Houston, a city with a reputation for demolishing its history, is working toward creating conservation districts to allow neighborhoods to keep their historic feel.

Driving the news: Houston City Council is considering an ordinance that would allow residents to establish conservation districts, which would help neighborhoods preserve their architectural history by implementing certain building requirements, restrictions on parking and other new development aspects.

How it works: At least 50% of property owners in any given area would have to opt in to create the district.

• Residents could choose a variety of criteria to include in the district, like the angle of a roof pitch on new construction, regulations on fences or front-facing building features.
• The districts wouldn't change zoning rules since they wouldn't govern what kinds of structures were built.

What they're saying: "I'm privy to my history being wiped away," Danny Asberry El, an artist and North Forest resident who supports the ordinance, told council members during a public hearing yesterday.

State of play: The city has other avenues for preserving history, like historic districts — but those can be difficult to implement, according to Houston Public Media.

• "They are difficult to enact, the process to get things approved can be cumbersome, and they are located mostly in higher-income neighborhoods as a way of maintaining the status quo," Houston's preservation officer, Roman McAllen, told the Kinder Institute's Urban Edge. "We [need] something ... more geared toward keeping at bay what neighbors might see as most egregious to their neighborhoods."

The big picture: The ordinance could be a major win for Houston's ailing historic communities, like Freedmen's Town in Fourth Ward, where only 40 of the original 540 structures are still standing, according to Urban Edge.

• A conservation district could prevent existing structures from being demolished without obtaining a variance and force any new developments to conform to the existing structures' style.

What we're watching: Houston City Council will vote sometime later this year on the changes to the city's preservation ordinance.

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At least half of eligible borrowers in every U.S. congressional district applied for or were automatically approved for President Biden's student debt relief plan before it was blocked due to legal challenges, reports Axios' Sophia Cai.

Why it matters: There was strong interest across red and blue districts during the brief application window, per new U.S. Department of Education data.

The details: In most congressional districts, 60% to 65% of eligible borrowers applied or automatically qualified.

• About 563,700 of the 924,000 borrowers, or 61%, were deemed automatically eligible for relief in the 10 congressional districts in the greater Houston area.

The big picture: Some 26 million people — out of more than 40 million eligible borrowers — applied for student loan debt cancellation or had already provided enough information to the Department of Education to be deemed eligible.

• More than 2.1 million Texans applied or were eligible for relief. Nearly 1.4 million applications were approved to be discharged.

What's next: The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the student loan forgiveness plan this month. The Biden administration in November filed an emergency appeal asking the justices to lift the injunction issued by the Trump-appointed judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas who halted the program.

🛋 Wayfair has scrapped its plans to open a $133 million distribution center in Houston, despite efforts from the city to provide tax incentives. The 1.2 million-square-foot fulfillment center would have created 400 jobs by 2026. (Houston Chronicle)

♻️ Houston ISD received $300,000 from energy companies to develop a new recycling program. Twenty participating HISD schools and facilities will collect cardboard, paper and a variety of hard-to-recycle plastics. The program will begin in April. (Houston Public Media)

⚾️ Astros star Lance McCullers Jr. will miss opening day due to elbow strain. The pitcher has had some major setbacks health-wise, including missing the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and the first four months of the 2022 season. (MLB News)

🎥 Watch feature films, documentaries and shorts at the 15th Indian Film Festival of Houston.

• Films will screen today and tomorrow. Tickets start at $19.

🪀 Geek out at the February Nerdy Night Market tonight. There will be card trades, 3D printing, and retro and modern toys.

• 6pm to 12am.

🦞 Eat some (or a lot of) crawfish at the Houston Crawfish Kickoff Festival on Saturday. There will be live music and various vendors.

• General admission is $8.

🏇 Head to the Downtown Rodeo Parade at 10am Saturday to see floats, marching bands and thousands of people on horseback.

• Register for the 2023 Rodeo Run before the parade. Options include a wheelchair race, a timed and an untimed 5K, and a 10K.

🚙 Sculpt foam to decorate your car and bike at the Art Car & Art Bike Workshop on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm.

• $40 per participant.

🍛 Learn to cook authentic West African food at the Art of FuFu cooking class tonight. An expert will show you how to prepare the region's staple foods and some soups.

• Tickets are $75.