The Galveston Landmark Commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for case 25LC040 on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, allowing an additional third-floor window and a change in window sash at a property identified in the application as 212 Kempner. Staff recommended approval subject to a set of specific and standard conditions, and the commission voted to accept that recommendation; the transcript records that the motion passed but does not provide a roll-call tally.

Staff described the project as a modification to the building's exterior facade to accommodate an interior floor-plan change. The applicant seeks to add an additional window on the third floor of the north facade and to revise previously approved sash from one-over-one to two-over-two units. Staff noted that five public notices were mailed and none were returned, and that the north facade primarily faces the Art League Building and a private courtyard, making the proposed work less visible to the general public. The staff report stated that the proposed changes conform to applicable design standards and recommended approval "with specific condition 1 and standard conditions 2 through 7." Staff presentation included floor plans and elevations supplied by the applicant.

Brax Easterwood, the project architect, told the commission the application does not include the canopy for consideration at this time and summarized the request: "we're asking for permission to add 1 additional window and, have them be 2 over twos rather than 1 over 1." Easterwood said the changes respond to interior plan revisions and noted previous discussions of sash style.

A commissioner identified a typographical error in the staff report referencing a canopy; staff agreed it was a typo and said condition number 4 could be stricken. No public commenters opposed the request. A motion to approve the project with staff recommendations was made and seconded; the chair announced the motion passed. The transcript does not include the names of the mover, the seconder, or a vote tally.

The staff report contains an address discrepancy: at one point the presenter referenced "21020 Second Street" while the case caption and packet identify the application as 212 Kempner. That discrepancy appears in the meeting transcript but was not resolved on the record.