Residents urge clearer process for Design Review Board appointments as nominee wins council approval

Residents who spoke during public comment at the Fort Thomas City Council meeting urged greater transparency in the process for appointing members to the city’s Design Review Board and raised concerns about recent board decisions before the council approved an appointment.

Speakers said the appointment process should give council members access to multiple candidate resumes so they can properly advise the mayor and avoid appointments that, they say, have produced decisions inconsistent with the city’s design review guidelines.

Faye Maggio said the ordinance governing appointments gives council both “advice and consent” and asked members to require that they review at least three résumés for each vacancy before consenting to a mayoral appointment. Maggio said she was not criticizing the nominee, Damien Scope, but sought a change in process so councilors “can properly advise the mayor.”

Sharon McKnight and Joan Harris also addressed the council, saying consultant reports and review guidelines have not always been made available to the public before Design Review Board (DRB) meetings. McKnight cited a written report by consultant Wes Cunningham that she said identified conflicts between the proposed unified development ordinance (UDO) and existing design review guidelines and asked that those materials be posted with agendas so residents and councilors can review them before votes.

Multiple speakers described instances where the DRB approved exterior alterations that consultant recommendations had opposed. McKnight pointed to a recent DRB decision she said relied on precedent to justify an alteration even though the consultant had recommended against it; she called precedent “entirely irrelevant” if it results in decisions contrary to the UDO or the design guidelines.

Joan Harris said there is a DRB member who has publicly said he would “never deny a request by a property owner,” and she asked the council whether candidate interviews or direct questions about willingness to enforce the guidelines had been conducted for the newest nominee.

Damien Scope, the nominee approved by municipal order during the meeting, introduced himself briefly and said he is a Fort Thomas resident with training in industrial design and 25 years in the design field. He said he has experience living in historic property and understands preservation issues.

Council members did not debate the detailed process changes during the public-comment portion; the council later took the municipal order appointing Scope and approved it by voice vote.

Speakers also pressed the council to require training for DRB members. Several said consultant‑led training had been proposed previously and had not been scheduled; they urged councilors to ensure that board members are trained on the ordinance, the design review guidelines and the legal limits of precedent.

The public comments linked the appointment process concern to larger questions about how volunteer boards are filled and whether a non‑contested mayoral succession could lead to “handpicked” board membership, a point raised by Faye Maggio as part of a broader call for council oversight.

Council members acknowledged the requests and indicated staff would follow up on sharing consultant reports, and on clarifying how DRB appeals and related language appear in the new UDO language.

The meeting record shows the council approved municipal order MO 07/2025 appointing Damien Scope to the Design Review Board; the appointment vote was taken by voice and recorded as approved.

Looking ahead, speakers asked the council to post consultant reports and DRB materials earlier with agendas, to provide candidate résumés to councilors prior to consent votes, and to schedule training for quasi‑judicial board members so decisions align with written guidelines and ordinance language.