The Waukesha City Landmarks Commission on Jan. 8 heard public comment and staff briefings about a consultant-submitted application to reduce the National Register boundary for the Senator William and Henrietta Blair House and agreed to postpone sending a formal response until more information and more commissioners can consider the draft letter.

The discussion centered on a boundary-reduction application completed by Cultural Resource Management and submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for review at the SHPO review board meeting on Feb. 21, 2025. Lisa Sall, of 434 Madison Street, told the commission she and a co‑applicant had submitted a nomination and asked that Henry Blair be included in the Blair House nomination because he "lived in the house for 81 years" and made civic contributions; she also said the nomination packet included "over 30 pages, over 90 citations, 26 photos, 26 figures, and maps."

Staff advised the commission that Cultural Resource Management had updated the property's name in the new application to "Senator William and Henrietta Blair House" and that the application is currently under SHPO review. City staff said the application concerns the National Register boundary (a federal-level listing) and that the local designation paperwork from 1994 referenced in public comments appears to relate to a local special district (Special District H), which the city will continue to investigate. Staff recommended not sending the objection letter the commission had drafted in December, but also said the city would provide additional information about the 1994 Common Council action and other records as they become available.

Commission members discussed timing and participation. Several members said they preferred to wait until commissioners who had drafted or reviewed the December letter could be present. On the record, the commission chose to "bench this till our next meeting" and to continue cross-referencing the draft response with newly obtained records. City staff said they will pursue clarification of the relationship between the local special-district documents and the National Register review and will supply more information before the next meeting. An email from Marty Larson was read into the record by staff; Larson’s message said the city had been involved in the nomination and management of the land for more than 30 years and recommended a height restriction if the lower parcel were developed, but he wrote that he could not attend because he had COVID-19.

There was no formal vote on the content of the December letter at the Jan. 8 meeting; the commission directed continued review and deferred sending any final letter until a future meeting when more commissioners can participate. Staff said the mayor or designee will ultimately transmit the commission's comments to SHPO, and staff offered to copy commissioners when the city sends its submission.

The commission also heard staff remarks about a compliance negotiation with SHPO tied to a separate development (the Mandel apartment project at 130 Dale), which would apply only if the SHPO review finds an adverse effect and the boundary decrease is not approved. Staff clarified that SHPO can recommend mitigation but does not impose a prohibition on the city's proposed development.

The commission did not adopt a final position at the Jan. 8 meeting and will revisit the draft response and any new documentation at the next scheduled meeting before the Feb. 21 SHPO review board date.