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City staff to advertise openings as Columbia City prepares to split downtown review commission
Summary
City staff outlined a plan to split the Downtown Development Review Commission into separate historic preservation and urban design boards to match new downtown guidelines effective Jan. 5. Council agreed to let staff advertise positions and allow current members to apply to either board while retaining remaining term lengths.
Columbia City staff told the committee they plan to split the Downtown Development Review Commission into two separate boards — historic preservation and urban design — to align review processes with newly adopted downtown guidelines that take effect Jan. 5.
An urban design staff member said the change responds to increased project volume and differing expertise needed for preservation versus urban-design review. "One of the recommendations of the plan was to split the current DDRC... into two architectural review boards," the staff member said, describing a recommended preservation board of seven members and an urban design board of five, each with some required professional seats.
Staff asked for permission to advertise membership openings and recommended allowing current DDRC members to apply for either board and to continue serving the remainder of their existing terms if appointed. Council members discussed term limits and whether current members nearing the end of their second term should be eligible for additional appointments; the group agreed that maintaining current term lengths while opening applications was reasonable.
Staff said the intent is to have the two boards in place before the guidelines take effect so review processes start cleanly in January. Committee members agreed consensually to forward the plan and the request to advertise positions to City Council for final approval.
