I'm fairly certain this story didn't make it into the Chron since it's nowhere to be found on the site, but my own copy was drenched by the time I got to it. I'm sure it will get more coverage as it moves through City Council though. For now, though, a City Hall blog post by Mike Snyder is what we've got to go on:

Houston's first loophole-free ban on demolishing historic buildings moved a step closer to becoming official policy today as the City Planning Commission approved the creation of a protected historic district in the Old Sixth Ward neighborhood west of downtown.

The measure, proposed in April by Mayor Bill White, would exclude historic homes within the protected district from the "90-day waiver" provision in Houston's 1995 preservation law. The waiver, long criticized by preservationists, allows owners to proceed with demolition or inappropriate alteration of historic buildings by waiting three months after a city panel denies them a permit to do so.

The 90-day waiver is really one of the most useless things I've ever heard of. A 90-day waiting period is not going to stop developers from demolishing historic buildings - like Weingarten and the north wing of the River Oaks Shopping Center, whose 90 days are up in August. While this measure would only apply to the Old Sixth Ward, it would set a precedent for other neighborhoods that are just as old and just as historically significant. Now, it just has to make it through City Council:

Some preservationists believed the Planning Commission was the toughest hurdle for the proposal, which will be considered later this month by the City Council's quality of life committee before it moves to the full council for final approval. Councilwoman Sue Lovell, one of the council's most outspoken preservationists, predicted before today's vote that the measure would gain approval by the committee and the full council if it survived the Planning Commission vote.

Although today's vote was unanimous, Commissioner Jeff Ross urged the City Council to carefully consider the precedent if might be setting if it enacts the measure. White and his staff have emphasized that the Old Sixth Ward is unique because of its heavy concentration of 100-year-old houses, but they haven't convinced Ross.

"Cherryhurst will be 100 years old in 15 years," Ross said, referring to a Montrose area neighborhood, "and we'd better get ready for the Cherryhursts of Houston."

This is hardly a dangerous precedent to set. Cities all over the country have stricter preservation laws and better protection for historic districts, and people deal with them just fine. There is really no alternative to this measure if we want to ensure that Houston's historic neighborhoods are adequately protected, since most buildings in Houston, even those that are Historic Landmarks or listed in the National Register, are vulnerable.