenue

A Capitol View Corridor is a quadrilateral that links a line segment somewhere in Greater Austin to the base of the capitol dome. No structure is permitted to be built that would intersect the viewing corridor and thus obstruct the protected view of the capitol. As of 2020, state law defines thirty Capitol View Corridors in Austin, while municipal code defines twenty-six protected corridors, twenty-one of which are identical to state-defined corridors and five of which differ slightly from five of the state corridors. Twenty-one of the corridors protect pedestrian views, and eighteen protect vehicular views from roadways (some corridors protect both). The corridors have an average length of around 1.5 miles (2.4 km); the shortest runs for 1,700 feet (520 m) to Waterloo Park, and the longest runs 5.7 miles (9.2 km) to a scenic overlook in West Lake Hills.[10]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Texas Capitol View Corridors.

• Map of the existing and proposed Capitol View Corridors on Google Maps