Policy group calls out omission of Landmarks Commission and Office of Historic Preservation from budget hearing

The Boston Policy Institute urged the City Council May 1 to question the absence of the Landmarks Commission and the Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) from the ways-and-means budget hearing schedule and to use the budget process to examine unresolved leadership and oversight concerns at both bodies.

"My testimony today focuses on an issue that has been missing from budget hearings and Boston City Council agendas for some time, the Landmarks Commission and the Office of Historic Preservation," Gregory Maynard, executive director of the Boston Policy Institute, told the committee during in‑person testimony. He said a 16‑member Landmarks Commission letter to the mayor last April alleged interference by mayoral staff in commission procedures and cited six specific projects as examples, including the Hotel Buckminster and White Stadium renovations.

Maynard recounted subsequent leadership turnover at OHP and the commission's executive director position, and said he was concerned that the commission and its office had not been included in the budget hearing schedule. "The absence of OHP and the Landmarks Commission from this year's budget hearing schedule, combined with the lack of a public hearing about the issues revealed in the commissioner's letter last year, means the council is unable to perform that role in this case," Maynard said.

Committee members did not take action during the session. The public comment raised the question of whether the committee will schedule a dedicated hearing or require follow‑up materials to allow councilors to review leadership changes, the commission's oversight role and how the city addressed the allegations referenced by the commission's letter.