Landmarks board: recruitment underway, conference takeaways and early program metrics

The Landmarks Board on Feb. 5 heard a cluster of administrative updates from staff covering board recruitment, conference takeaways, and early program metrics after recent process changes.

Marcy Gerwing said the city received four applications for the design-professional vacancy created by Ronnie Palusio—s March departure and that staff are vetting candidates to ensure they meet the seat—s qualification. She said the interviews are scheduled for mid-February and noted that one current board member would need to resign and reapply to be considered for the specific design-professional seat. "We received 4 applications, and we're in the process of vetting those because the spot that Ronnie is vacating is a design professional spot," Gerwing said.

Gerwing and Claire (staff) also summarized takeaways from the statewide Saving Places conference in Colorado Springs. Gerwing said the conference theme was "rooted in community culture and place, celebrating intangible heritage," and that sessions examined inclusive histories, community benefits and new state tax-credit opportunities for rehabilitation. Staff noted that the state historic tax credit cap increased (allowing higher per-project credits and a dedicated pool for commercial-to-housing adaptive-reuse projects), a change likely to affect financing for future preservation work.

On program operations, staff previewed early metrics for January after code and process changes that moved many landmark alteration certificate (LAC) reviews to staff-level approval and extended certain application time windows. Gerwing said staff reviews now handle a majority of LACs; in January staff reviewed eight LACs and three tax-credit applications while the Landmarks Design Review Committee (LDRC) handled four cases. "We only have 31 days to look at so far," Gerwing said, but added that early signs show fewer demolition applications and shorter committee meetings. Staff flagged a remaining operational gap: tax-credit reviews are taking more staff time than expected and require procedural tightening.

Finally, staff outlined ideas for the annual historic-preservation awards in May and suggested a shorter list of nominees to recognize exemplary rehabilitations, adaptive reuse and small-scale design successes. Board members suggested limiting the number of awards to three or four to keep the ceremony manageable.

Ending: Staff will continue vetting applicants for the open seat, refine tax-credit review procedures, and circulate a shortlist for awards ahead of the May ceremony; interviews for the board vacancy are expected in mid-February.